Same here, Worth. I've amended my raised bed soil so much I can plant just about anything using my hands. I sent soil samples to VA Tech 2 years ago and all the levels came back great. I had wondered if the buried wood was robbing nitrogen from the soil - apparently not.
On most of my property, water can sit in a hole for a day without draining - its really heavy clay. We live close to a river and I expected to hit pockets of sand but haven't found it so far!
Many people that use wood as a really slow compost say its only the wood/wood chips mixed in at the top of the soil that steals nitrogen.
Last year I added well rotted wood to the pots I planted my dwarf tomatoes in and reused the soil this year - they are doing great.
I wouldn't drive to pick up any wood but my property and the neighbors' all had piles of it. With the wood comes leaves - lots and lots of leaves. I picked up three bags of pine needles yesterday that I use for bed mulch.
Jeff
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