spandit
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Everything posted by spandit
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Kiln dried wood burning too fast/expensive for some people
spandit replied to cessna's topic in Firewood forum
Why don't the kiln dried firewood producers save fuel by only drying to 15% instead of 5% then? -
I've still got blossom on my medlar. It's been a mild winter so far
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I think you can spray a bit of soapy water onto the crankshaft to see if it's blowing, assuming you can get the damn thing running. Mine was a right sod today (MS181) and don't know whether it's an air leak or blocked jet in the carb. I'll see if I can dismantle it a bit tomorrow as got a lot of logs to cut up!
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Any one started planting trees yet ?
spandit replied to Ninjastrike's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Yes. Woodland Trust delivered a load of cell grown trees yesterday. I've potted a load up in airpots to use for a future hedge but the rest will be going in the ground this week, with any luck. For the price of the tubes and stakes I can't really complain if the trees don't make it especially as they weren't very flexible on species choice. Nice looking trees, though, decent size (2' high) - certainly better than the bareroot ones I was provided with before. -
The fact it "burns hotter than oak" is a bit meaningless. So does magnesium but nobody would advocate using it as a fuel in a woodburner. Having just destroyed the baffle in my Mørso from using coal (thought that would be OK in a dual fuel stove - how wrong I was!) the thought of paying a premium price for these briquettes doesn't appeal, no matter how green they appear to be. Regarding the bracken regenerating after cutting. If the cut bracken is removed, what is replacing the nutrients in the soil from the previously rotting stuff or is it a case that there is so much of the damn stuff around being a nuisance that it doesn't matter?
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Lots of bracken about but if it starts being harvested commercially, will it regrow every year?
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Hornbeam
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I don't have my own digger but can hire one quite cheaply and quite often get to borrow one from the chap next door when he hires one. Concerned that stump grinding is going to leave pits full of fresh chip which will inhibit growth for new planting
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Tried winching some smaller one out. Jimny ended up off the ground (rear towbar tied to an oak tree). Snapped one but the roots left in. These ones are not so easy to get to and are a lot bigger
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Thanks
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I'd dump the stumps in my habitat pile or put them somewhere to burn later - that's not a problem. Any local stump grinders out there who could quote?
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We've got about 4 leylandii that need removing. They're up to a foot in diameter and have been butchered (against my wishes) so look awful and aren't serving the purpose for which they were originally intended. Means that felling them is an easy job now as they're not very tall. Would a 3-tonne digger be suitable for removing these or should I just get a stump grinding company in? Any recommendations within Sussex gratefully received
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I'm bound to have plenty but a bit far away to make it economical, especially when you live in one of the premium willow growing areas. You might be better off buying a few of a recognised biomass species and propagating them yourself rather than just planting any old thing.
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Ah, OK, that makes sense. Must be a coincidence, then
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It burns, like ash will do, and if you are looking of a quick way to dispose of waste wood then go for it. If you are looking to actually produce meaningful heat from it, then let is season for all the reasons detailed above.
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I planted some common osier next to some yellow willow we'd salvaged from a weaving class. A couple of years down the line and I notice that some of the new growth on the osier stumps is bright yellow - is this what hybridisation entails or is it just coincidence? The leaves look similar anyway so presumably they're closely related
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Even with this sort of matting, on very wet ground, you're still going to see tyre tracks. Here I have a reinforced track leading to the top field - it's full of hardcore with a thin layer of soil over the top so you can't see it as the grass has grown through. Tends to look a bit muddy if I drive over it in winter but doesn't make deep ruts
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I've stopped making my own charcoal because it's easier to just light the BBQ with wood a bit earlier. Had mine blazing away like a rocket a few weeks ago and managed to melt it (cast aluminium Nipoori). I generally use willow cuttings that I harvest every year. They season quite quickly and burn splendidly.
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Growing my own bareroot trees
spandit replied to spandit's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Sweet chestnuts. I prepped them by putting them on some soil and chucking some leaf litter on top - that's what would happen in nature. Mine have the advantage that being off the forest floor, they're less susceptible to squirrel/rat predation and I can monitor the watering. I've seen a few coming up on my land where I've thrown chestnuts gathered from a local wood too. -
Growing my own bareroot trees
spandit replied to spandit's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
My sycamore hasn't done too well and I have thousands of oak seedlings, many with mildew. Not worried if they survive or not - the fittest should make it! My seed grown chestnuts are still pretty tiny. They're out in the wild though and just about holding their own against the grass. -
Growing my own bareroot trees
spandit replied to spandit's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Then that is what I shall do! Hopefully sourced some free trees anyway (and will be propagating my own willow and poplar anyway) -
Growing my own bareroot trees
spandit replied to spandit's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
What soil should I use for starting the plants off? Compost doesn't seem dense enough to hold the moisture - should I just collect stuff from molehills and mix in a bit of grit? What about moisture granules? Plan is to buy some cheap bareroot trees and grow them for a bit in the pots so when I actually plant them out, they'll be big enough to stand up against the weeds a bit better. I am a bit worried about watering them but hopefully we'll get a bit of rain this year! -
Might get some bow staves out of it - could make a good little earning from it!
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But if the tree is already leaning, won't it always have a bend in it or do you think it will be pliable enough to straighten up?
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When I planted my woodland, I put in a lot of alder as its preference for wet ground, quick growth and suitability for coppicing made it an ideal choice. However, although the the growth in 3 years has been rapacious (noticed today for the first time that the tubes have started splitting in places) some of them have fallen over as the big leaves and large canopy make an ideal sail and it gets quite windy here at times: What I'm thinking is that I could cut these ones off at the base and replace the tube/stake to promote more upright growth - they're pretty healthy so guessing the roots are doing OK but are they likely to survive such an extreme prune? Won't be doing it until the winter, in case you were wondering... Wasn't expecting to be cutting my own firewood quite so soon!
