On 01/11/2020 16:49, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Sun, 01 Nov 2020 16:31:40 +0000, TimW wrote:

I am involved in a project to put some small wooden structures like
nesting boxes out in some woodland. The Desire is that they should be
100% (or at least 99%) biodegradable, so they last as long as poss but
ultimately rot away to nothing. Fixing them in trees with synthetic
ropes or straps is therefore obviously a complete no-no. So traditional
rope is required.

There's a bewildering array of different materials - coir, hemp, flax
etc and some treatments as well like tarred rope. Does anyone know what
is a good choice here for just lasting a few years out in the weather?
Is it better to have thicker rope for lasting, or just strong enough to
do the job?

TW

No idea, but for some reason I am reminded of seeing a bicycle that had
been leaned against a tree and grown into the trunk a few feet off the
ground (I think there was a story it belonged to a lad who went to WW1
and never came back).

Certainly didn't seem to harm the tree !

returning to the OP, surely anything used to *bind* to a trunk is going
to suffer one of 2 fates. It's stronger than the trunks growth (unlikley)
and the trunk subsumes it. Or it's weaker and at somepoint - no matter
what it's made of - it will snap (hopefully not letting anything fall on
anyone below ....).

AFAICR hemp is natural and vulnerable to damp.


You are right that some thought should be given to the method of
attachment. They don't need to be tightly bound to the trunk, maybe
sitting on a branch and loosely held in place, or hanging down even.

TW