Paul in the woods

No. You often hear people say ash will burn green but I would add only if you have to. IIRC, felled when it's dormant, it'll have a moisture content between 30 - 45%, less than many other woods but some stove manufactures state 20%, some higher, so it will need some seasoning. How much would depend on a number of factors.

My guess would be false caster oil plant, Fatsia japonica.

I own a young woodland, much is about 25 years old, and I could easily clear fell an acre or two a year and not replant without falling foul of the FC. In fact a large land owning organisation that neighbours my woodland has done just that, clear felled a couple of acres of older woodland to return it pasture.

Yes you can. A small and/or young wood could be clear felled under a felling exemption fairly easily. At a rough guess (based on my young woodland) it'll be 20 years or so before you'd exceed your exemption, longer if you start cutting while the trees are young. A simple legal covenant wouldn't cost much, although I don't know how binding they are or who would enforce it when donnk is no longer around. Photos and more info about the site would be good, I'd also try and talk to local owners of newly planted woods. For example, I'd love to plant more sycamore but down here the squirrels just hammer it so hard it'll not establish.

There are several good books about planning and planting a woodland, I like Ben Law's book although it is aimed at much more than producing firewood. My first thought would be tree protection, pointless planting loads for deer/rabbit fodder! Personally I'd go for a good quality deer fence and rabbit control so less need for tree guards. I would also worry more about the initial weed control rather than harvesting for the first few years. As for tree species I'd plant as good a mix as possible to minimise the risk of diseases wiping out half your woodland.

Goat or grey willow. Possibly a bit late in the year now but they do take very well from cuttings or basically bits of twig stuck in the ground if you like them. Deer can be a problem with young trees though, they do love willow.

Crane fly larvae will be a dull gray/brownish sort of maggot, creamy white larvae with brown heads will often be may bugs / cockchafers.

It's a leather jacket, i.e. a crane fly chrysalis. Very common and some people do treat for them but they're an excellent source of food for wild birds.

What woods do you have? There seems to be an almost endless list if you google but I think most woods can be used. I use sycamore for the heath and spindle successfully, many seem to suggest willow, alder and hazel and even ivy is used.

You should be able to cover all that in a covenant or two. I.e. the buyers must agree to look after the drainage and control vermin or you're able to. It may be worth looking at the ones the woodlotting people use and adding to it as necessary.

It depends on the woodland. Some will be very neglected before being sold off so the problems already exist and may get better with the new owners. I'm not a fan of woodlotting but I would say they over inflate prices, just provide what some people want.

Depending on what you're after don't just limit a search to woodland. We found our patch of several acres by noticing some paddocks that had a couple of acres of woodland attached. Often buyers only want the fields so we had the opportunity to buy the woodland separately as well as a few more acres to make a decent sized patch. The price was a small fraction of 10k/acre as well! I also wonder if it would be possible for people to woodlot their own larger piece of woodland. I've seen woodland sold by John Clegg etc get split up and sold for much higher prices by the woodlotting companies. I also wonder if it would be worth speaking to local land owners / farmers yourself. I think some would be interesting in selling a bit of woodland for £5k an acre or so if you sorted the legal fees.

If you look at this Forestry Commission page: Creating a Management Plan (England) It has a plan of operations spread sheet: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Inventoryandplanofoperations.xls/$FILE/Inventoryandplanofoperations.xls Download that and it has a species list tab with common and latin names.

Is there no time limit though? If I had a tree fall across a neighbours drive I can see why it might be regarded as theft if they cut it up and kept it as soon as it fell, but if I left it there for several months would the courts really say it was theft if the neighbours got someone it to cut up and remove the tree?

The owner is not interested in the tree and has plenty of other firewood and trees down. They're a busy farmer and seemed appreciative of the phone call but I expect he'll be annoyed I don't take his word and insist on something written down - hence the question. I've taken loads of photos and I'll make some notes. If there was any claim for the firewood I could claim far more for the damage done and the expense of clearing it. The only slight worry I have is the tree is nice and straight and I'd be tempted to try milling a section.

Funny you should mention that, in my case the tree has snapped about 20-30' up and the top 50+' has sailed into my wood taking a few trees with it. Must have been fairly impressive sight!

If a tree falls from a neighbouring property into mine I assume they still own the wood? Is there any length of time where I can claim the wood? Basically a large tree has fallen into my woodland causing damage to a couple of my trees in the process. I've spoken to my neighbour and he's more than happy for me to clear it and for me to keep the wood. (A fair deal I think as I may have to get help to take down one of my own trees that's now leaning). Ideally I'd get something written down but many people just don't do that. I don't expect there to be a problem and I'll stack the wood for a year or two to season anyway, but I'm just curious to know where I stand.

Another old thread: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/chainsaw-carving-forum/27219-defence-woodturners.html

Half it's work would only be a few hundred yards but the other half would be about 5 miles. Weight wouldn't be an issue but I'd make a fair few trips per year.

I didn't take pictures but posted about it on another forum at the time, so know the date. I used to find loads of it in the south east but not found it at all now I've moved to the SW.

I found this link: Logging trailer, forestry trailer HR500 + crane for small tractors and ATV Quad - Motorgeräte Fritzsch GmbH Looks the same or similar to the one in Teed posted up. It can be made road legal, for a price, but then is limited to a slow speed so probably not ideal for car use. I don't suppose there's anything similar that can be towed behind a car on the road is there? I've tried searching but not come up with anything.

I've found it in April before (21st in 2011).

These trailers look like what I need, so thanks for posting the video. I need to extract some timber from my small pieces of woodland and I can't justify a large trailer with a powered grab. I know they're aimed at ATVs but would it be possible to hitch one up to a car or small tractor? I assume the hitch is a bit low? And with a light board, would they be road legal?

On my bit of woodland there's no regular use and the entrance I use is locked. I want to use the signs to stop the odd one off muppet who suddenly thinks it would be good to walk into the woodland, climbing through a hedge rather than over a gate. If I had the signs then I'd obviously put them either side of where I'm working. Having said that, over the last year or so, I've witnessed a large arb company climbing, MEWPing, felling trees onto a country lane for a day and there was no sign of any signs. I've also seen contractors fell, burn, dig, & stump spray a few acres in a publicly accessible nature reserve, again no signs at all. It makes me wander if that many people use them?

I caught one grey squirrel in my Kania trap! I was baited unset for a few weeks and then I caught one fairly quickly after setting it but nothing for months after that. I've had far more success with these traps (wooden box and the BMI 116 trap): Fourteenacre | Fineren Bodygrip Box for Squirrels The trap is enclosed in a box with an offset entrance which prevents bycatch. Baited with hazelnuts and peanuts and with a few minutes practice very easy to set (after a bit of practice) and not as expensive as a Kania. Also the dead squirrel is hidden from view (from people as well as other squirrels). You could try an enclosed tunnel in your Kania to see if it helps? I don't (didn't) have that many squirrels and with just two of the 116s and boxes I went through a whole family in a few weeks (large female, large male, then smaller ones etc). One day the trap caught another less than an hour after I cleared out a previous one. Location also seems to be important, set on a pole or tree that's over looked by a larger tree as the critters like to case out something new. I also baited an area with a home made nut feeder for a couple of weeks as well to get them used to being fed.