fcharlton

Surprised that no one has mentioned the Tortoise firebox. It works by convection of air and is very efficient. However it is open at the front and there is the magic of seeing, hearing and smelling the wood burn which you dont get when the fire is sealed in a box with glass doors. Its like the difference between swimming in a river or the sea and swimming in an indoor swimming pool. Do some more research. There are efficient open fires.

So I picked these cones up from a branch that had fallen from a mature giant redwood. Anyone had any luck getting seeds to germinate? One or two seeds seem to have come out already as the cone opens up indoors. Should I pop them in the freezer first? Or is it a lost cause trying to breed from UK specimens in the first place?

I agree. I've done trees like that for less than 750, though you'd certainly pay that much in London or other expensive towns. As for selling the trunk, I'd take some photos of it on the ground and measurements and then try contacting any small local sawmills or furniture makers working in English hardwoods. It looks like there might be some interesting burr on the trunk. Could be worth a bit more than firewood.

We can all learn dating secrets from the Americans

Hello people We've been asked to thin a few hectares of mixed woodland and take out young ash trees, about 25-30 cm diameter and up to 10m in height. Does this timber have any value for firewood processing if we can get it to the roadside? What should we be asking per tonne? and what's the ideal length for firewood processors? 2.5m? Sorry if all this has been posted many times before, but prices etc seem to fluctuate. The job is in central Northumberland. Thanks for any suggestions.

Thanks, I've been on phone to wandsworth council and some independent licensed waste contractors, and I think the latter will be cheapest. Everyone wants to see some pictures of the branches to be collected which is understandable. In the past I've done jobs in London where there were firewood sized logs and we had no difficulty selling these for a small sum on Facebook Marketplace. As I'm a farmer in another life, I am bringing down a load of woven plastic feed sacks for the smaller twigs etc. They are much better than even heavy duty black poly bags as they are really hard to puncture. Of course the ideal thing would be if there were a bunch of other tree surgeons with a chipper + tipper working nearby and I could persuade them to take the branches for some cash - I'll keep my eyes and ears open!

Any South London tree surgeons? I'm doing a job in this area next week (crown reduction of young oak 30-40ft in hight), and I expect to have a small load of small branches probably less than 10cm in diameter to dispose of. Probably only 3-4 cubic metres of branches - less if chipped. I suppose I'm wondering, do people bother trying to find a man with a van (and/or chipper) to collect this kind of stuff, or just call the local council and arrange a special garden waste collection? Am working for a friend so aiming to try and keep cost down if possible. Thanks