coppiceer

Thanks for that; probably saved me another couple of years of experimentation. I pile about 3' - 4' of trimmings on top of my hazel stools without any problems, but I wondered if Ash was the same.

Thankyou very much for the excellent replies. I have cut the Ash at a variety of heights and with both flat and sloping stumps. Only a proportion of stumps exhibit this problem. I shall now go and check the heights of the affected stumps and see if I can spot a correlation. In any event I shall take the advice about keeping to a higher cut. Very interesting point about covering the stumps with brush. I have already covered this years' stumps, but was wondering if it would have any adverse affect on the form of the regrowth. Granted that it couldn't be much worse than growing horizantally. I shall probably pile some more on now. I find that reducing the regrowth to 2-3 dominant stems after a couple of years, results in these stems being about 4"-5"" at the base after 10 years. Thanks again.

Has anyone any experience of coppicing Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). I have numerous instances of nice, straight regrowth between 6' - 8' in the first year Only to have the stems "collapse" in the autumnal gales. This is always on the maiden cut of trees around 10 years old. The shoots appear healthy and well attached but are unfortunately horizontal. I must be doing something wrong as no-one else that I have contacted has ever experienced this sort of thing. As ever, Arbtalk is my best and only hope of a resoulution.

Try asking your question on the Small Woodland Owners Group forum. They are pretty much focused on the South-East and someone may be able to offer you the advice you need. SWOG Forum

I had exactly this problem with the toolless tensioner on my Husqvana 435 until I read your (I think it was your) previous reply on this subject. I took your advice and have had no more problems. Thankyou.

You could try the website for the Pole-lathe Turners and greenwood workers website. They have a forum where you cold post your offer. Bodger's Ask & Answer • View forum - Greenwood working

My usual question as regards considering whether to coppice is: are there deer present on the site? If there are then you are on a hiding to nothing unless you either fence them out or slaughter them ruthlessly (obviously I meant to say cull them humanely and weep as you do it).

Saw a channel 4 program "Grand Designs" where a couple where renovating an ex-lifeboat station to live in. The timber structure was made out of this wood. They had to cut the rot out of some of the timbers in order to reuse them. The circular saw blades needed replacing every 20 minutes whilst cutting this wood; instead of the normal 2 weeks for Larch. So its pretty tough stuff.

There are lots of good sites on the internet giving information on this subject for free. An afternoon spent searching will provide plenty of general advice. If anyone is looking for advice about a specific problem then there is really only one place to come - Arbtalk. Saving the money for all those nice new pieces of equipment that will be needed. Obviously printed material is the only option for people without internet access, but then how would they know that this publication existed?

Sorry to butt into this thread gentlemen, but I too have been having problems with Ivy. I have Ivy growing in my Hazel coppice stools. I have benn spending many hours pulling the Ivy away from the hazel and then spraying it with glyphosate. This works but do I really need to do it? Or will the hazel cope with the Ivy without my interference?

Have you considered bamboo? I had a lot of problems with rabbits a few years ago. As other contributors have said, they didn't like to leave anything un-munched. The only thing that they didn't touch was my bamboo. If you planted one of the aggressive running varieties the rhizomes would spread very quickly and help to control soil erosion, Bamboos need plenty of moisture but most varieties do not like to be in standing water. As many varieties come from mountainous regions (Himalayas, Andes, etc) they are hardy down to around -40c when in the ground. They are usually quite expensive to buy but can be propogated by simply chopping the rootball in 2, planting one half in the ground and returning the other to the container. You can do this annually each autumn for endless free plants. If a bamboo is enjoying its surroundings it usually likes to go for a walk. To stop it popping up where you don't want it, you will need to place a barrier about 18" deep to contain it. I used plastic roofing sheets. For specialist advice you should contact the British Bamboo Society. The Bamboo Society (EBS) Great Britain

I bought a 40cc 16" Ryobi from B&Q three years ago for £102. It didn't last very long.

"Trees: Their Natural History" by Peter Thomas. Cambridge University Press.

I had the following advice regarding maintenance and laying intervals from the National Hedgelaying Society: "Current thinking on trimming is that it is probably better done not more than once every two years and each time raising the cut approx 15mm (6inchs). This ensures a steady growth whilst keeping the hedge under manageable control. Eventually (after approx 30 years) depending on the seasons etc, it will be approx 4m (12/13ft) high and will be ready for relaying, or coppicing depending on how the stems have matured. Best time to trim is difficult: Autumn cutting (ie Sept -Oct) does mean that you loose fruit which is good for wildlife, but does have the advantage that it is easier to monitor the level of cut since the hedge should still be green after it has been trimmed. Late Winter cutting preserves the fruit during the winter months but does mean that trimming is not so easy and the tendency is to cut off the whole of the previous seasons growth." Hope it helps.

I am in NW Leics. and will be heaviliy pruning one or 2 crab-apples this winter. Obviously the wood will not be seasoned, but if the mill is interested someone could come and select wood for future use and let me have a couple of bags of flour.

Absolutely. You could try mowing annually and creating big heaps of grass. If you have grass snakes that will give them somewhere to lay their eggs. Leaving your grass long will encourage voles and, hence, ketrels, owls, etc.

They are probably trying to drop a virus onto your pc.

I am based in the National Forest (good name, except that it's not National and it's not a Forest). The impression that I have is that the Forest has been conceived solely as a theme park where the public can loiter, litter, etc. The senior bureacrats at the National Forest Company still seem to be in the mindset of "plant and forget" and have not yet fully grasped the consequences of neglect of maintenance. Apparently there is an owners group who meet for demonstrations/training about formative pruning, thinning, etc. Perhaps you should contact the Head of Forestry at the National Forest with your concerns. I am sure that he would be supportive. I understand that their is to be a new database for forestry contractors, but a chance for owners to meet and establish a basis of trust with contractors would be a small step towards overcoming any suspicion and inertia.

Thanks very much for the really useful advice. It is really rabbits comiing in that I am concerned about, but I wasn't sure how to "persuade" the badgers to use the gates: now I know. I hadn't thought about the badger groups, I shall definitely contact my local group for their input. Thanks again for the advice.

Does anyone have experience of installing badger gates? I have had rabbit fencing installed for about 8 years, but recently badgers have lifted up the fence in one or two places. I am considering installing badger gates at these points but I would like some advice on whether the badgers will use the gates without any problems or will they try to burrow underneath them or even lift the fence up in another spot. I have searched the site but can't find any previous posts.

You are not mad, but why not plant them in their final position? You will need to protect the seed from predation (I would advertise for some second-hand tree shelters to save on expense) but they won't need weedkilling (well not as much as transplants). If you do plant into tubs you will still need to protect from mice digging them out of the pots before they germinate and someone will need to keep them properly watered until planted. Bio-security might be a problem. I planted hazel and acorns into pots and now I have forget-me-nots and heebie's growing everywhere. Good luck.

The National Hedgelaying Society run courses. There seem to be 2 running in Cheshire shortly. NHLS - Training opportunities

I have a 435e. I use it for coppice work, felling small trees and logging up firewood. I had a ryobi pcn4040 and the 435e feels a much more capable machine even though it is rated at the same power.

I planted 8000 trees/shrubs on farmland. If you have the urge to plant trees then tunnel-vision sets in and you are going to plant them no matter what. At the time there was an agricultural slump going on and it was the only land that I could get. Nowadays I wouldn't dream of taking productive land out of food production. After a lot of careful reflection I am now very sceptical about all the claims of "eco-warriors". I just think that the chattering middle-class have too much time on their hands for everyones good.

The National Forest Company do a good guide to pruning young trees. http://www.nationalforest.org/document/information/pruning_guide.pdf