Planting a small woodland for fuel

[Stephen Blair]

Got to allow for thinning and losses shrekie

 

QUOTE]

 

never thought of that, cool.

[coolie]

Euc Nitens(a bluegum) is a very poplar firewood coppice tree in NZ.Usually established at 3m x 3m or 4m x 2m. lol

[Saw-sick Steve]

If using native species then Ash,Alder,Birch,Sycamore(yes,pedants,i know that one's debatable) and Cherry are all fast growing high yielding fuelwood trees that can be coppiced after a decade or so.If non natives are added to the mix then hybrid Larch and some of the nothofagus species are great,with phenomenal growth rates.

My own personal tip is to direct seed if possible or use as small a seedlings as you think you can get away with.The trauma a tree experiences at transplant time is overcome far sooner the younger it is.I've lost count of the number of times i've seen massed ranks of whips in their expensive shelters out-competed by natural regeneration.The National Trust used to be particularly adept at this, especially where they were trying to expand existing woods into adjoining fields.

Finally,if the option is available,try and scrape back to mineral soil, particularly if top soil is fertile.As well as removing weed competition,many of the fast growing 'pioneer' species seem to do better on bare ground.Oh, and if you want tree guards, see Markos thread below. Good luck!

[Daniel O'Reilly]

Hi. I'm new to this forum. Saw this thread and just thought I would add that I've found "Woodlands a practical handbook" by BTCV really helpfull for planning and pricing such work. I think it cost about £15 but well worth it. Daniel

[MattyF]

I work in a small wood about 20 years old and the alder has out grown nearly all the other species especially oak and beech but the ash has done very well i spose its all down to soil types as well.....i have seen the forresty commision has done experiments with growing eucylptus in kielder and it did not do to well,to cold and boggy perhaps??? i really dont like to see it in garden lets alone woodlands though, i hate the stuff and its a pig to split!

[Saw-sick Steve]

No fan of eucalyptus myself,not only are some species almost impossible to burn it also takes a lot of moisture and nutrients out of the soil. Alder and Ash are indeed phenomenal growers,as pioneer species should be.However,Oak and particularly Beech will come up beautifully underneath them.Speed of growth is invariably traded off against density of wood,hence a seasoned Birch or Alder log will way considerably less than an equivalent Beech or Oak.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

if it was me, and this represents a great oportunity, i would go with ash oak beech and hazel, great habitat fantastic fire wood and leave the soil well alone!

 

Scraping of the top layer! what you like!

[djbobbins]

I can't comment on the impact of Eucalyptus on soil, other than the fact that the two I've cut down (in my front and back garden) both had wide-ranging networks of roots just under the grass. Made a real bu*&er of my lawn!

 

What I can say is that both trees were, I believe, planted in the early 90s, and both were about 40" tall - they had both been subject to at least one pollarding in the past too.

 

I felled the first one in the summer of 2007 and the second in 2008. Both have been cut into 9 - 12 inch sections and stacked to dry / season.

 

Things I've learned:

 

The amount of greenery and unusable branches (stuff less than about 1.5" where the effort to cut it up for the fire seemed greater than the benefit of burning it) was higher than for e.g. alder.

 

The wood dries and cracks more than anything else I've seen. No photos but there are sections of trunk in my yard that look more like pacman than a circle.

 

Any sections without knots in will split - particularly if cracks have appeared during drying. Anything with knots in or at a fork you have got no hope of splitting.

 

At 2 and a half years after felling, the wood burns well in an open fire - good heat and holds together well without being too hard. Not far behind some seasoned ash as a firewood, I'd say.

 

You might want to take a look at this:

 

Prima Bio - eucalyptus specialists - promoting new uses for eucalypts

 

and this:

 

AIE - Firewood - information

 

 

In summary - if I had some land that I wanted to yield firewood from, and didn't have to think too hard about the future usability of the ground, I'd plant eucalyptus without a second thought.

 

Good luck!

[Saw-sick Steve]

Your conclusions are undermined somewhat by the links highlighted. Any self proclaimed ''firewood guide'' that ranks Alder and Larch - two excellent burning woods - at the bottom of the scale, deserves to be treated with scepticism.

I can't be assed to post links at this hour, but have a quick google re environmental damage caused by widespread planting of eucalyptus sp. in Africa and India. You might not be so enthusiastic in promoting its supposed virtues. Many indigenous species are available that provide excellent fuel and benefit wildlife - isn't that what we should be promoting?

[Bolt]

If its a log supply thats wanted, I would just plant Ash. Ticks all the boxes. Easy to establish, good growth rate, happy in UK conditions, Smells nice when you cut it, smooth bark ony your hands when you handle it, easy to split and burns like a good 'un (especially if you an impatient seasoner (yery low moisture content I am told).

 

Of couse, you would be wise to see whats already growing in the hedges. If there is no ash already about, maybe you should ignore the above.