Planting a small woodland for fuel

[gibbon]

I've been asked to provide a quote to plant a small wood on a private estate with a view to eventualy producing some woodfuel for the house. The site is currently pasture on a small hillside facing a town 10 miles from the coast.

 

I am thinking of planting around 200 trees, a mix of Ash, Alder and Hazel at 2m spacing with some Oak standards. These wood be screef planted then mulched for a 1.5m radius. Eventually the coppice would be cut on a 15 year cycle harvesting 40 stools every 3 years.

 

I've not done much woodland management before so would appreciate any advice on whether this is a feasible idea, choice of species and an idea of the volume of wood likely to be produced?

[Giles Hill]

I don't know about the choice of species from a woodfuel point of view - they're all reliable species, although I think hazel can be slow to establish if it's very dry & exposed. It's often a good idea to see what's growing in the local hedgerows.

 

Deer can be a nuisance too, do you know if they're likely to be a problem?

 

Regarding the mulch, you'll be covering the whole area - twice in places at the spacings / radi you're giving!

[Charlieh]

I've been asked to provide a quote to plant a small wood on a private estate with a view to eventualy producing some woodfuel for the house. The site is currently pasture on a small hillside facing a town 10 miles from the coast.

 

I am thinking of planting around 200 trees, a mix of Ash, Alder and Hazel at 2m spacing with some Oak standards. These wood be screef planted then mulched for a 1.5m radius. Eventually the coppice would be cut on a 15 year cycle harvesting 40 stools every 3 years.

 

I've not done much woodland management before so would appreciate any advice on whether this is a feasible idea, choice of species and an idea of the volume of wood likely to be produced?

 

200 trees

 

i would have thought you would want to be a bit higher than that? smallest FC establishment grant i belive is 0.25ha which is 50x50m plot and that would require 275 trees (based on 1100/ha)

 

also i dont think you will get a whole load of wood fuel from it, i think for self sufficent biomass production a domestic house set up requires about 3ha of fast growing willow/poplar species, (although if its just logs for the fire in winter then this figure may be ok, although i would still think it wants to be higher)

 

also if you do a woodland mgmt plan (£400 grant) on the FC template as part of your application to them, you will get the felling licenses sorted and approved with no bother for a set time, this extra income from FC might mean you could charge a bit more for the work rather than just having the Landowner coughing up for the trees and mulch, it might be more appealing to them

[gibbon]

Thanks, I've been meaning to look into grants, may get time tommorow. I think the client is a bored millionaire type. He has already said that he has no real plans to harvest it its just something that he want to do because he has the land and knows some one else who has done it. Even so, if its just a dinner party topic, I still want to quote for something thats workable.

[Stephen Blair]

2m seems a bit close to me, i dont have any experience in planting this but i have felled loads and go for walks in old coppice, the ones that do really well must be about 5 m appart. just my 2p worth mate

[Mr Ed]

Got to allow for thinning and losses shrekie

 

I would go for eucalyptus regans in that mix, as its a fast grower with very high calorific value (looks nice too!), and some Pinus nigra or radiata as a shelter belt around the edges. Alder is very good coppice, as is Hazel, but dont let the hazel spread to far.

[Charlieh]

I would go for eucalyptus regans in that mix, as its a fast grower with very high calorific value (looks nice too!), and some Pinus nigra or radiata as a shelter belt around the edges. Alder is very good coppice, as is Hazel, but dont let the hazel spread to far.

 

eucalyptus regans now thats a fast growing tree, saw some pics at a FC event of one at 9yrs old and it was 12" dbh or it may have been a hybrid

 

i have been burning alder for the last month for my hot water and cooking on it was felled in march, a really underestimated timber, it seems to have dried really quickly as well, split within a week of felling, then left to air dry for two months and saw to logs moved inside for a month it gets really hot

[slasherscot]

2m is a bit far apart, start with them a metre a part, thin after 15 to 20 years, any further apart and they will be 2 much lower branchwood,u want lean clean stems, if u can rabbit fence the area, plant without tubes

[Mark Cattell]

I,d take a look at other local wood produces stock, pay a visit there usually ok and you may pick up some more work while your there.... or you can just pretend you after a supplier and pick thier brains about what they can supply, planting densities, drainage and irrigation ect. Also get yourself a good ref book for information that you can relay to the client.. regards the long trem management.. prep and aftercare are really important to success... I'd always encourage using native stock and theres more grants available for this type of planting... and if they decide not to bother managing the plantation then you can be proud of creating a native woodland for the future....

[Tom D]

eucalyptus regans now thats a fast growing tree, saw some pics at a FC event of one at 9yrs old and it was 12" dbh or it may have been a hybrid

 

i have been burning alder for the last month for my hot water and cooking on it was felled in march, a really underestimated timber, it seems to have dried really quickly as well, split within a week of felling, then left to air dry for two months and saw to logs moved inside for a month it gets really hot

 

I was reading that alder makes the best charcoal for gunpowder, and was used extensively as pollards back in the days of the empire. Gotta keep those frogs in their place.