Willow

[arbwork]

if you have the site for it then bat willows , fastest return in any situation and you can do the kindling , logs what ever with the lop and top , if you need more info ask,

[Jocky]

yes more info would be great on bat willow. type of ground needed how fast are the returns etc.

 

Thanks for the link to that website, it was very useful

[Jocky]

just been reading through that website. I have use of a tractor with a topper and could get a subsoiler so that would be my prefered choice (spaying the planting strips and mow inbetween them) however I would like to get the planting done this spring but I havent done any spraying. is there another way of clearing the weeds from the planting strips?

[muldonach]

Have you got deer on your ground?

 

If the answer is yes then just about the last thing you want to do is spray planting strips.

 

We have never tried to plant willow - quite the reverse actually - but from what I have seen getting it to grow is not a problem - 6" diameter logs will happily sprout regrowth if they have any ground contact at all.

 

From what I have seen all you have to do is stick some cuttings in and walk away - no need for any mowing or spraying.

 

I second others comments on firewood qualities as well - we burn loads of it quite happily. The only problem I have is that it will grow in any direction except straight but ours are self seeded and self layered

 

Cheers

mac

[Jocky]

no deer. I think it will grow if you stick it in and walk away, but If you want to maximise your returns you have to put a bit of work in?

[Stereo]

We planted some kind of willow whip in the garden a couple years ago. It came free with a cherry tree we were given but with no identification. I cut a slot with a spade and showed it. It's now at least 4 metres tall and must be 4" at the base. At the rate its going I can see 6" in 12 months. It's insane. As it is I plan to log it this year and get it to coppice. I might also take a load of cuttings and stick them in around the place where we have boggy land.

[pembswoodrecycling]

Can the yields really be that good though?

some of the websites claim 10ton/acre/year!!!

if thats true then that makes just the logs worth about £700/acre/year, thats more than three times what you can expect to make with beef cattle on good clean land. It can't be right or everyone would have already turned their land back into trees.

[arbwork]

Worlds Largest English Cricket Bat Willow Supplier here is one of the people with the most info and advice for bat willow production, always be carefull with a mono culture though ! cheers J

[Jocky]

cheers. do you know roughly what price you would get per tree all being well?

[Chris Gagen]

My family have used Wrights for probably the last 45 years. Absolutely no complaints with their service. Re. the growth rates of willow the fastest we've grown a bat willow to the optimum 5 foot circumference (roughly 20 inch diameter) is 16 years. I've used the tops for a couple of years now as firewood to sell, this year mixed with conifer (thanks Frosty!!) and am selling this at £80 per cube. Next year's is to be mixed with sweet chestnut. Whilst it wont last as long as a hardwood mix it certainly burns hot, but i am able to supply it cheaper than the hardwood as i'm not paying for the cord!

I do produce kindling now as well, but i've yet to try any volume of willow in the kindlett, I find it a very stringy timber to split, but having said that i will be trying some soon.

 

This year i was paid £270 per trunk, with Wrights supplying new sets FOC on the understanding i will continue to do business with them. We harvest around 30 trees each year from a continuous stock of around 600 trees.