Arob

Saw Sia on Jools Holland [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aLwFzxqncFo[/ame] made me smile, but haven't shopped around to hear any more of their stuff. have you seen this guy though! [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=27POI9uH94M[/ame] probably won't buy the album, but fun to see.

Atree, if you liked FSOL's Papua New Guinea, you might also like this [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uVM9M6i9ZoU&feature=related[/ame] Papua New Guinea was a real one off it seems, the album it was off, Accelerator, is otherwise a bit dull. Follow up album Lifeforms was a bit more interesting, and a bit more paranoid, but PNG was a real stand out track for them. However if you like Lifeforms you might also enjoy the album 'Amber' by Autechre (on Warp label) If you click around on you tube you might find a few other Banco de Gaia tracks, but there aren't many from the Maya album, which iirc was pretty decent, there's a live version of kincajou, but compared to the original its a bit dead! Imagine you're familiar with Coldcut and their label Ninja Tune? If not, well worth checking out [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=paVAsE-AFlU&feature=related[/ame] [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2mkMWXGsnb8&feature=related[/ame]

Yes, I imagine it must be. I suppose that's how trees that spread by layering go about it - having growth buds on roots, though I don't think that beech is known for suckering, but then could be wrong as I'm not sure which trees are known to sucker - other than elm perhaps, isn't that one of the factors that helped DED spread?

Not sure J. Best voice, hard to say; best linguist, hard to surpass Stanley Unwin. Another blast from the past for you, one to rattle the cone off your bin! [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NwRMLpxjt58&feature=PlayList&p=C6CFB5EE1621160B&index=7[/ame] Not sure who cockney type towards end of this is but makes me think of Jah Wobble "Oh A13..." [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=94MkQX4atdI&feature=related[/ame]

Having been blasted into the past by Mr Ed it brought recollections of [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ssJfWcj4dK0[/ame] (if you've got the bass for it) which somehow led to.... [ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QyF2SQrMy5w&feature=related[/ame] (preferred the book, they've had a good go with the video but my rendition's a bit more comical - like the song)

I'm not sure that's correct, 25-27% more likely represents the fibre saturation point, however I can't say what the average moisture content of green ash is. (It's very unusual to find green wood with m.c.'s below 40% - it can go up to 200% - this usually relates to the density, ash is pretty dense but there are many denser timbers, so we can assume that on average it'll typically be a good bit above 40%) Above the level of fibre saturation point there is free (conductive) moisture within the cells, below that level the remaining moisture is bonded to the cellulose and so takes more energy to (break the weak hydrogen bonds and) dry, so you'll lose the vast majority of free water before the bonded water is lost. Dropping below the fibre saturation point, with associated loss of bound water will affect dimensional stability and lead to 'movement' in the wood causing it to twist, split, etc. Air drying alone is unlikely to bring the moisture content below 17%, (but as has been said in previous posts) this depends upon size, species, how split, etc etc If you have the time, and wanted to check the accuracy of your moisture meter you could take a sample of the wood, weigh it, then oven dry it and weigh it again, a bit of a faff, but if you take a small enough piece (or increase surface area to volume ratio) it needn't take too long (but the smaller the piece the more accurate the scales you'll need).

Maybe nothing new to others on the forum, but this was the first time I've ever come across something like this. On a roadside cutting which had eroded I noticed this beech was sprouting from its roots. (Pics are from phone so a bit crap.)

As the hedge plants develop from shrubs to trees lower branches get shaded out and if left the hedge will become gappy at the bottom and your sheep and lambs will get out. By laying it you close the gaps and can encourage new and more vigourous growth at a lower height and keep your stock safe. I think you knew that already tho.

If you have been watching The Victorian Farm tonight you'll have seen Owen Jones making an oak swill basket. Owen and a number of other craftsmen and women pass on some of their skills at an annual week in the woods, typically there are classes on coppicing, charcoal making, green woodturning, hurdle making and so on. On the final day a number of other craftspeople show up, in past years these have included wheelwrights, very rare skills these days. If you'd like to learn more see http://coppiceapprentice.org.uk/ and click on pioneers.

He certainly turned a few stones over! Doesn't take many prisoners, I smiled when I heard that after meeting David Cameron he had described him as a 'lightweight', also heard today that he said something along the lines of "boys, pull your pants up". He is an unusual confluence and hopefully will be able to connect across divides; it does seem remarkable how quickly a different perspective can be put on the world, I hope he, and his vision of moving towards global unity, and peace and justice for all, have stamina.

Instead of wine, why not 'lay down' a couple of cans of condensed milk? After a few years they turn to something more like caramel - delicious on ice cream!

Arbtalk.co.uk Log On!

I think it marries conservation and woodland management well (but i think that's a hallmark of the author), i tend to dip in and out for referencing and haven't needed to go cover to cover, but based upon my scant knowledge this wouldn't be a bad book for someone in footsoldiers position to take a look at. I'd imagine that it could be obtained, perhaps via an inter-library loan?

Thanks Ed, that's impressive engineering. Presumably then you'll have an optimum level of throughput - you'll need to a minimum throughput of energy for the system to function - so will this mean that it is great in the winter but not useful for parts of the year when you still might want some background heat?

Does the wood have any public access; public rights of way, bridleways etc if so you'll have to very careful of public liability issues. If you have no prior experience you may benefit from undertaking a woodland management plan, that may help you to better outline your aims and objectives, reveal and help to resolve various disparate issues and make you better equipped you could try this link to get you started www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/guidancenote12.pdf/$FILE/guidancenote12.pdf it's probably not worth the hassle of putting in a grant claim, but completing a WMP will provide useful terms of reference regarding management and perhaps bring you up to speed with your legal responsibilities. You might also enjoy reading up on some of George Peterken's work, this will help you fill in some of the silvicultural blanks and also connect the silvicultural and ecological aspects. Woodland Conservation and Management ISBN 0 412 27450 7 may be a good starter. If you haven't already, you may find it useful to get in touch with the Small Woods Association http://www.smallwoods.org.uk/ Good luck, looks like it could be a lot of fun!

Ed, have you any good links for these systems? Like Buzz, I'd have thought that damp chip would require a high base heat to combust it, and that in evaporating excess moisture that energy would be lost reducing efficiency and base heat accordingly - imagine there's a heat recovery condensing system involved, to get higher efficiencies. Would be interesting to learn more.

If you've got a bench vice you might find this more stable than a field vice, might help if you put the chainbrake on before you sharpen each cutter. You might also find this thread useful http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=852

This is the challenge though Dave, in all aspects of life we've pushed to maximise yields (and ignore the side effects!). Much of this is connected to warfare, the FC was created as a direct response to the consequences of WWI, the 'green revolution' in agriculture which has encouraged increased mechanisation and the chemical alternative was a direct response to the effects of WWII. In economic terms these economies of scale make perfect sense, but then there's the cost... in recent years though we've seen market differentiation bucking this over-simplified economic model. We now accept people are willing to pay a little extra, or retailers are willing to specify, to offset some of these costs, hence B&Q's backing of FSC timber etc, and the successes of farmers markets, fairtrade products etc. This seems to provide a more workable alternative than trying to 'offset' as it's integrated into the business rather than 'bolted on' which seems an afterthought. But as farmers markets have proved you need to be able to provide a superior quality product to a local market, typically not so easy in this industry, but on small woodland projects close-ish to people, or destinations perhaps, is it possible to integrate a high profit value adding production element? Perhaps it needs to be connected to a farm which has a farm shop and the two could cross-pollinate? I like A De J Hart's Forest Gardening but maybe it's a bit too extreme to realise, I wonder if we could see any simpler agroforestry systems taking off to meet niche markets? (Having had grant aided grubbing up of orchards a decade or two back perhaps we can expect a reversal of that policy sooner than later?) I remember hearing someone saying that the last century saw the transition from man being surrounded by nature to nature being surrounded by man, this will surely necessitate a change in psychological perspective, perhaps we'll be less in fear and value nature more.

So can mulching provide a viable alternative to spraying? If so, when? What kind of mulch (raw chip, composted chip etc) and what regime is required to keep weeds suppresed? I'm not a revolutionary thanks Phenom, though it seems it may be prudent to speak to experienced people to learn about effective alternatives to current accepted practice, even if that practice is endorsed by the FC. Don't wish to be harsh or over critical of the FC but look at the reversals in planting policy over the past couple of decades, these things change, and not without reason.

In case anyone is interested in doing a bit further reading, I found the Blueprint for a Green Economy series by David Pearce to be interesting reading. It consistently points the difficulty we have in assigning values to things. The main thrust, as I read it, is that the difficulty arises from the fact that our economic system relies upon a simple system of pricing. As we all know, to be viable a business must make a profit, and that profit is produced by keeping the level of sales above the level of costs. If we take a familiar whipping boy as an example; deep sea pair trawlers are going to cost a bit to buy, equip and run. They go out to sea for a few days drag a heavily weighted net across the bottom of the sea and come home hoping they can sell their cod for enough to cover their costs and produc a profit. Now what determines the price of fish? Supply and demand. Right? As it won't keep indefinitely, there will be traders who are in touch with wholesalers, who in turn are in touch with restaurants and chip shops who in turn are in touch with their customers. If other boats have already landed a load of fish, they may struggle to cover costs, if there's a bigger demand they get a better price. Whatever price they get is determined by the end user's willingness to pay, (there is a maximum) less the costs of the various people in the supply chain, ideally each person makes a small profit and everybody's happy. But, there is a further cost, that is the damage to the sea bed. This is not very obvious to most but its effects are cumulative, dramatic and unbalance the food chain. Eventually cod stocks go into severe decline, prices to the consumer go up. Traditionally free market economists have cited this as self-regulating, after all who's going to pay thirty quid for a fish supper? The problem with this is it doesn't account for the ability of stocks to recover, (assumes that they will recover or that it doesn't matter if they don't), or, for the knock-on effects on non-target species. So who pays this cost? Similar examples can be found in all major industries; forestry, agriculture and mining to name a few. It is not unrelated to the fact that cheap, sugary, fatty, heavily processed and additive laden food is cheap to buy, but expensive to consume. Hats off to Jamie Oliver for his school dinners. This, it seems, represents the challenges that we face. One example of an alternative to GDP is http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1016266,00.html

Just to chuck a couple of cats in amongst the pigeons; 1) Is mulching for life, not just for Christmas? You have chosen to mulch a tree in order to ameliorate compaction and thereby improve soil conditions, having acheived this goal a few years later, must you continue this regime, or is there an option to phase out? Will it be possible or desirable to return to previous vegetation type and management regime, eg grass and grass cutting, or will consequence of improving soil be a change in climax vegetation with the increase in more vigourous grasses and other weeds? Discuss. 2) Can mulching ever provide the solution to widespread root compaction? Having begun to see some success in using mulches to decompact around the roots of trees, you are keen to extend the use of the technique, but before doing so you must establish the limiting factors in using this technique. Are all of your sites suitable? What are the management requirements? etc Finish writing the question, then discuss

Fair comment and a perfectly reasonable approach. I used cardboard mulch (and when i ran out of that used newspaper about 6 sheets thick) on allotment a few years back, wanted to avoid chemicals, and found no signs of any problems of the kind that a plastic mulch might produce, however no doubt the type of soil matters, and existing vegetation types may also proclude a mulch only approach. One of my reasons for using the corrugated cardboard was down to it's beneficial effects on worms and their health and activity is obviously key to soil condition (worms = good soil = good plants) have to confess being a tad miffed like DMC when realising that we didn't have non-mechanical approach to compare with pics from Lee's jobs:001_tongue:, perhaps a larger study is needed anyway.

All theft though isn't it? Who lost out when the materials were stolen?

bump (...interesting to read influences which have helped shape careers...)

Then good for you Tana Mahuta. Tea anyone?