haljam

Hi all, Wonder if anyone has words of wisdom to offer on installing a garden swing from a big tree. Client is looking to install a swing of some sort from one of the trees for Grandchildren. (Well they want me to do it). I wondered if anyone has any practical advise regarding tree choice type, how to protect the branch, secondary back ups, type of rope etc ? In the good old days we used to just throw a bit of scrap hemp rope over a branch, tie a big knot and thread a stick through, then whoopie ! I have a choice of at least ash, beach, sycamore, cedar,and Yew to choose from, but most suitable limbs are higher than ideal for the age of kid. we are looking at 7m+ I guess there are also so liability issues to consider? Please tell me your top tips and swing disasters. Thanks

Thread title should have been "Chip site full - Cardiff"

Just a heads up - The dutch garden centre at J30 on the M4 used to be a good chip site. Just found out that they are no longer taking chip, as they have too much! Worth bearing mind if you turn up with a load. Any one know of an alternative close by? H

Hi there, Wonder if I could pick the brains of the forum on this one - thanks. What do you reckon has caused this to fail?, and what is the best action to take on the stub? It happened last Monday evening, no wind, or storms. Apparently multiple loud cracking sounds, (which the neighbour thought was the whole tree coming down), followed by really loud crack. The branch was left is suspended by thin strip of wood. Tree is TPO' d, but this was hanging over the new fence and next door's summer house, so I winched it off to make it safe. Looks like a 1.5m long split (hazzard beam crack?), but I was up there last year hanging off this branch and saw no signs of damage. Client is worried that whole tree might be suspect, as this fell off without only a 5 second warning. Buds were just starting to burst into leaf and the rest of the crown looks pretty healthy to me. I take it its best to take the stub off back to the trunk? Or would you just trim off the damaged end, as the only other substantial leaf growth off this branch is close to the split. TO is on holiday at the moment so not been in touch yet.

Got a job coming up, six 25 yr old black poplar hybrids that are quite tall and leggy. they are close to an office building and upper branches are banging on the windows and over the roof. They seem to have co-dominant limbs from about 6m high. These fork again at about 8m high then shoot up tall and thin, This is the natural growth of these trees. Not been polarded in the past. Just been planted close together and are fighting for light. Plan is to take most of the side branches off 1 or 2 of these limbs on each tree. It will still leave a reasonably balanced tree, and the client is happy to accept a maintenance overhead from the re-growth that should occur. Problem is where to put main belay to work from. I Only feel comfortable with an anchor point at the 8m high crotch. above that I am worried about weak unions and trunks above here are 4" thick or less, but still another 8m long. I need to work from higher up to avoid dropping branches against the building or onto the roof. Ideally want to hand cut them and fast line down to one side. No other mature trees in the area to rope off or winch the leaning branches over. its basically just a sea of tall thin whippy trunks. I am thinking of using 11mm dynamic rock climbing rope to the 8m mark, then spike-ing up above that (still attached to slack on the dynamic rope) with the normal climbing rope cinched round the stem and tie off with a sling when i get gripped. I will call in and take some pics next time I'm passing. I want to avoid me and any rigging ropes being on the same limb, and ensure bits i cut off are light enough not to shock-load the rigging. Any tricks for working on thin branches when the only decent belay is below you.? thanks in advance. Who is first to say MEWP?

Thanks for the replies. I will make the application just for what the client wants, not for what the T/O has agreed she will pass. My point was if I apply for say a 30% reduction, and that is granted, does it mean I can do any reduction I want upto a maximum of 30%. cheers

OK Thanks for that, but thinking about it, in the extreme you can "over kill" with an application. You can apply to fell a tree, get the application granted then the client changes their mind and decides to keep the tree. You are not under an obligation to carry out the work, just because you have submitted an application.(providing its not dangerous) Cheers

Tree officer from the council has given me a verbal assurance they will give the OK to fell a tree in clients TPO'd woodland - in fact they recommend that, but the client only wants a reduction / re-shaping. The tree is not dangerous, just a bit manky and in the wrong place. I intend to only do the reduction that the Client wants. On the TPO application is it best to apply for the work I intend to do, or to apply for felling, so that if client changes their mind in the next 2 yrs we can take it out without more paper work. In other words, do you have to do the work as specified on the application, or can you do less?

Thanks for the confirmation. I had it down to Creolophus cirrhatus, which i assume is the same thing? I believe some of the Hericium group has been re-named, but I bet they taste the same. I will leave it in piece and see if it comes agin next year. Thanks all.

Hi all, Any ideas on this one? I have an interest in fungi (particularly in eating them), but never seen this before. I have an idea what it may be, but could do with some confirmation. Its been there for at least 4 weeks. The first picture taken 3 weeks ago, the others yesterday. It growing on a dead wych elm, about 3 ft off the ground. White flesh and pleasant smell (mushroomy :-)) What do you reckon?

Hi Has anyone any idea what can be done to help this oak? I am not too bothered about the lean, no sign of root plate movement (yet), but the leaves this year (and last) are not forming properly, are discoloured and die back early on some branches. When I visited the site, the surrounding ground was very wet, and ochre coloured water was pooling in the bed at the base of the tree. This is waste water from an old coal mine/tip and probably contaminated with iron?. The lawn has been getting soggy with this water for about 2 years, the same time as the tree started to complain. Used to have bright green vibrant leaves at this time of year (as do other oaks in the same area). With the uneven weight of the tree and saturated ground have we got a failure waiting to happen? , or is the mineral contamination more of a problem I guess the answer lies in stopping or diverting the water, but wondered what you guys thought? Client not keen on digging up the lawn and ground works. Tree has TPO. Any advice welcome.

Any thoughts from you guys on the original question regarding timing?. Unless there is iminent danger is it always best to do a reduction in the dormant season on deciduous trees? Many thanks for shareing your knowledge / thoughts.

Thanks for your comments The trees are mid way between Carmarthen and Cross hands. Can anyone recommend someone who could do a survey? Part of the problem is there was a tree failure this winter in the snow of an very old big (10m high) apple tree, that fell into the neighbour's garden. He is now paranoid and giving my client hassle.

Hi, I have been asked to do a reduction (pretty severe) on two adjacent Elm trees in West wales. (might just be one tree - i haven't seen it yet). Client is very keen to keep the trees as healthy as possible, but his neighbour is worried about damage to his property should they fail. Apparently they are desease free at the moment, but his consevatory is a potential target. My question -Is it too late this year to do a reduction? - many trees round here are starting to show signs of life, so the saps rising. My gut feeling is it would be better to leave it until november, but I don't know if there is any sound reason to postpone. never worked on Elm before. Any advice as to how to tackle it?

I am doing my accounts for tax return and including the tree business for the first time. I have split expenses into "Normal expenses" and "Capital expenses" as there are seperate boxes for these in the tax return. From the help notes on the tax website it seems that "Capital expenditure" is for things expected to last more than 2 years. Initialy I put all setup purchases in the "Capital" column, but now see that ropes and slings, cambium saver etc arn't going to last 2 years. What do you guys do with the "Annual Investment Allowance" (capital expenditure) box on the tax return? are things like rope and harness just a normal expenses?

Hi, I am running an 18 month old j b m300 pro chipper, and am having problems with the alum bolts that hold the funnel on. There are (were) 8 of these bolts and 3 have now sheared whilst in use -not whilst tightening. They have not been over tightened, and have the original washer fitted. Last job I was running on just 6 bolts (one in each corner + 1 each side), but keeping an eye on them and one rattled loose. On inspection that was half sheared through. I Have now ordered a new set so I have some spares. Anyone else had problems with this?

Thanks for the advice - Just to confirm, the Soakaway (and trees) are nowhere near the Tank - a good 10m away and some 5m lower. I am not concerned about roots getting into the tank, Just the ecoli or similar potentila problem. Plums are Czar on st Julien A. about 4 years old now.

I have various fruit (plum and apple) trees on a slope at bottom of a garden. This is the first year that they have produced in any quantity, and plums in particular are great. Trouble is, - at the bottom of the slope is the soakaway from a septic tank. Anyone know if this a problem?, and what distance above and away from a soak away is safe for fruit? Trees are about 3 m tall on m26 stock. On the same topic how deep do plum tree roots go in reasonable condition soil with no barriers? Any advice appreciated. thanks

Great idea, but why not include freebies? I use "The Dutch Garden Centre" at Junction 30 on the M4 outside Cardiff. He will take any amount for free.

Not a smokeless baffle. My Clearview vison 500 is about 10 yrs old and I am on the 3rd baffle. The Stove has rear exit for flue in use and no gaskets on the baffle. It just rest on the fire bricks.

Clean out all dust and ash round edges, then put the rear fire brick into position. Then put in side firebricks, but lay them horizontaly on top of each other. Then put baffle in and hold up high with one hand and you can lift up the side fire bricks to vertical position and lower the baffle down onto these side fire bricks. Bit tricky until you get the knack but it can be done.