This means that it takes nitrogen from the atmosphere and puts it into the soil through its roots, where other plants can use it, so, having black locust on the edge of a pasture is a means of fertilizing naturally. It makes great fence posts, but it's a far superior wood to white oak, hickory, hard maple, walnut, or cherry for furniture and boat building. Widely used for erosion control and reforestation, black locust is ideallysuited for woody biomass … A tree in this condition should have been cut down long ago. As you probably can imagine, it doesn't take long for the borers to reduce a healthy locust tree to something that resembles a well-used shotgun target. The black locust tree flowers profusely, with large clusters of beautiful blooms. By the time its trunk is about four inches in diameter, for example, the locust borers have moved in. Black locust is the national tree of Hungary and the basis of their forestry industry. And other than point out that a sharp digger (we call 'em "digging clams" here, and take a file to 'em at the end of each day) requires less effort to use, there's not much advice I can give to make the job easier. The black locust tree is a hardwood but it's unique because it grows faster than most softwoods. This tree, which has often been given a bad name for its opportunistic rapid growth and robust thorns, is said to be native to the Appalachian Mountain range, though it has become naturalized throughout the United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Europe and Asia. And these black and yellow beetles lay eggs which hatch into hungry larvae with a taste for wood—deep in the body of the locust tree. However, one differentiating factor is the presence and quantity of tyloses. Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), is a deciduous tree and a member of the bean/pea family.It bears long seed filled pods in fall, of which the pulp is sweet and edible. One variety of black locust tree, the Purple Robe Black Locust, has pinkish purple blossoms. used by different first nations people as an ideal source of timber, they can hold embers for a long ass time. At MOTHER EARTH NEWS for 50 years and counting, we are dedicated to conserving our planet's natural resources while helping you conserve your financial resources. Figure 3: Black Locust posts fetch a premium price and are in high demand on the market. The Locust Borer only attacks the Black Locust. Sugar Locust Tree, also called Honey Locust; Sunburst Honey Locust Tree, often used for street landscaping; Robinia Locust Tree, commonly known as black locust; Locust Tree: Facts & Info on the Locust Tree Species. Assuming you want to with Black locust, it’s important to consider the genetic stock you source trees from, especially if your goal is to grow straight poles or trees that can be milled for lumber. OK. Stop and think. Black locust is easily recognized by its leaves and paired spines. That knowledge, I'm sure, will warm me inside while the cracklin' fire takes care of the rest. How to Use Black Locust as a Crop Tree. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) improvement in Hungary: a review. You may also use the Bill Me option and pay $17.95 for 6 issues. - Firewood. But the strangest thing happened: As the compost in the bin started to cook, and the winter winds picked up, before I knew it the combination of heat and gusts had peeled those poles for me! The board fences—which I wanted in one area—were even easier to build once I'd located some affordable one-by-six rough-cut oak boards in twelve-foot lengths. | September/October 1978. During the summer, the heap of decomposing mulch will settle and cook, and I'll probably be able to brew up a second batch in the fencepost "cabin" sometime before winter comes along ... just to make sure I'll have plenty of good organic material to put on my garden during the following growing season. The trees ability to satisfy these applications quickly makes it highly desirable. Another good source of information is the book Fences, Gates, and Bridges, by George A. Martin (Stephen Greene Press, 1974). Eventually we can harvest some posts and poles, as well. Growing black locust trees is easy, but they can become weedy if you aren’t diligent about removing suckers. Rédei, K., Osvath-Bujtas, Z., & Veperdi, I. Acta Silvatica et Lignaria Hungarica, 4, 127-132. Using black locust for fence posts is not the highest or best use of this wood. 1987), wherethe Menasha Corporation established a test plantation in 1988. Some of the well known health benefits and therapeutic uses of black locust are as follows; The blossoms of the black locust are known for their diuretic, emollient and anti-spasmodic properties. Green locust fences have been known to do that.". If you live in southeastern Ohio you may have seen this. I live on the old Pennsylvania RR right of way in Indpls. I also poured a bit—not more than a cup or so—of used motor oil into each excavation to discourage underground crawlies. I had been told that the correct way to turn locust logs into usable poles is to strip the bark from each potential fencepost before it's stacked to cure. The nutritional value of the leaves is similar to alfalfa (Baertsche and Hanover 1986). - Nitrogen fixer: Barley grain crops interplanted with locust have higher nitrogen (Ntayombya and Gorden 1995), and black walnuts interplanted with locust as “nurse” trees were shown to rapidly increase their growth (Clark and Williams 1978). And, just as likely, my firewood will have run out by then and there won't be anything fit to burn for a country mile in any direction. Partly out of laziness, though—and mostly because I just couldn't stand the "sweet and sour sewer gas" smell of freshly stripped locust—I neglected to attend to that little chore. Happy tree … Hard cover. Then, after that chore is out of the way, I can remove the old posts. Fungus suitable for fire-starting. And while those "grandfather" logs hiss and sputter merrily (and generate a good 28 million Btu's a cord) I'll know that I've done everything possible to get full recycled value from the once-diseased trees. I figure that a straight fence might survive one of these attacks of rural reverie, but I just know a zigzagged structure wouldn't have a prayer. I found a 3 footer yesterday. My locust poles will have been with the family for years, from compost pile to fence to compost pile to, finally, up in (very little) smoke. For one thing, a crooked enclosure distributes its considerable pressure every which way, and that will force its posts to lean—and fall—long before they normally should. And, my informant added, if those pests don't kill a tree, the leaf miners probably will. By paying with a credit card, you save an additional $5 and get 6 issues of MOTHER EARTH NEWS for only $12.95 (USA only). When you are comparing black locust and honey locust, you will find many similarities in the overall color, appearance, and other aspects. Common Name: Black Locust Black locust trees are a hardwood tree, and they make excellent high-quality timber that is durable and strong. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, vol. ), fragrant flowers bloom at the tips on new branches.The flowers attract honeybees, which use the nectar to make excellent honey. As a result, some of the best stock today comes from Eastern Europe, and nearly 20% of the forests in Hungary are comprised of Black Locust (Keresztesik, 1983). Now it may sound a little silly to some folks for a person who runs a nearly self-sufficient farm to worry about felling a few trees. Black Locust, america's environmentally friendly super tree. (1983) A breeding and cultivation of black locust, Robini pseudoacacia, in Hungary. Make no mistake, locust is not a tree to plant and walk away from. Research has shown increases in nitrogen in barley grain crops interplanted with locust, and black walnuts interplanted with locust as “nurse” trees were shown to rapidly increase their growth.