coppiceer

I heard my first cuckoo of the year yesterday (26/4 in NW Leics.). Nothing quite like their call to raise my spirits after a long hard Autumn. Earlier than last year(May 10th.) but possibly not early enough as the Dunnocks have probably nested already. I have been feeding them mealworms all winter to keep a good population going.

I produce my own firewood for domestic consumption. Over the years I have moved to a process of splitting the wood as soon as possible and storing it outside for 2 years, stacked in a pallet "sandwich" and with pondliner covering the whole. I stack each row at 90 degrees to the ones above and below. This system allows for maximum airflow around the cut faces of the logs. My stacks are in an open sunny area and the sides are completely exposed to the rain. When brought inside sheds and storerooms for the final summer's drying, it is those logs from the outside of the stacks that end up the lowest moisture conent. The repeated drying and rewetting process aids the movement of sap from the centre of the log to the cut surface(seasoning). All this involves a lot of trouble, but I do get a much hotter and cleaner fire than before.

Personally I would coppice each stool completely, as the stems that remain will compete with any new regrowth for nutrients and will probably win. Also, removing all of the stems will, in itself, help to reduce the canopy cover. Would it be possible to prune the standard trees so as to remove as many low/medium height overhanging branches as possible? I have found that even Ash provides enough canopy cover to impede hazel regrowth. Overhanging branches are going to be your main problem as well-pruned standards will provide the side-shade and shelter required for good hazel growth. I agree with Hedgesparrow about the need to cover the newly coppiced stools. I cut up the smallest branches and loosely pile them up to a height of 4'-5', with a generous spread around the stool. This provides a good micro-climate for the new shoots. I haven't had any problems with rabbits but you could try a dead-hedge around the coppice area using the thicker waste if necessary.

Possibly a way for threadstarters to rate replies on helpfulness: the way that happens on Amazon. Then the level of membership (senior, junior, etc) could be assigned based on this rating rather than on number of posts.

I use an elastic band to strengthen my wrists. It's a bit difficult to explain, but take an elastic band and loop it around your little finger, threading one end through the other to form a tight knot. Then wind the band around the little finger and slip the free loop of the band over your thumb. At this point your thumb and little finger should be pulled together by the elastic band. Now try pulling your fingers apart and thus flattening your palm. Keep flexing your hand in this way for 50 or so times. As your wrist gets stronger you can increase the tension in the band. This is a standard exercise for Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers and it really works.

Anyone know about any petitions being organised?

I have found a related article from 1970 in the RFS Quarterly Journal of Forestry. Apparently there had been a lot of debate about the merits of using chainsaws, as opposed to axes, in coppicing. The sunnary is as follows: "The increasing use of power saws for coppice cutting would appear to be in direct conflict with one of the long-established rules of coppicing, namely that all cuts be made with an axe and all cut stools rounded to shed water. An investigation of some of the comparative effects on coppice re-growth of cutting by axe and cutting by chainsaw has thus been made and this paper describes the results". Unfortunately, as is the norm for the Forestry Commission, the study only lasted for a single season and thus the long-term effects of chainsaw use were never established. The findings of the study indicated some differences in regrowth between the two methods but they were not significant. However, as they only compared 8 stools from 4 species (1 axed and 1 chainsawed) that isn't surprising. I don't understand what was meant by the use of the term "rounded" in the summary, but my experience with hazel shows that felling with a axe produces additional "adventitious" buds around the wound scars which are not present when the stools are smoothly cut with either a chainsaw or handsaw. This increases the productive capacity of the stool and doesn't affect its health. The Forestry Commisiion dismiss these shoots as "shortlived" but they produce good binders after 3 years so I don't see the problem. The cd-rom archive from the RFS is a very good source for historical material if you can get hold of one.

I have found Cutting Edge saws very good. FR Jones sell them.

As I understand it, all transplants were cut back either at planting or after 1 year. Those intended for coppice were left to grow on with multiple stems, whereas those intended to be standards were reduced to the single best stem. This would probably explain the absence of any historical mention of problems that occur when the first cut is delayed. Also some species do not maintain many dormant buds on their trunks and so are less likely to regenerate than others.

Hazel !8th and 19th century experts argue whether it's best to cut at the time of planting or to leave for a year. I have tried both, plus leaving for 5 years to establish a good root system. If planting in a shrub shelter then I found that it was best to trim the stem back to 4" at the time of planting: this avoids unnecessary disturbance to the plant roots and the bother of removing and replacing the shelter; If you don't have a deer problem then I found that it was best to remove any shrubshelter before it impeded the growth of the plant and to cut after five years: there is then planty of bushy growth that can be chopped up and loosely piled on the stump to protect from rabbits and create a nice cosy micro-climate for the new regrowth; It is always better to use a Tubex shrubshelter than any other protection for new plantings. Trimming back after 1 year and piling loose material over the stem invariably killed the plant. Birch First cut must be made within a couple of years of planting. None of my birch has ever regrown when left longer than 2 years. Ash/ Oak First cut made after the first 2 years has always resulted in twisted, bushy regrowth. Cornus Can't really stop it regrowing. Bird Cherry No problem with leaving for 5-6 years. Regrowth is always good, plus it throws up plenty of suckers from the roots. Wild Cherry Sometimes it will regrow strongly, sometimes it won't. I have coppiced trees up to 10 years old with mixed success. However it usually grows like a weed in my wood.

Forgive me, but I am a bit confused as to what you are trying to achieve. I congratulate you on experimenting but eventually you are going to have to coppice your trees and then the deer are going to devastate your crop. Could I suggest that you continue with your 1.2m shelters until you have plenty of growth on your plants. Then, when you coppice them use all of the material to form a good dead-hedge around your experimental area. By good I mean a hedge at least 5' tall and 3' wide secured by a double-row of 2" posts. Another exeriment that might work for the larger deer species is to dig out a ditch around the experimental area, throwing up the spoil to form a bank and then erecting your hedge on the top of that. Deer are such a problem that it is worth the effort to find a way to exclude then from working coppice.

There is no coppice group in the Midlands. I tried to get the National Forest to sponsor such a group but I was met with total indifference. You could get in touch with the Leicestershire Wildlife Trust to see if they need some help. If you have the requisite chainsaw certificates I would have thoght that they would have welcomed you with open arms.

I do the same thing. I only cut wood for my own persoal use, but, after considerable experimentation, I have found that splitting wood when green and stacking in this way is the quickest system to get the moisture content down to a "safe" percentage. The ends which were exposed to the rain eventually recorded the lowest moisture content once those logs had been in the house for a few days. When I say "safe" I mean a lot less problems with tar build up in my woodburner/chimney and a lot fewer lectures from my chimney sweep.

Coppiceer - I had false acacia in the garden and surrounding forest when I lived in central France but it was a tad dryer there than N wales - would it still survive/thrive? and how would it be looked on in terms of "nativeness"? You didn't say it needed to be native. It was introduced into this country in the late 18th century by William Cobbett. Everything that you need to know is in his book : "The Woodlands". A "dead Hedge" would provide a good quick temporary barrier whilst your new hedge was establishing. It would be going brittle and rotting away just at the time that your new hedge was starting to be a practical deterrent.

I would plant Robinia pseudoacacia. They are fast growing, will grow anywhere and, if kept trimmed, as a hedge will have the most fearsome thorns of all.

Some good advice here. thanks. What is best to use for sealing the ends?

I just thought it might be worth trying a few on ebay. I "rescued" several hundred from a local highways sceme, which were destined for landfill, and now use them repeatedly. The trouble with the tubex tubes is that they are too good. They are supposed to split at the perforation and not need removing but if you do that then the bark seems to suffer. Plus they do spoil the look of the place. If the cardboard planters won't damage the trees when left on then I agree with you.

Yes, thanks broonie. I know about the National Coppice Federation website. Their page has been saying "more details to follow" for months. It was the idea of a "National Coppicing Register" that had me confused; so I wondered if Hedgesparrow had some secret list to hand.

Brilliant. Looking forward to selling lots of binders in the Midlands.

I am not sure who the owners are but if it's a charity or volunteer organisation, I would have thought that it was in their interests to supply volunteer labour under your guidance to do the initial clearance work to both your and their satisfaction. At this point you and they could make a proper assessment of the site's potential and go from there. I haven't heard of the National Coppice Register before; any more info?

I find that old Tubex shelters still work well on new plantings. I drill new holes into the sides, put on releasable cable ties and attach them to 3' hazel stakes that I grow myself. If you can cut them along the perforation to get them off the original tree/shrub, then the shelter closes up really well and they look and work as if they were new. Some of my shelters are now 20 years old and still protecting new young plants after 3-4 re-uses. Try advertising the best of them for sale and giving the worst to some community planting project.

Sorry LeBucheron, I had forgotten that there were Frenchpeople on this site. I didn't mean to imply that any Frenchperson who simply wanted to win his national race on his national day was "crazy", simply patriotic. I would love to see Msr. Voeckler or Msr Rolland win on Sunday. As for Sir Cav; well, at the risk of upsetting others, I still remain committed. After all, lots of other great riders have been Prima Donnas, I understand that Bernard Hinault for example, had the sort of personality that could have started a fight in an empty room.

That's all very true. Also, as its on Bastille day there will be plenty of crazy Frenchmen trying to get the stage win. I hope that Sir Chris can get some additional time in hand in Wednesday's time-trial. Meanwhile here's hoping Sir Cav can get some more sprint victories this week.

I'm glued. I record the live show on ITV4 each day so that I can skip over the adverts. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, etc. make ITV4 a much better show than Eurosport. I get Eurosport on the same HDTV via a PC so as to see all the other road races. I have waited since the 2011 Vuelta to see Mr. Froome win a stage like Saturday's but what do people think about Peter Kennaugh? And can the Sky team cope with Movistar next Sunday on Mont Ventoux?

Good call. I checked my plants and the leaves are identical.