coppiceer

Bird Cherry (Prunus padus) smells like cats' urine as you cut it; so you probably won't want to burn to much of that on your fire.

Well worth viewing on Iplayer for anyone who missed the original transmission. The items about the current research into finding resistant specimens was very interesting and a cause for optimism. I just hope they can get chalara-resistant trees commercially available before all of the 100 million or so existing trees have died.

I actually saw my very first cuckoo today. She flew onto the top of an electricity pole directly in front of me and had a good look around. I thought that it was a kestrel at first but the wings were all wrong; looking at my book it was obviously a female cuckoo. Made my day(year,millennium, etc.).

Cherry does not coppice well. It does grow very quickly and will sucker and produce billions of self-sets from the abundant seeds. It has a lot of resin that will clog your saw and your chimney. Alder prefers a very damp/boggy ground, Sweet Chestnut will only grow well on an acid soil. I have a neutral soil and the couple of specimens that I planted 15 years ago are still not as tall as me. Hazel produces excellent firewood and kindling but does not make a very god screen; hawthorn would be better. Perhaps an evergreen species would be best: Holm Oak possibly. Robinia is an excellent timber species but beware the incredibly sharp spur-like thorns. Be careful when planting that your mixtures are compatible: the growth rate and heavy leaf of Hornbeam and Cherry will shade out slower growing species.

I have had an enquiry from a lady in Edinburgh for some Hazel runner bean poles; I am based in Leicestershire so I can't help to her. If there is anyone in Scotland who can supply some then let me know and I will forward the details to her.

I bought two of those a few years ago. I thought that they might be stronger than the softwood boxes but the local woodpeckers soon made short work of enlarging the holes to get in easily and now they love to use them in the spring for "drumming".

I used to do this with a 40-gallon metal drum. It's best if you get one with a separate lid. The holes should be knocked into the bottom of the drum. Find a nice windy spot and dig out a shallow, circular pit slightly wider than the drum and save the earth. Place the drum onto three or four bricks (don't block the airholes). Place a pole into the centre of the drum (this is where you start the fire) and pack your logs tightly around the pole. When you have filled the drum, remove the pole and push down paper and kindling into the hole. I used to put a couple of fire-lighters in, light them, and then place more paper and kindling onto the firelighters. The paper and kindling should then start to burn. When your fire is well alight, place the lid loosely onto the drum. Now it's a case of controlling the burn. You want the wood to carbonise but not catch fire (well not all of it anyway). If the fire is burning too fiercely, start to block up around the bottom of the drum with the earth that you dug out. Eventually you shoud get to a point where you have completed blocked up the air inlets at the bottom of the drum whilst having white smoke pouring out of the gap around the lid. When the smoke starts to thin, give the drum a knock to settle the wood and increase the burn (the smoke will thicken). After you have done this a few times the smoke will stay a thin, bluey colour. At this point put the lid on securely and make sure any smoke holes are completely blocked up. You will need to leave the drum overnight to cool down. With luck you will get a fair proportion of good charcoal out of this (it will sound tinny and metallic when you tap it). You will also get some partly burnt logs or "brunts". You can use them on your next burn. Charcoal dust is incredibly difficult to get off and the only thing that gets the stuff out of your mouth is real-ale (I used to need at least 3 bottle of Broadside). Good Luck.

I'm all for local groups getting together to promote coppicing nationally, but there aren't enough local groups. With all the new planting going on, I would have liked to see a midlands group based around the National Forest. I asked the National Forest Co to sponsor such a group and to provide admin support but they didn't seem "get" the concept of coppicing and kept on viewing woodland as only producing timber.

Sweet Chestnut will only grow well on an acid soil. I planted a few 15 years ago and I am still taller than they are; they make nice shrubs though. So I have to stick to growing Hazel for stakes and binders. Apparently Robinia Pseudo-acacia is as durable as Sweet Chestnut and grows well on all soils, but mine have such wicked thorns that I can't bring myself to go near them. There is a Sweet Chestnet supplier in Herefordshire if it is of any help: Say It With Wood: Herefordshire Chestnut Fencing

My God! That's the saw for my birthday present to me.

Like your pictures. Do you pile brash/cuttings over the stumps or leave them as in the photos? I have experimented and found that piling 4'-5' of brash over the stumps leads to better regrowth.

Layering is definitely the best option for gapping up an established coppice. I find that hazel usually layers successfully given reasonable light levels. You will need to check on their progress each winter and sever the layers of successful scions before they get too thick. Planting new saplings or seeds requires too much care and attention, even if you can remember where you put them.

A very worhtwhile project that deserves to be done right. You could try asking the Hawk and Owl Trust for their advice. They have a page to contact their local groups: Hawk and Owl Trust | Groups | Local groups

Very interesting. I wonder if something similar happens in the root system and has an effect on the size and spread of roots in addition to the other physical barriers.

You don't say how old you are. I cut and log my own firewood. Cutting small diameter trees is fine with Silky or Cutting Edge handsaws as long as you replace the blades as soon they start to show any sign of blunting. Use the blunter blades for trimming off side branches where you require less physical effort. Your problem is with logging up. You will have to spend endless hours saws up your logs,thereby putting stress on your saw arm and shoulder joints. The inevitable result will be crippling arthritis. Get the best quality 45-50 cc chainsaw that you can afford: to make logging-up as quick and easy as possible. I build a "stack" of logs, secured with a ratchet tie, and saw them up in no time. Felling smaller diameter trees will also mean that you won't need to do as much splitting as with large diameter trees. This is good as using a manual log-splitter or an axe will also put extra strain on your joints. The downside with using partly split, roundwood is that it will take longer to season and will produce more ash. I try to manage(coppice) my woodland to produce an optimum mix of logs, sticks(1"-2") and fine kindling(<1") that will provide the most heat with the least effort and expense.

This previous thread on loppers might be useful http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/33180-recommend-me-some-loppers.html

The current edition of the Long View(Radio 4 - 27/11/2012 21:30) has a discussion drawing comparisons between the outbreaks of DED in the 1920's and 1970's with the current outbreak of Chalara fraxinea. I found it quite informative. BBC - Radio 4 The Long View - Homepage Also a link to a discussion regarding the possibilites of propagating resistant Ash specimens: SWOG • View topic - Ash disease - some hope

Exactly.

But when he was at the pub, they agreed to take the charcoal at £4/bag. As he took 5kg bags as samples that means he was getting 80p/kg. I thought selling to a pub was a good idea, but not one halfway across the country. I used to make charcoal, but it was a dirty old job and you can't really give it away where I live.

There are several leather sheaths and pouches on this site: The Woodsmith's Store: Tool Storage and Edge Protection - Green Woodworking Tools - Green Woodworking Accessories

In his book "Sylva" John Evelyn describes how he hangs weights to the limbs of trees to get the required shape. He says that by doing this any tree can be grown in any shape to order.

Ben Law (proper woodsman) is on Countryfile tonight (4th.) 6:20 pm.

Looking at this from an owners point of view(sorry), we are always advised not to do this sort of thing ourselves but to get 2-3 quotes and references before we risk having someone in to potentially trash our little paradise. Also, I would have contacted the potential customers first: to see what was actually in demand, rather than just fell a tree that took my fancy and then complain if they wanted timber from another specimen. If I can only get £3/cubic metre of furniture grade Ash then I will continue using all of mine for firewood; C. fraxinea permitting of course.

Just listened on Radio 4 to a Danish expert on the disease and they thought that there was virtually no chance of preventing the spread of the disease now that it has gotten into the countryside.

Looking around the internet, those forums where owners rather than doers predominate are more complimentary about this program than this site. This tends to confirm to me that many(most?) owners are simply not prepared to spend the money necessary to make a wood "work". The only scene that I could identify with was where he was swearing and moaning whilst trying to get through the undergrowth. Personally, I was unhappy about the so-called "shelter" that he had erected for the pigs and I would like to hear some opinions from people with experience of pig-keeping. After all, the pigs were going to do a useful job of of work for him, and, if it were me, I would have felt obliged to get the advice of the RSPCA and provide them with good quality shelter.