Is it really possible to grow firewood in just a few years?
Vložit
- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- Willow is super easy to plant and fast to grow. You just cut a branch and stick it in the ground. It will grow - just like magic! We are planting a coppice on our smallholding to give us free firewood. In this video, I show you how to do it on our British style homestead.
- Jak na to + styl
We coppice about half a dozen hazel trees for bean poles. We find that we get better results if we don't cut all the withies off a stool in one go - we take the largest from each every year and then leave the other withies to keep growing. This way we get an overall steady supply rather than a big harvest one year and none the rest. Coppicing works better than repeatedly planting new trees because the roots are left in the soil and so do not have to be grown again by new trees - a larger amount of energy therefore goes into growing withies, giving a bigger harvest. The only reason for taking all the withies from the trees in one go is commercial - in the past all the wood from an area was sold in one go to a buyer. Big trees make more wood than small trees in a year - we keep constantly large trees rather than having a lot of years with small trees and so a larger yield over a multi-year cycle. Just to note, each stool starts several new withies every year when processed like this.
I had thought about trying that technique - nice to know that it is working well. Thanks for the info!
Ah, I was going to say that I have planted my new Hazels closer together than stated in this video because I plan to select branches for cutting, just as I do currently with my existing old hazels (I have a line of them that have been coppiced for what could be centuries.
Sounds good. Ours are rather far apart. Growing them closer together will also likely make them grow taller.
Mesquite can be chopped to the ground and turns into a huge tree in two to three years. I had it growing in my Phoenix az garden. Planning to try it in the high desert.
Love what you're doing and wish you luck. I did struggle with the volume in parts of the video, but your info is super helpful, thank you.
Yeah, sound issues were a problem with some of my earlier videos. I think I have it sorted now. Thanks for your kind words!
Thank you. Lovely information and a concept
Thanks for that. I plant to make a video showing the progress that the coppice has made over this summer. Should be published in a couple of months, once the growing season is drawing to a close.
I’m planning on planting willow for firewood. Well made ,informative video’s . Subbed!
Thanks for that! Hope the willow grows well.
What a great idea 👏👏🇬🇧
Thank you!
Very nice. Thanks for sharing 😊
My pleasure 😊
Impressive!
Thank you!
Cottonwood and Poplar Cuttings are good as well 😊
Yes, we have a couple of large aspen trees - I am not sure if they count as cottonwoods. We have planted hundreds more, so I hope to be able to report on their progress soon.
I planted about 250 12'' Willow sticks, 27 years ago, mainly as a wind break against the Norfolk Fenland wind. After 5 years I started using them in our wood burner.
2 to 3 inch diam is the best. After 27 years they're gaining on me and each branch are maybe a foot in diam. 23 Poplar sticks used as vegetable row markers, were uncut and are now 75' high, 2 foot diam trees. I do pollarding, but the downside has been, willow beetle and aphids. Beetle attracts Woodpeckers which weakens the trunks and causes wind damage. Aphids attract Wasps, which can be dealt with by water spray.
The downwind smell of Willow is unpleasent and it is classed as poor firewood, but I find it gives off plenty of heat if fueled often, as it tends to die quickly.
...
czcams.com/video/5ZQf5diUN0E/video.htmlsi=NDxdIaifpeZuzQ7q
That is really impressive - thanks for the info!
Willow will grow fast. I made a garden fence a few years ago from some 4ft willow stalks. Set them in the ground, they sprouted leaves, i thought aw cool, They are now 20 ft tall😂
Oh no!!
In 8 years time the trunks have only grown maybe 1 inch in diameter but the branches from the top of the fence post have grown 16 ft approx.
I also have a big leaf maple that was cut down in 2014, it now has many 3 inch diameter suckered limbs from the stump, if I was you I'd mix in a few other trees in that acreage, I mean it's up to you and you got a good system, 👍 I'm just sayin, I'm a mix and match kinda guy
rocket mass heaters would make great use of those bash and slips, too
That sounds like a great idea. Maybe we could build one in the polytunnel....
@@theviewfromtheclouds Paul Wheaton had this idea of having a giant berm as a mass for an RMH to increase the growing season on it, dunno if he ever did anything with that.
I play the cottonwood locost at Maple 40 years ago we are now harvesting some of each the cottonwoods are 80 foot tall handled with 3 foot in diameter
Wow! That sounds great. We will have to wait a while for trees that size!
Wish I could coppice where I am. I have to climb a ladder to pollard because deer will strip buds off anything under 2 meters where I am.
Wow, that sounds like a challenge! What sort of deer do you have there?
I have deer too (red and roe), and last year I was at my wit's end with them. They killed 20 young trees, battering them with their antlers until they twisted off their rootstocks.
I must have tried everything over the years including all these so called scent repellents (manufacturers spend so much effort deodorising them so they don't offend human noses, they forget they don't offend anything else at that point).
However!
I did notice that in a few places, where I had been so determined to protect special trees that I jammed a load of dead sticks in the ground around them, the hazels were untouched.
(When I say 'jammed in,' not in the manner of a solid wall, but like a dense thicket, with sticks up to the height of the young tree pushed into the ground 2-3 inches apart, making a thicket just a few inches in width around the tree).
I've no idea if the deer can't see them, smell them, or just think it's too much trouble, but they are more likely to walk past than try another attack.
A few days ago, a deer had tried to get at a non-native Hawthorn in a wire mesh tree guard, almost squashing the tree to the ground.
I put another 'thicket' around that. Just sticks I pruned off dead bits of Birch, Sycamore, Buddleia, anything really, some live twigs with leaves stripped off too. The Hawthorn has been left alone since, and yet deer have been in the garden since.
I'm also trying another idea this year.
I have a long drift of young Hazel seedlings going through the centre of my garden, and I've rooted lots of Weigela cuttings around these as a disguise.
Deer appear to leave a lot of these common old ornamental shrubs well alone - Weigela, spiraea (tall type), symphoricarpus, Buddleia to name a few.
The plan is, as the Hazels grow, the Weigela should match, providing the Hazels with cover until they're tall enough for their first coppice. Weigela aren't dense enough to crowd the Hazel out and they're easy from cuttings.
I used the other ornamental shrubs to disguise a few other non-Hazel trees around the garden, and again it seems to be working.
Sounds like a really good plan. Coppices were protected in the past by just heaping the cuttings up on the stool. Similar idea I suppose.
the rest of the world.. and me are growing black locust , robina psuedoacacia. Fast growing hardwood. Same calories as soft coal. 10 years to fencepost size 15 to splitrail. Nothing compares. I started some in the fall of 2012 from root cuttings. I planted in sand "islands" about 20' long and spaced the islands about 15 apart. They're sending up new plants in between from lateral root runners. I seriously don't know why anyone would plant willow unless it was for basketry. Even though locust would probably work better for that as well , lol.
Hi, thanks for your info. Black locust trees really look amazing and I very much wanted to include them in our planting plan. Sadly, the climate of northwest England, where we live, is not suitable. Our soil is too wet and they would not thrive like they do in other parts of the world. They are only really grown as ornamentals here in areas with better drained soil than what we have, which is heavy, wet clay. That is a real pity for us!
@@theviewfromtheclouds that's unfortunate. I planted in an area that , at times is wet. That's why I used the raised bed of sand to plant in. I have the equipment , sand , and the proper climate so I may have a slight advantage. Locust is an amazing wood. Everyone else in the world seems aware but my country (USA) pays our farmers to grow corn and soybeans so our children can be the fattest in the world.
The Virginia Pseudoacacia (Black Locust)is really only suitable for its native range on the foothills of the Appalachian. It is officially considered an invasive weed outside of that range. Also it does not thrive north of the 45th parallel and in silicate poor soils.
Salix viminalis
Two double rows at 75 cm between them.
60 cm between the plants on a row.
150 cm free for the tractors and combine.
Cut in nov-feb when humidity is around 40%
Store until humidity drops to 20%
30-45 tons/ha when rains 350 - 400 mm.
Has the same diameter as the wood pellets.
Cut to size and use with automatic dispensers just as you would with wood pellets.
There are some studies with Black Locust looking at denser planting schemes. It seems that it performs better in drier areas and has a higher productivity.
This sounds like a good idea. But, our coppice is only around 1.5 ha so machinery might be over kill if we cut one fifth of it every year, and we have log burners so need logs. Thanks for the input though. I really wish that Black locust would thrive here, but I think you are right that it needs drier areas.
The black locust in our garden is growing like crazy and that's in the south west of Germany, not a particularly dry or hot region.
In my little corner of the world, central Kentucky, USA, black locust is the best answer to the firewood question.
While dealing with thorns is a challenge, black locust is native here, copoices and pollards and suckers well. It is able to grow crazy fast. And makes new trunks from root cuttings. Easy!
I have firewood sized logs in about 4 years.
Coppice them off and wait another 4 years.
Black locust is more energy dense than oak, grows fast, and splits easily.
We are going to try black locust this year, but I think it prefers long hot summers, which we often don't get. Fingers crossed!
It's also very durable and resistant against rotting. Easy fenceposts if you let them grow a few more years.
Rice straw grows in weeks and burns hot but quick good hsrd wood for long lasting fires and heating takes decades
Great videos, I'd like to see what typical coppiced log size is you burn. you state 1" circumference per year and you plan to harvest after 5 years. This equates to approximately 1.6" and this would be at the thickest point. This seems quite small? Or do you just stoke the fire a lot?
Hi, thanks for the question. In that video, I was referring to uncoppiced willow growing in our grassy field. I should have made that more clear. Those trees are currently putting on a bit more growth than that, which is great. Once coppiced, the growth rate increases dramatically. In our latest coppice video: czcams.com/video/sJaNXIcl8ZM/video.html, I show the same tree that I cut down, after one summer's growth. Each shoot is now about 8cm in circumference - measured about 2 inches above stump level. And, there are several of them. So, after 5 years (assuming it maintains this growth rate) each shoot will be around 40cm in circumference. This will equal a log at the target of 5 inches (12-13cm). Like you say, this is at the thickest point, so we may choose to let it grow another year or two so that more of the stem is usable. I hope that help. Sorry for being a bit unclear.
You can bundle the twigs and burn them as well. There is an archaic word for what the bundle is but I am not allowed to use it.
Yes, or put them on top of the stools for protection from deer. Mixed opinions on that though.
Can you do that anytime in the year? Or just late fall / winter?
Hi, thanks for the question. It depends on your climate. Here in the northwest of England, you can get away with it sometimes year round. You need wet soil to prevent the newly planted rods from drying out and to give it moisture while it is getting established. Otherwise, it is best to wait until late winter. That will give it the best chance of success because there will be more rain around (depending on where you are) and the lower temperatures will help prevent too much evaporation from the new leaves. Also, plants just tend to much more vigorous in the spring.
how many willow trees will you be planting to have a self sustainable fire wood supply? i just planted 100 this year and will plant another 400 in spring but i'm thinking that wont be enough being as it's only about 100 per year on a rotation at 20%
Hi, the general rule of thumb is 7 acres for a three bed house. But, that is very vague and not hugely helpful as there are so many variables. Since this is my first attempt at coppicing, and because I cut them all down last winter, I am still at the theoretical stage. I am planning on doing an in depth video on this question over the winter that will be based on the research that is out there. Are you planting willow?
hi, thanks for the reply. yes, it's hybrid willow that i'm planting along with a few other varieties to see what will grow best up in the highlands. i only have 3 acres of land total though which may be a problem to be self sufficient in firewood. i read 1 artilce saying a 10m x 10m area with trees planting every metre would give 1 tonne, but then another artcle said 1m is too close together for logs and needs to be 2m spacings. lots of confusing and contradictory articles about. i put 100 x 2ft cuttings in the ground in june and some of those are 7ft high already but i didnt clear the ground well and grass and rushes probably stopped a lot of growth but ive laid weed cloth down now so hopefully it will kill all the grass and such over winter and make less competition for the 400 willow i'll be planting in spring. i can clear more area but it takes a lot of time with a scythe as its rough ground, so i'm hoping that snow flattens it and then i'll just cover it up with weed cloth and hopefully it will kill it all and turn it into fertiliser as then i'll have room for another 500 or so.
It sounds like you are doing really well getting 7 feet in one season! Yeah, some of the info out there seems... optimistic to say the least. I read that advice as well, but we decided to go with a wider spacing. This was mostly as a result of visiting Knepp farm down south and seeing how far apart the naturally growing willow was. Any trees closer than two meters seemed thin and ill.
Is it a particular species of Willow that you are planting?
Hi, I should have said that in my videos. Must remember next time. They are: Salix Viminalis x Schwerinii, Q83- Salix Triandra x Viminalis, and another one that was found in a hedge but looks like a Viminalis hybrid. The random hedge find is the most successful for us. It likely has some grey or goat willow in it because it has pussy willow catkins on it in the spring. Hope that helps!
So let me get this right.
You can cut hardwood branches off a willow tree and shove them into the ground, as is, and they will root into new trees?
😳
Hi, yes that's right. Willow is really amazing that way.
@@theviewfromtheclouds well that has taken me 48 years to learn that.
Thank you and subscribed.
Thanks!
It's coppicetic man
...
Make a mulch of waste to maintain healthy soil
Why do you use Willow? It is a quite poor firewood. As well as hazel.
If you have enough space, you can plant some 'normal' trees on the edges. Let them grow, harvest, sell the butt for lumber and use the rest as firewood. Takes some more time but helps you make money.
Don't be to fussy about how and where to cut them. People have been doing it for centuries. They only had axes, or whatever, and it worked quite fine.
Consider using alder, asch and maple. Perhaps oak. They can also be coppiced, make a better firewood
Yes, willow is literally the worst firewood option. Even if using it for short term, the aim should be for some quicker growing hardwoods - I have 30' birch just 15 years old along with alder and ash which are usable now and just a couple of acres of shelter belt will provide enough firewood for one property from thinnings.
I'm told apple wood is good for burning but I don't know if it would be suitable to grow just for this. Perhaps some varieties would be vigorous growers with a rootstock that enables that. The bonus would be a small harvest of apples after 4 years.