Peasgood

What do you think of it on a bad day?

My central heating, hot water and cooking run entirely on Leylandii logs. That's in a big old draughty farmhouse with little or no insulation. I have taken my socks off because it is too hot in here tonight. They burn a bit quick and spit too but fine in a fire with doors on it. They are very hot and produce practically zero ash. If seasoned outside for a couple of years the sap disappears, the sticky sap is the only real downside. I reckon on burning summat like 20 tons or more a year. Said to the missus today "you burn as much as you like, I will make sure there is always plenty there" and reminded her that she probably doesn't know anybody else that is "allowed" the heating on full blast as much as they like.

Haven't got around to having a go yet, but I will. Made it in the past using a 5 gallon metal drum (old grease drum) with success. Why don't you put the lid back on your sweetie tin, take it to the beach or somewhere, take the lid off, fit a mesh and just light it in the tin. Anyone that has been to Bangkok will have seen the street vendors cooking exactly that way.

They are idiots, or incompetent at least. I've never been in debt in my life til they came along. A friend of mine was once told she would have to pay back more than she even got!

So you just put a Quality Street tin full of wood in the logburner and take it out half an hour later? I've got a few tins I need to find a use for.

I have owned my first £60+ Silky for less than a month. It is a Gomtaro apple (straight blade) that has been used every day. The blade is blunt and the tip has snapped off. £30 for a new blade I also have a Bahco 21" bowsaw that I can't even remember how old it is. The blade has done 2 seasons, I know that. It isn't blunt, twisted or snapped and if it was a new blade is a tenner. Other than that the Bahco does weigh about the same as a house in comparison.

goldfinch

All mine are leylandii, this one took 3 gallons of water to keep it down enough to cook the kebabs without incinerating them..

Determined to get the last bit out of it so I had enough hot water to wash up. A different one which went on to use the "pyro" washing up method.

I think if you look at the Arco label properly you will see they are called "driving gloves". Wouldn't want to drive in them (tractor maybe) but wouldn't expect them to logging gloves either. Not overly defending them as I am disappointed that mine look similar after doing some logs with them on. I like Briers gloves, they have some tough yet comfortable leather ones. Bit more pricey though.

A before and after pic of one of mine. All planted 18x24' so the canopy of that tree is 18' wide. framework branches are approximately chest height.

Growing apples is very satisfying, I like little more than being in the orchard. One of the most satisfying things is grafting the trees yourself. I did a few hundred last year and got 100% take, that gives you a big smile. Fair play to you for letting other people cut bits off yours, I hate having others "help" with the pruning. My lad is pretty good but most are a bit clueless tbh. Having said that, even after 30+ years of it I still consider myself as learning. Love the "black art" comments. I consider apple tree pruning to be an art form as much as anything. If the tree don't look right you have got it wrong. A difficult one to teach as for me an awful lot is "you just know", the more you think about it the harder it gets. A fella was once admiring a wonderful sculpture of a horse. He said to the sculptor in amazement, "how do you produce something so wonderful when all you start off with is a block of stone. The sculptor replied "easy, you just knock off all the bits that don't look like a horse". That is how I prune apple trees, just cut off all the bits that don't look right.

Thanks for the welcome. I was in Kent working for Albert Vinsons ltd as a sandwich year student. When asked if I had pruned apples before I foolishly said yes, I was then given the job. I think I pruned nearly all their apples at Swanley that year, mostly on my own. I since came back home to Cheshire and have been growing apples ever after. The trees on my place were planted in the late 70's, quite a few by me even though I was only just a teenager. I have 11 acres of mostly Cox and Bramley, all on MM106 and all grown as open centre bush. My son has been my only assistant this year so far and we are getting on well with the job. There are a nightmare amount of watershoots this year, mostly due to weather and the fact I didn't get chance to pull them in the early summer. Around 500 per tree, my hand hurts!

Brings back memories. I spent the winter of 1984 pruning apple trees on my own just outside Swanley village. Truth be told a lot of it was sitting in an apple tree watching them build the M25 Been pruning apples all day every day for the last 4 weeks, about 3 more weeks to go too. How was that for a first post?