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Such a great old field-edge apple tree, thriving whilst rather compromised!

Yes, I am working on loosening the soil mechanically to give the new roots a head start on the turf roots. Mounding is better. I saw a mounding machine with a three-cornered rotor system. Works well, by the look of it. Definitely quicker hand planting then. Thanks.

I see last night that Poland shot down some Russian drone that " strayed " into their air space . One over Lithuania also . It was Dutch F35 air craft that shot them down so NATO involved . Russia denies it at usual .

If you are worried about grass and weeds checking or competing with the tree and don't want to spray it, what about mounding? This is where a digger takes a scoup of turf and soil out and lays it upside down. This makes planting easier and gives the tree a headstart against grass. Its more common for conifers and it does make walking through the wood potentially an ankle breaking experience for a few years.

Apologies if I misunderstood your post, but I think we should start from the viewpoint that it is a tragedy and not that she should have stopped at the first safe country.

If you are down to say 15% on the meter just take the boards indoors if you can a let them slowly finish off drying they will be atuned to your house that way if you dont have the space its either carry on with air dry or find a kiln ,vacume kilns are cool but not many around

Poland says up to four of 19 Russian drones shot down after entering airspace - live updates WWW.BBC.CO.UK Poland's prime minister says "this provocation is incomparably more dangerous" than the previous ones.

In practice yes but the main need is for it to dry evenly so a dry outside doesn't shrink more than the wet inside and crack. Too true Another one!

Found on a dead Spruce stem. Any idea what it could be?

Thanks......Yep, that is one every 3 minutes on av, plus moving stock in and around. £1 a shovel-planted tree, is too tight. Nearer £1.50 minimum

Hi Ringo . I can dry fire wood down to less that 12% moisture here in West Sussex just in a log store in the summer . Come winter it has taken up moisture from the ambient air to around 15% . Still burns but just to illustrate the fact that wood will take up moisture even when under cover .

Also try contacting local companies, if you want regular supplies then, as above, you need to become a good tip site for a local company and they are best contacted directly. Some tips: Logs are processed into sizes ready to burn once dry, these are not going to be free as that takes work. If you are a going to be a tip site you need to be asking for wood not logs (arb arisings is the term used here). As above be flexible. Despite what the internet will tell you all wood burns(!) and releases the same amount of energy per unit weight when dry (when using a wood burner). Less dense wood does take more space but generally that is not so much of an issue (also soft wood generally dries quicker, which can be handy). In fact some softwoods are really good wood to burn once you figure out how to best split them (leave the faster burning woods in bigger chunks).

Come and watch the UK & Ireland Tree Climbing Competition 2025 This September the tree care community celebrates 30 years since the first tree climbing competition took place in the UK. So please join us in Coventry to witness the agility, precision, and passion that’s been taking tree climbing to new heights for three decades. 13th & 14th September War Memorial Park, Coventry https://buff.ly/cS7prSz To commemorate the 30th anniversary we've collaborated with Arb Fiction. He's created an incredible piece of artwork, showcasing a collage of images from picked from our competition archives, spanning the three decades of competitions. This design is now available for purchase on our online store. Explore our range of products, including t-shirts, hoodies, notebooks, and more! https://buff.ly/gxavHBb

Come and watch the UK & Ireland Tree Climbing Competition 2025 This September the tree care community celebrates 30 years since the first tree climbing competition took place in the UK. So please join us in Coventry to witness the agility, precision, and passion that’s been taking tree climbing to new heights for three decades. 13th & 14th September War Memorial Park, Coventry https://buff.ly/cS7prSz To commemorate the 30th anniversary we've collaborated with Arb Fiction. He's created an incredible piece of artwork, showcasing a collage of images from picked from our competition archives, spanning the three decades of competitions. This design is now available for purchase on our online store. Explore our range of products, including t-shirts, hoodies, notebooks, and more! https://buff.ly/gxavHBb

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Three all greens today Wordle 1,544 3/6* ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Go out and try it you should try to earn say £20 hour allow half hour to start and half to finish so how many can you do in a day a £1.00 a tree is very hard into grass remember to screef off the grass before planting

Is this still possible to get done at Alice Holt? If not does anyone know other places that do this?

Not sure how thick or wide your slabs are. But, after air drying slabs down to 15 or 16%, I re-saw them into narrower and thinner sections before the final drying down to 8 to 10% suitable for use indoors with central heating. Dries quicker doing that, and less likely to develop defects such as splits, etc. I don’t have a kiln, but run a dehumidifier in the workshop and stack timber out of the way to slowly dry down to 8 to 10%. Years ago, I just used to keep the planks in the house and they gradually acclimatised before being machined to final sizes. But you might not want a stack of planks inside! Needs to dry slowly. I suspect with firewood logs the aim is to dry them as fast as possible and if they split it doesn’t matter. Andrew

BillQ you have no idea about my humanity! But I agree it was a needless death.

Also got a trainee position available.