Burning Lime wood.

[coppice cutter]

20 hours ago, GarethM said:

Grain growing is probably the only one where it's max output

Far from it, go through the sectors.

 

Pigs and poultry lost the plot decades ago to the degree that it's been referred to by the agricultural industry itself as "the intensive sector" for as long as I can remember.

 

Dairy farming is rapidly heading that way with robotic milking, and cows housed 365 days in the year becoming increasingly commonplace. Breeding dairy cattle which are so singular in their purpose that they can scarcely survive outside in anything but ideal conditions and with ridiculously high levels of nutrition required leading to increased requirements for imported feed and higher on-farm levels of nitrate and ammonia being produced as a result. Not only have the dairy farmers not learned anything from how pigs and poultry went, they seen determined to hand the greenies as much ammo against agriculture as possible.

 

Arable, as you say, pretty much max input, max output.

 

Beef has a foot in both camps. Some beef reared fairly extensively, some reared very intensively such as bull beef units, and plenty at all points in between. But the beef industry could still be made much more eco-friendly without too much effort, easily transformable.

 

Finally sheep, generally the most eco-friendly sector in agriculture probably because sheep by and large don't do well with intensive management. Although a lot of the early spring lamb would be quite heavily fed on  concentrates rather than grass, but I don't think that's as big a thing as it used to be. It's not something we aim for anyway and our own lamb is fed on nothing but grass and their mothers milk.

 

So take agriculture as a whole, which is how others see it, and it's hard to disagree surely that from an environmental point of view there is much more wrong that right.

 

[coppice cutter]

16 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

I'm not sure what you mean, I'm not aware feeding sugar has anything to do with varroa.

 

I didn't read the entire article but I just assumed that allowing the bees to feed naturally makes them stronger and less susceptible to disease generally.

 

That's certainly the case with everything else, can't see why bees would be any different?

[coppice cutter]

15 hours ago, MattyF said:

Also burning some on the house stove right now  … just had to turn the back boiler pump on, considering it’s had ash on it for the last few months and it’s being a rarity unless fully loaded to have to do that any one saying it’s rubbish is talking out there arse !!

Split a couple of bits and put them in the cooker oven for a couple of days. Set them in to the stove last night and they burnt grand, not long lasting as you'd expect but perfectly useable.

 

Seems it just need particularly well dried with anything thickish better split or given an extra year.

Edited January 22, 2023 by coppice cutter

[woody paul]

I am burning lime at the moment mixed with willow horse chestnut and eucalyptus makes plenty of heat. 

Got about 8t of lime to log up for next year. 

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by woody paul

[nepia]

More positive input re lime than I expected I must say:  I'll broaden my mind and give it a better go I think.

I wonder if there's a bigger difference than usual between burning semi-mature 4" branch wood and fully mature 16" stem wood. I reckon that's the case with some softwoods certainly, notably Lawson's; timber from a proper big stem is good stuff but the smaller garden tree size stuff is a horror to split and burns up in minutes 

[coppice cutter]

My guess is that it has to be bone dry and then it's ok.

 

Some things are more tolerant of moisture content than others, it seems to be something particularly intolerant.

 

On the thickness thing, I find that for willow, the smaller branch wood burns better than thicker rings which have been split, really thin willow also makes good kindling. Whereas I've tried pencil thick lime for kindling (well dried!) and it was hopeless.

 

Lime has a very thick fibrous bark, maybe it's a factor.

 

 

[Steven P]

1 hour ago, coppice cutter said:

Lime has a very thick fibrous bark, maybe it's a factor.

 

My take, bark is the trees protective layer, it keep the moisture in (remember that when making firewood - split everything so there is wood exposed to dry), bark keeps the insects out and also some fire resistance... so the more bark I think the harder it will be to burn. Am sure we have all seen big old trees where the insides has been burnt, the outside is OK leaving a hollow core

[coppice cutter]

Something in my mind that back in the day lime bark was used for rope making, or something along those lines?

 

It is especially thick, even on thin branches.

[Paul in the woods]

Yes, lime bast is still used by some for cord and rope making, some examples here: https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/twisting-in-the-sun.88894/

 

I've planted some large and small leaf lime on my wood, mainly for their edible leaves. Last year was the first year the ones I grew from seed started to flower which was quite pleasing. Not the easiest plant to grow from seed.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Paul in the woods

[Macpherson]

19 minutes ago, Paul in the woods said:

Yes, lime bast is still used by some for cord and rope making, some examples here: https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/twisting-in-the-sun.88894/

 

I've planted some large and small leaf lime on my wood, mainly for their edible leaves. Last year was the first year the ones I grew from seed started to flower which was quite pleasing. Not the easiest plant to grow from seed.

 

A very interesting link, cheers.