[Donald]

Hello,
Last year I'd got a load of 18 m3 of ash brought over to split, only problem was that ash was poplar. It's dried out, split to roughly 8 cm cross sections it will dry out in half a year, stacked with decent air circulation under cover, but it is worthless for heating even though my neighbor loves his. It also can be far more work to split than, lets use ash again for example. In fact it is one of my least favorite wood to split with an axe, but not as bad as horse chestnut - nothing's as cranky as horse chestnut, also another one of those woods that will give out a flame but has so little energy to release. I'll take poplar, but not happily, because it is available and I have space, but I make every effort to avoid it except for certain building projects. There it can be very well worth the effort to acquire.
For planting and harvesting ones own fire wood the effort would be much better spent putting in ash, some maple species, sweet chestnut, alder's not bad, just those medium hard hardwoods that store up much more energy. Willow is a bit heavier than poplar, how do I know, because every year about this time I get two pair of wooden shoes from the shoe maker, one pair willow and one pair poplar to last me the coming year, but for stopping in the wood burner there will be no practical difference.


Greetings,


Don Wagstaff

[MikeM]

sadly ash may be joining the endangered species list 

[deepinthewoods]

thats a really scary proposition. ive heard about this disease too. following the devestation the phytopthera clearanc ehas wreaked on our woods here, if we lost the ash too there wouldnt be much left.
however i did see something about a nutrient 'cure' for the ash disease.

[Donald]

Hello,

sadly ash may be joining the endangered species list 

I don't think so yet and hope not having lived through one of those die-outs in the Western US - Lodgepole pine wiped out in whole sections, truly sickening.


It seems left alone some  of the stricken ash recover. I have one or two out back that were laid low this year looking like they had gotten a bad hair-cut but I will leave them and hope, like the two along the road there I had given up for lost last year but are doing good now, recovery sets in. Just don't burn poplar anyway, it gives the appearance of making you warm,  lacking the substance thereof.


Greetings,


Don Wagstaff

[MikeM]

intersting, thanks Don. The information we have about the ash disease is limited in the UK, so it's good to get some information from someone with real experience of it. I hope you're right.

[colliewoman]

I can't comment on what to grow, but when I comes to what to burn I say ANYTHING!
Peeps round here despise Elm, but that is my favourite wood to burn. I love burning dead Hazel harvested from the hedges, burns like charcoal and is fab for cooking on.
Ash is great but I don't pay for stuff just to set fire to it and if you want ash here you gots to buy it
Beech is lovely, as is Sycamore. Applewood and Hawthorn are wonderful for cooking on. I don't recall ever burning Poplar, but would if got hold of any
Willow I love once it has dried for a few years, Oak is lovely too. Pine is easy to get and burns HOT.
As we speak I have a fire of Beech and dead Hazel on the go and it is about a million degrees in my truck
Burn what you can get, except Elder. Never burn the witches tree

[MAK]

Yep - as Colliewoman says if it is free then burn it. Colliwaman - do you have a burner in your truck ?
Also why is some wood better to cook on ? - more sustained even temperatures?
We are pretty much surrounded by sweet chestnut. If you cut the principle tree then long poles shoot up. These are easy to cut , pull out of the woods then cut to logs or split if needed. I guess people know that but I have taken to re-visiting cut trees and pull up the stump and some root. this seasoned wood is very dense and burns much slower that the poles it yielded. The roots are difficlt to cut and stack and are a bit tricky to get in the logburner but worth it.

[colliewoman]

Yup I have a wood burner in the truck
The better wood for cooking burns HOT and consistently like I said dead Hazel is my favourite for this. Root wood is FAB for keeping the burner in overnight   In a truck this is most important, no one likes a chilly truck

[deepinthewoods]

nothing worse. i hope you got the door insulated.
 
the best, overnighting wood is a long dead oak root ball. chopped up to burner sized lumps, it will be half burned by morning, just open her up and off she goes!

[MAK]

Come on. A wood burner in the truck? Wow. Any photos?
 

[egglady]

fab thread!  many many thanks.


i have about 20 rods (?) of willow that i chucked in pots last year.  couldnt decide what to do with them and had just decided to put them on the compost....first thing tomorrow i think perhaps they will be rescued and planted elsewhere.


my main question, will the rabbits chew at the bark if i just plant out without protection?

[escapedtothecountry]

Yep - I planted 500 willow rods - all had to have rabbit guards. Rabbits here gnaw on anything their noses come into contact with.

[colliewoman]

Come on. A wood burner in the truck? Wow. Any photos?
 

No can do as my camera is all broked   But Dave has seen it haven't you Dave? Or was it still in the fire pit when you were here??

[colliewoman]

fab thread!  many many thanks.


i have about 20 rods (?) of willow that i chucked in pots last year.  couldnt decide what to do with them and had just decided to put them on the compost....first thing tomorrow i think perhaps they will be rescued and planted elsewhere.


my main question, will the rabbits chew at the bark if i just plant out without protection?

All of my rabbits would willingly sell their souls for willow whips, i would definitely protect them

[deepinthewoods]

nearly every converted horsebox, truck, caravan, bus, that has been converted to be lived in has had a wood burner.
 
nothing else will provide dry heat suitable for healthy living.
 
have you never been in a travellers bus mak? that is something that needs to be sorted!!