[kaz]

Has anyone had any experience with the fast growing willow variety to be used for firewood as our central heating is now multifuel and we also have two woodburners so need a good supply of wood.
The adverts tell you that it can be harvested approx 2years, is that true.
Kaz

[Blinkers]

I was going to ask the same sort of question     We have an abundance of willow and.....a woodburner 

[rustyme]

hello .....yes it is more or less true .. every 2-3 years you can crop it for fire wood. A little bit longer will give you bigger logs , so if you have lots and want real logs then a 3-4 year rotation may be better. Cut them early winter after the leaves have all gone and season them as long as possible. You can also increase your numbers by taking cuttings from Nov-March. Just use cuttings upto about the thickness of your fingers and nearly all of them will take. If you want any basket making rods plant them on about a 2'x3' grid and about a 3'x3' grid for fire wood and hurdle making wood. You can crop earlier , as for basket making material , 1-2 year rotation, and then turn the rods into chips with a shredder. This is dried and hopper fed into an appropriate type fire  . The obviouse benifit with this system is the early and regular cropping for smaller areas. You can be self sufficient with firewood with a relatively small area of willow , plus you can make all your own log baskets etc , and when they wear out ....just burn them ..  Hope that helps a bit....cheers Russ

[garden cottage]

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But Ash wet or Ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

[kaz]

Thanks reference willow for firewood as we are going to buy some cuttings to help firewood situation.
Planted 25 ash trees last year. Anyone know how long these have to grow before coppicing?
Kaz

[rustyme]

hello Kaz,
            the simple answer as to when to cut , is when they are big enough ...lol. However that doesn't really help you calculate your crop . An acre (70ydsx70yds, well just under that really ) of ash will provide a cord (8'x4'x4') of fire wood per year for life.  A rotation of say 7 years would be about right for fire wood and if you had an acre of ash , you would get a cord per year by cutting about 1/7th of the coppice each year . By the time you get back round to the first cut batch of stools , they would be about the right size for firewood, 4"-6" dia.

http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/content/section/3754

the above link is a very good reference on coppice in the UK . With Ash, Willow and Hazel you can provide all your own fencing , baskets and fire wood !! very handy with the cost of everything going through the roof.

cheers

Russ

[kaz]

I'll have to look into taking a course on basket making as will save me a fortune in the long run for log basket.
Kaz

[Fluffywelshsheep]

basket making and wottelling (spelling) are a dying art and a good one to learn if you can find a teacture.
I know a cople people in south wales that do both
Linz

[rustyme]

wattle making ,wether for wattle and daub or for wattle fencing , is easy to learn either by looking at stuff online or getting a book . So is basket making , all you need is to be able to read and have common sense. Doing it that way (the way I did it ) it is free (well more or less). Courses are fine for those that want to do them , I have no problem with them whatsoever, but for anyone that can't afford them (like me ), you don't need to go on one , you can learn without. As with any new craft/skill , they take time to learn and a lifetime to  perfect . But that is all part of the fun of learning them . I have a rule that I work by , each time I come across something I can't do , I learn how to do it ! and from then on I do it myself. Some things it is because I can't afford to get others to do it , but mainly it is because I want to be able to do whatever I need to . I know not everyone wants to do things that way , but for those that do , go for it and learn .
Growing willow can supply you with so many things, it is worth growing as much as you can spare the space for . Even if you end up with more than you need , you can sell the surplus (cuttings even sell on ebay).

Russ

[dan_golding]

Is this "2 years" from actually planting the tree to first coppice or is it a case of plant tree, wait 5 years, then go on a 2 year cycle?

[rustyme]

hello Dan,
              it is 2 years from planting . Willow grows very fast , and in the first year , the cuttings will grow upto 9 feet or so, depending on variety. They will normally have just 1 or 2 maybe 3 shoots/rods the first year . Cut these back to withing an inch or 2 of the ground ,in the winter, and the following year you will get 2 or 3 shoots per stump . So each year the crop increases. That way of doing things is if you want thin year old rods for basket making or similar. If you want thicker stuff for firewood or for hurdles etc , then you just leave them to grow the required amount of time. If you do the sums though , you will see that if you plant a cutting, and let that single shoot grow for 5 years , you will only get the one shoot for cutting into firewood etc. However if you cut the cutting the first year and then again for a few years , you will end up with many shoots that you can then leave for a longer crop rotation. It all depends on what you want them for, and how many cutting/plants you have .    Hope that helps...
 
cheers

Russ

[Blinkers]

Hey Russ - you wouldn't like to come and take a look at our 'crop' and offer us some advice would you? We could pay you in pork 

[rustyme]

Hello Blinkers ,
                hope you are all settled in now ? Your place looks lovely !! What do you think about the Welsh weather then ? It has been wetter than the norm ,even for here , this year.  At the moment I am snowed under with trying to get too many things done ( digging a huge turn round area out of the hillside, and doing the veggie plot etc.etc.), but if you don't mind waiting till sometime early in the new year ? , then I should be able to pop over. I should be able to get over to you before the new growing season starts , so you could get all work you want done on the stand. Are you aiming for firewood ? , or basket making material ? ,or both? . Do you know what sort of willow it is ?  cheers for now, Russ

[Blinkers]

Oh Russ, YOU...ARE...A....STAR.....Next year would be absolutely fine;  no idea what type of willow it is;   firewood, baskets....anything and everything to save wasting it - except the bloody horses are pruning it !!!!!      

Yes, DESPITE the weather we just LOVE IT HERE and wouldn't wish to be anywhere else on earth.    We have TONNES to do still and are awaiting dratted planning permission for a barn (or SHED as everyone seems to call it here  )....but going ahead with widening the gateway (= moving tonnes of earth   )....let alone all the day to day jobs there are to do.    

Whereabout do you live?  Are you miles away, or fairly near?  

Cheers mate - you're a pal.

M.

[rustyme]

Hello Blinkers,
                 thought I was further away than I am ..... 8 miles it says on the map on your website....lol . I am in Pontsian , 5 miles from Llandysul and 8 miles from Lampeter. If it wasn't for the hills it would be almost walking distance, well maybe when I was 20 years younger...