richy_B

Hello all, I've been dealing with Japanese Knotweed for a few years and last year began stem injecting. I wanted to ask what concentrations people have been using and which chemical? From doing some research it seems only Roundup Pro Biactive (360 or 450) can 'legally' be used for direct stem injection. I used the 360 version and experimented with 2ml per stem neat and 4ml with 50/50 dilute with water. I've found the dilute easier to work with but of course you need to reload more often. I've also 'heard of someone' using a more common amenity glyphosate (Gallup Biograde Amenity) at similar concentrations with the good results. I've also recently been asked a best practise question in regards cleaning out the gun after use. Obviously in reality it differs but if you were in a demonstration/assessment setting what you say? I said if you wanted to be very safe you could refill the canister with just water then spray it till empty into an used pesticide container which was then disposed of by a authorised waste contractor. Couldn't really come up with a text book answer. Any ideas?

If you've got all those under your belt I'd say you were pretty sorted from most employers perspectives. Maybe PA1/PA6 for pesticides.

Only a mile down the road from me. The country is full of nutters but to be fair London has the lion's share. She must have been a real nutjob, to go away, get a knife and return is full on crazy.

A photo I took last season. There could be some some structural movement involved here as well but I'm confident the knotweed is a strong contributor (a large amounts of the stems have been washed away during high water levels) The worrying thing is this was a support for a two lane road bridge.

I treated about 5 hectares of knotweed last season in West London. All the Thames tributaries and the overground system have it growing in abundance. It only now seems to be getting to a point of real concern and I've seen mention of it on building insurances (similar to the proximity of large trees). The potential for damage is significant in my opinion.

I don't think there is a knack to it really, it just comes with time. In the last 3 years I've had to start regularly presenting to large groups (up to 150) and it took me at least 5-6 meetings till I wasn't panicking and a year of it till I felt confident.

In the last 6 months I've had a ms362 with a 18" bar and I've been very impressed with it. I am sure that with a 25" it would be good for this application.

I looked into this as an option but the idea of buying a site them legally and properly dividing up seemed to be expensive and relatively complicated. The option of buying and working together (gentlemans agreement as opposed to legally binding) obviously avoids these issues but in practise I doubt things would run smoothly (splitting cost/income, usage, management etc). In principle it seems like a good way of doing it though and perhaps a middle ground could be found with the formation of a co-op or similar. I would be interested in talking more about this if anyone else has an interest. In regards the FC sell off its hard to know how it will work out. You would assume lots of land coming onto the market at once would lower the cost but as someone said it could draw a lot of attention from the purely capital focused investors. From the FC perspective I would have though that a staggered sell of over a decade would be far more efficient but time obviously isn't on there side. From talking to some contacts at the EA I've heard are facing major reductions in operating budgets.

Decent size woodlands in the southeast are expensive. I've been looking for years for a good opportunity as can only echo what you have mentioned. I've looked at a few of that size in Kent in the last 2 months and price/size wise for 15-20 acres was between £65,000 and £110,000 guideprice. Several sold for more than the asking. Even at a relatively small size a lot of the woodlands have public rights of way across them which I found a bit off putting. In regards what you intend to do with the land you probably need to narrow it slightly. Coppice work, charcoal burning, firwood suits the more mature or overstood woodlands but would make growing christmas trees in any kind of density impossible. Its hard to find a site offering both. You should consider leisure uses for the woodland as well as a means of get some sort of contribution into the running costs. All sorts of rules and regulations but there is the possibility of using the woodland as an educational site (which attracts grants etc), camping or 'wilderness camping', rent sections as a training site (arb/agriculture), paintball or offroading (although pretty saturated markets), etc, etc. Lots of hoops to jump through but worth investigating. On a less encouraging note I feel that you might be able to find a hobby that contributes towards its own costs but you're unlikely to make much in the ways of profit.

Hello, I do a bit of milling myself and whilst googling for some info earlier I saw this http://timbergreenforestry.com/Sawmilling Big Logs With A Chain Sawmill.html The two saws running on the same bar is something I've not even thought about let alone seen. Anyone seen this sort of thing in action?

I work primarily in watercourse maintenance these days and we work on the basis that all blockages/obstructions are 'owned' by the riparian owner. The riparian owner defined as the person who owns the land the river crosses (its 50/50 with your neighbour if its your border). A spanner I'd throw into the works is the potential damage of pulling wood from a river. If you are pulling out small lengths its not an issue but if you winch out a bit trunk you are going to tear the banks up which can lead to erosion etc.

Hello, read through the 'who owns a woodland' thread and one or two posts got me thinking. Has anyone here got any experience of get planning and building a permanent dwelling in a woodland? I did a bit of research before and its obviously not a straight forward thing to get PP for but it seems if you can justify a need to be on site you can get it. I looked at a productive woodland for sale recently that was 40 hectares (30 corsican pine and the rest mixed broadleaf). I thought something of that size will potentially year round felling you stand a good chance of getting consent. Anyone got any views?

I'm in california at the ned of the month and did contemplate this. I dunno about bring a saw back in the suitcase though.

Got it and replied.

Good suggestion - £452 with a 12" bar. About an hours drive from me but would be worth it for that kind of saving.

Ealing, dealer I visited was gayways.

Sounds like it was a bit pricey then. I did have a brief look at Capel Manor last week but I was was on a course so only had 30 mins to 'shop'. A guy on the husky stand said an updated version of the 338 was coming out in late summer/autumn so I might just hang on and see what thats like.

Hello all, was at the local Stihl dealers the other day and was talking to the owner about replacing my top handled saw and he offered me a 200T for £530 inc VAT. This didn't sound like the deal of the century so I queried it and he said stihl had put the prices up a far bit this year. Am I just being tight or does it sound like there quite a dealers mark up on it?

I had a similar conversation during my 32. The guy said trying to find someone to do the assessment was difficult and trying to find enough CS33 sized trees to practise on was even more difficult.

As some one said, you are best to go for the highest straight off the mark. I looked into C1+E then foun that for an extra £250 I could do the full C+E. Full HGV is really an asset in arb and forestry work.

I think there is a big difference between waste and arisings. I only generate waste when dealing with invasive species spraying like knotweed not arb work. Woodchip, firewood logs and millable logs all have value. Most companies sell off this stuff or at worst give it away for free. I don't think you'll be able to charge for it. If I had a large yard available I'd make it very secure and let the space out. Maybe fill it with containers and offer lets on them.

Is that Reading uni you are at? I was told they are one of the biggest landowners in berks. They must have a good selection of fun trees.

I do a bit of rec climbing. West London is limited, plenty of nice trees but all in prominant places like parks or verges that will attract a lot of attention and you'll be asked to stop in no time. Where do you go currently? Engelfield estate near reading is huge and has loads of big oaks.

I'd avoid anything muddy. Most are 4X2 and have road tyres so are not going to be much use. You'll get away with it most of the time but when you do get stuck you'll really know about it. Not only would a fully loaded 7.5t with a chipper on the back be a pig to get moving you're also going to churn the site up in the process. Not great from the customers perspective.

The industry is full of amateurs and cowboys. Too often I see a wally wearing a track suit up a ladder with a b&q chainsaw. The kind of person who looks to make a quick buck and will no doubt be flytipping all the arisings into the closest alley. Even if they get caught out they will just start trading under a new name. Its a hard problem to stop.