Wanting to start in coppicing/forestry

[Keen 2 Learn]

I've been a gardener most my working life and run my own company, but want to branch out more into coppicing/forestry and looking at the best way to go about it and what its like when you do. I don't yet have my chainsaw and equipment etc, and I know that's the first step and Im on my way to doing it, but I had a few questions I wondered if people might be able answer.

 

Im in Kent so it will be mostly sweet chestnut, but wondered what people do during the summer when you're not supposed to cut it? Or do people just do it anyway?..

 

Is there much else besides sweet chestnut? Id seen a few posts about some cop nut and cutting down old orchards, is that sort of thing regular or mostly here and there?

 

I know its not mega money, but if you were working on your own cutting how much roughly would you make a day, or a week? I normally work 7:30 til 6 most days, and work the majority of Saturday and Sundays too, so I was hoping I could get through it relatively quickly and make enough to keep the mortgage in check, so Im guessing that would make me some more. Im 36 and still fairly fit so a long week isn't too much of a bother.

 

Apologies for all the questions.I tried searching for beginner questions, but didn't see much so wanted to get as much info as I could. I've spoken to a couple of firms about work so I should have a few days to drag and clear to learn a few bits with people just to start off with,

 

Thanks a lot

[Guest Gimlet]

You shouldn't be coppicing anything in the middle of summer. Apart from anything else it's bad for the plant, which will bleed, it's the bird nesting season and the stools will be buried in undergrowth. 

 

I don't know much about sweet chestnut coppicing, where I live it's hazel, which I coppice for hedge laying material. I do know though that if you cut hazel during the growing season and make thatching spars, thatchers can tell by handling them that they were summer cut and they won't buy them because they don't last. I imagine there will be similar practical problems cutting sweet chestnut out of season.

 

If you want summer work to complement coppicing, you're already in the perfect business. Gardening is ideal. You've already got the equipment and the customer base and you've got a possible ready-made market for products you cut over winter. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Gimlet

[Stubby]

Hand cutters are mostly required now a days for the " snot gobbling " steep banks were a harvester can't get .  Its back breaking arm wrenching hard work for little reward .  Coppice by all means but keep your gardening round .  

[Keen 2 Learn]

Thank you both for the reply. Most the people I've spoken to only cut in winter, but I see places where they've taken out big area during the summer. Theres a lot of it down here. I certainly wouldn't want to disturb nesting birds! I don't cut hedges during the season unless I've checked them thoroughly first.

 

The problem is with gardening is its still busy into the autumn, and the leaves get everywhere so wouldn't want to leave people in the lurge in October, and I have a lot of apple tree pruning in the winter months. So its pretty much non stop.

 

I'd ideally like to be doing some type of woodland maintenance type work, but I understand its very few and fair between, so I was hoping sustainable responsibly coppicing would be a good career move, but it might be I have to go back to the drawing board! Or save up for my own wood?.. Im guessing private's wood owners don't ever need much maintenance? 

 

Thanks again for the replies

 

 

[Stubby]

37 minutes ago, Keen 2 Learn said:

Thank you both for the reply. Most the people I've spoken to only cut in winter, but I see places where they've taken out big area during the summer. Theres a lot of it down here. I certainly wouldn't want to disturb nesting birds! I don't cut hedges during the season unless I've checked them thoroughly first.

 

The problem is with gardening is its still busy into the autumn, and the leaves get everywhere so wouldn't want to leave people in the lurge in October, and I have a lot of apple tree pruning in the winter months. So its pretty much non stop.

 

I'd ideally like to be doing some type of woodland maintenance type work, but I understand its very few and fair between, so I was hoping sustainable responsibly coppicing would be a good career move, but it might be I have to go back to the drawing board! Or save up for my own wood?.. Im guessing private's wood owners don't ever need much maintenance? 

 

Thanks again for the replies

 

 

All woodland , private or otherwise will benefit from proper management .  If you had your own woodland  you would probably only cut every 10 - 15 years so you would need other sites to manage from late October through to March . 

[eggsarascal]

@the village idiot

[Keen 2 Learn]

I've spoken to another guy I saw coppicing and he was pretty up beat about it in Kent still. Said he had loads of work that a big landowner had offered him and that there was still a lot in Kent. Even all year round which I thought was a bit dodge, but increasingly its all about money in Kent..

 

He said he makes sculptures from bits of scrap wood and roots he finds and has made some money off that too, so there's scope to do a lot. He said woodland maintenance though needs a degrees, and people are getting them with the ou or distance learning from Bangor. But like I say, there's scope to do things there which is promising.

 

Thanks again everyone

[Mick Dempsey]

I wouldn’t place too much store by what he told you re. needing a degree.

[doobin]

Here's a chainsaw, here's some woodland. I'm gonna go perform me some 'woodland maintenance', no degree needed! ?

 

Coppicing is hard graft for bugger all return. Unless you go into it in a big way with a good market, employing cutters and running a forwarder then I reckon it's like having a ride on mower- it's a race to the bottom and you'll always be that old guy in a beat up truck struggling to make ends meet.

[Spruce Pirate]

On ‎09‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 11:06, Stubby said:

Hand cutters are mostly required now a days for the " snot gobbling " steep banks were a harvester can't get .  Its back breaking arm wrenching hard work for little reward .  Coppice by all means but keep your gardening round .  

Knowing practically nothing about coppicing I have a romantic image of hand-cutting and brash bonfires.  That said there's a bit along the road that's grown for biomass which is cut with a forager.  Is it a forage harvester you're talking about or forestry harvester or specific coppice harvester?