Luke Quenby

Is anyone heading to this at Stoneliegh in a couple of weeks time? Royal Agricultural Society of England- Conferences Organised jointly by the RFS and RASE, looks like some good subjects being covered.

Anyone know where I can download a copy - or part of a copy - of this? Namely the section on coniferous / P. nigra yield class and form factor. I would be very grateful, ta!

Sounds about right to me, if you worked out DBH's, sample hieghts and used the tariff numbers and tables then your not going to be far off. The only sure fire way of knowing is when it's on the deck / in the mill so your only looking for an educated guess. Always better to be under than over when estimating volume anyhow.

I'm in, any way I can help get it together let me know, should be good!

On now, they're reeling in a gardening firm. Got to be honest they seem to be gunning for the arb and garden trades this series and it's getting a bit of a tired format now, set them up, get in an expert, turn them and then watch them run off. Done! Not saying these guys arn't bad news but you kind of no whats coming and we all know they're out there - quality cutting edge broadcasting? Not really in my opinion. If someone quoted me £1100 for a small garden clearance, it wouldn't be a long disscussion!!

Alder or Oak can be easier to get hold of than Elm, and as Nepia said has been found in peatbog and fenland excavations. Oak, Alder and S. Chestnut were used in the sweet track in Somerset. British Museum - Section of the Sweet Track

Yep, your right about Felco's quality. They are brilliant secateurs, I have a pair of 2's that I've had for 16 years now, I think I've replace the blade once. Thats a good point about them is the spares available like blades and springs etc. But a couple of summers ago I was doing a load of contract pruning on a big tree nursery, they gave me a new pair of 2's and 8's to use, as well as a Felco pull saw and I've got to say they had gone downhill massivley. Flimsy, didn't seem to be as well built or from as good materials in the past, the blade didn't keep an edge for as long and if I had shelled out 50 quid or so each I wouldn't have been happy. The nursery manager phoned Meyer, who they get all their stuff of off, and he said they have been having lots of complaints recently about quality. Apparantly the manufactering is now done overseas in the Far East, I wonder where.......... I don't know if they have sorted any of these problems out now, I also had a pair of Fiskars, which were suprisingly poor, seeing as most of the other tools they make are top notch. I would still say Felco's are the best, but maybe see if you can do a bit of digging round about the quality issues they have been having. They would be cutting their own throats to chuck away years of being known as the best just to scrimp on the finish, so who knows. As other have said, failing that, get a reasonable pair for a fiver and use and abuse then chuck away when done guilt free! If they last a year or two they will have done well!

These look pretty tidy! Felco Felcotronic 800

Sorbus aria or Whitebeam, pretty common for street / urban / amenity tree planting, and in woods too, but more of an understory tree than a canopy dominator. Think it is found more in the south and south west as a natural tree, and not so much to the north. Has red flowers similar to the rowan, same family. Very hard wood, bit like hornbeam and traditionally used for similar purposes like cogs and mill parts. So going on the fact that hornbeam is a cracking firewood, if not lengthy to season, then you could be onto a good thing! Though I've never burnt any myself so would be interested to know how you get on.

Definatley interested, probably only for a day or so, depends how much you would be after?

This one from the same site.............. Tree Trimmer Fall - Funny Video :: KillSomeTime.com

Buy Builders bags, Tonne Bags & Bulk Bags plus Dumpy Sacks & Jumbo Bags, UK suppliers of FIBC Bags and sacks Try these, theres plenty of bulk bag suppliers about. Some of them sell seconds and mis-printed ones off cheap, worht a few phone calls probably.

Second that, I'd start at about half of what your thinking. In theory you've got the bargaining power, they need to shift them and as the logs are oversized that limits where they can shift them to. Start low and good luck, could be a tidy deal for you!

Yep, a tree spade is for the digging of large rootball's / transplanting. Get in touch with Lee Winger on here, he does all that sort of thing and offers a nationwide service. If your a bit far from him he may know of someone who can help. Arbor Aeration - Tree Healthcare Specialist Link to Lee's site

The Forest Keeper jobs look really smart, bit gutted they are residential positions or I would be right on it! Very good opportunity for someone, jobs like that a bit thin on the ground these days........

Conservation Arborist - City of London Corporation, advertised with CJS. Good job here for someone, they are also looking for a senior and assistant forest keeper for Epping. Links to that can be found on their web site.

Like it!

Alder makes cracking firewood, some of the best there is, and good charcoal too. My advice would be to have a go at it yourself once you've done a bit more with the saw / got qualified. If your doing it for yourself you'll be in no hurry / no pressure, and the best way to learn is to practice! Maybe there is someone local to you or someone on here who is experienced and would come and give you a hand until your a bit more confident in exchange for some firewood? You should be able to get the coppice back into some sort of rotation (regular cutting) - say a third or half an acre a year - depending on how much is wooded. If your not geared up to sell and have a fire or woodburner it could save you money on fuel and the nice thought of being self-sufficient in wood to. If they are at the stage of falling, you need to start work fairly soon, at least on the worst bits. If part of it is ASNW you need to have some thoughts to longer term management. I don't know if you would quite qualify for needing a felling licence, but more info on that can be found in the FC website and its an easy process. You may also find your eligable for a woodland improvement grant (wig) under the ewgs, if you are doing restoration type work and bringing the wood back into production, I don't see why you wouldn't be eligable for some financial help. Speak to your local fc officer, again, check the web-site. Sounds like an interesting project you have in mind, some pictures of the wood and sizes of the trees may help get a bit more advice, as well as any long term plans you may have. The christmas trees could work well and give you a bit of extra income on a fairly quick turnaround, I think there are a few xmas tree growers on here who will no doubt pitch in with a few ideas and contacts. Most of all - enjoy it! Your lucky enough to own a wood and be part of its lifecycle, it will be hard work, good fun, educational and very rewarding!

No ta! Keep it simple - cool gadget but I reckon could get pretty annoying after a time, and no doubt fairly fragile to. As others say, I think the novelty would wear off soon and could get complacent because of it or encourage confidence above ability.

Smart winch there Beaver, and some top notch metal work by the look of it! Sure it will work well and you will be glad you fitted it when you need it. Winches are a sound investment imo

Management plans can be put together at any time of year. If you speak to your local Biodiversity Records Center thery should help you with records of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and plants found in the area you are looking at - they normally work on a 2km radius of a set grid reference and will probably charge you for the info. This may or may not include your wood specifically, it depends on wether or not it's been surveyed and recorded before. It's a good place to start and will provide you with plenty of back ground knowledge on what to look for and what potential habitat you have. From this you will be able to complete a phase 1 walkover survey so you have the underpinning information to help write or formulate a sound management plan, and it will take some of the guess work away. Or you could wait a few months and record it all yourself, but that can be quite a daunting task! Its worth looking at the BAP species in your area also, and seeing if you can tailor any of your management for specific species, this will also get extra 'points' if your thinking of applying for FC grant aid. And also be an all round good thing to do. Depending on where abouts in the Midlands you are your woods could play host to some of the rarer Hair Streak Butterflys, such as the Black which is in a fairly perilous state at the moment. Try to pick up on any signs of what has been done there before, and integrate this into any aims you may have for the wood now. If it has been undermanaged for the last 45 years or so, there may be historical records or even local people who could help fill in the blanks. A sound management plan is well worth taking the time to complete, will help attract funding if you are looking at any and give you a good methodical timetable for getting the wood back to where it needs to be. I've got a few template and previous management plans for ASNW, if you want them or any help with formulating one then drop me a pm, they could help you on your way a bit or give you some ideas. It sounds like the Syc will be a good firewood source and some of the Oak standards could be looked at for conversion, or some trees haloed out to allow better growth if still semi mature. As others have said creation of habitat is important, and with 45 acres to go at it sounds like an interesting project. Oak-Elm woods arn't that thick on the ground, so most of all - enjoy!

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/ewgs-wcg Should be a link to the FC woodland creation grant page, depends on how you score and what area your in. The plans and application arn't to traumatic to complete and fwp is affected and covered in the handout. It's all fairly self explanitary, and your local FC officer is definatley worth getting in touch with as he / she will help you with it and give a few hints and pointers. As far as I know src isn't covered as, as others have said, thats agricultural.

See it through Jazz. I quit a NDA half way through when I was your age for the same reasons, now in my mid thirties I'm back at college doing a degree in land management. I'm lucky enough to have a wife that supports me through this so I can finally complete my education and get the job I want. I know it's a drag as I've been there, and the course I'm on now can be a bit steady but trust me, you will regret it in years to come if you quit now. 2 years isn't that long when you've hopefully got 40 plus years in the workplace! Plus all the bits that you think are a bit irrelevant now will alll be tucked away in your brain and no doubt come in handy one day. Your a lot more employable and have greater earning potential if you can demonstrate a whole range of skills in your area such as ecology, wildlife and habitat management etc and all the theory that goes with it. The first year of the course I'm on was pretty dull in places, and is a lot more relevant and interesting this year. If you've got any concerns, speak to your course manager about what other modules you will be doing as they often like to go through the basics in the early part of the course so your up to speed for the fun bits! True enough, you could quit now and get a sound job and work away with no worries. But it's tough getting a good job at the moment, and the more armed with skills and knowledge, as well as enthusiasm and good work ethics you are the more chance you stand of getting on well. Stick with it mate, don't end up like me back in the classroom when your older than some of the lecturers!

Poplar - try this site for some fast growing trifids! Fast Growing Trees - Hybrid Willow and Poplar Trees - Game Cover - Bowhayes Trees Limited and it has a few good sections on the science and practice behind growing from cuttings