[Bumblebear]

Hi there, has anyone got experience in growing poplars for fuel? http://www.bowhayestrees.co.uk/logging.html

[Possum]

I'm thinking about doing this as well. Either poplar or willows. I've heard mixed reports, but haven't been able to speak to anyone whose actually tried it. Really interested to hear about other people's experience.

[deepinthewoods]

well the linked page seems convincing enough, isnt it just what people have done for aeons, mak has experience of chestnut coppicing for fuel (iirc)

[FiB]

I know some say that all wood has the same CV/Tonne, but I cant help believing...  "Poplar – avoid all poplar wood – it burns very slowly with little heat – which is why poplar is used to make matchsticks"
I have the book from this link, and really enjoy it http://www.wildeye.co.uk/trees/firewood.html  I have seen other sites talk about burning poplar sp Ok though

[Possum]

That's excellent FiB! The book/link says that willow is very good for burning. That's my dilemma settled then. Willows to be planted in all the shady spots this autumn.

[Small Farmer]

We planted some willow two years ago last spring and will be getting a firewood crop next year.  It's grown fast - we'll have to leave it to dry for a good while though.

[Fleecewife]

Willow grows very fast but it also burns very fast so you need some harder wood to complement it.  We planted up a new coppice a few years ago with willow, hazel and ash - ash burns beautifully but with this new ash disease spreading rapidly it looks as if we will have to start planting something else.
 
We have a little poplar but haven't tried burning it. Lawson cyprus is the most horrible stuff to burn - it stays black and gives out no heat.
 
Remember with willow that if you have sheep you can put your cut branches into their paddock and they will remove the bark for you, ready for litter-free stacking 

[Dans]

I was just having a talk about this with the OH.

We were thinking poplar from our brief search of the tinterwebs.

Has anyone had experience of burning poplar? Our experience of burning wood is just shop bought and we've never paid any notice to species.

Dans

[escapedtothecountry]

When we moved to our place we asked for three poplars to be topped (is that the right phrase) Anyway we were left with loads of wood which I split and have been happily using it in the two woodburners we have.


It seems to burn quite nicely though we get through quite a lot.


I have also planted around 500 willow rods which have been interesting to see which have been successful. The ones that have had an element of shade have shot up. Some in full soon too close to the horrible conifers which border the property have struggled and some died.


If only the conifers could be hacked down and then left to season and then put in the wood burner I would probably have a wood supply for the next decade - but I fear they would tar up the chimney!

[Dans]

Hmmm, I'm now thinking poplar and willow combined with horse poop. 

Dans

[deepinthewoods]

i saw a guy on tv talking about his willow plantation, he reckoned that if you planted each one in a square meter of membrane the growth would be up to 5 times faster, due to the lack of competition from grass etc.
 

[escapedtothecountry]

I saw that too and suspect he is totally right. I didn't bother and they are fine but not huge so probably well worth putting in the effort with weed matting.

[Wendy@blueborage]

The advantages of poplar and willow are that they are fast growers. This firewood - seasoned - burns hot but quickly.  You can get through quite a lot in a short time. 

I guess you can say that grass can take the nutrients away from growing willow, but I think this is probably a bit fussy.  I'd say just the plant the willow somewhere wet, and like all trees if you keep an eye on them for the first year and steer them through successfully then they should be fine (and - yes - willow is a favourite sheep delicacy!)

Wendy@blueborage

blueborage.blogspot.com

[escapedtothecountry]

The supplier of the willow I bought also suggested that competition from grass and weeds could really hinder first year growth. Given I was planting 500 rods I didn't do anything - but the suggestion was weed matting and or weed killer for the ground prior to planting/ This isn't the only place I've seen this suggested.

[MAK]

A mix of wood is a good suggestion.
If you go with willow and popular you may have to think of how much you need to harvest.

 There is a table on the www that compares the thermal output different woods.
You may have to give some serious thought to the following.
1. Quantity you will need to harvest and how to get it back to your store.
2. Size, aspect and wind flow of covered outside store.
3. An indoor store or a good route into the house with arms full of wood is important.

The above sounds simples but if you need to store 3 tonne of wood per year then you have some serious haulage and storrage issues - even if you stack the first years wood harvest outside you will probabley still need a very large undercover store for older wood that is drying and even older wood that is ready to burn. 

Indoor store - if you are burning popular then how much a day do you expect to carry into the house? If you have space in the house to store a days worth then a few wood runs in the morning may be better than having to sclapp in and out of the house all day and night.
Right - off to get some more wood from outside now