I'm soon going to cut down mostly sweetgums to make brushpiles for my little lake. However, the watershed is very acidic, piney timber, and it has been a struggle to get pH up to 6.5 now (5.5 last year).

Here's my question: If we create 15 or 20 brushpiles, each consisting of 4 to 6 freshly cut individual gums, would that throw off the water chemistry? I sure don't need more acid, which I fear would be the case.

Any thoughts?

Sweetgum sap is not known to be especially acidic. If you are bothered about it, throw several shovelfuls of agricultural lime on each brush pile after you put them in.

Thanks, John. I'm hypersensitive about acid, I guess, since it messed up my first year. Good to know it's not really a factor here.

Hay there Frank, since you asked about sweetgums I thought I would tell of my experience with them. I have around 14 sweetgum trees added for brush piles in the pond. These are nice sized 30 to 40 foot trees and the fish are always hanging around them. I also have several big root balls around the pond. I never saw any pH decrease or increase in the water in or around the trees. Some of the trees were added during the fill up and some were added after the pond was full. Hope this helps you when planning your cover. I love laydowns for fishing along the banks and they make good laydowns.