Rustical

Tag: growing firewood

  • Growing Firewood – Year 11 update

    Following on from our 2019 update about our less than scientific ‘growing your own’ firewood trial, it was time to harvest the same stools again so thought it worthy of another post. This hybrid willow stool pictured below is on its third cut since planting and was last harvested five years ago. The brash is…

  • Removing Diseased Elms

    Removing Diseased Elms

    Dutch Elm disease is not a thing of the past and is still a problem for the long suffering trees that survived the wave of disease that spread in the 1960’s. The disease is spread by beetles who bore through the bark of the elm. We count ourselves lucky to still have a few elm…

  • Growing Firewood – Year six update

    Growing Firewood – Year six update

    We originally chose a six year trial for hybrid willow to test the claims made by retailers of the willow for firewood production. Not a particularly scientific approach but, hopefully, it might be useful to share the findings: Hybrid WillowThese were established willow stools which had been previously cut annually to provide more plants. Bred…

  • Growing Firewood – 2018 Update

    Growing Firewood – 2018 Update

    The latest annual update in our trial of a number of species planted specifically for firewood. All species are on the same soil type so whilst not particularly scientific the findings are sufficient to judge which performs best for us. Storming ahead in both rate of growth and quality of logs is the Eucalyptus Omeo.…

  • Growing Firewood – 2017 Update

    February 2017 Our annual update on the progress of our firewood growing trials. All have made very good progress but the Eucalyptus seems to be doing the best at the year 3 point. The hybrid willow would normally be harvested now and it is a perfect size for making wood chunks. August 2017 I’m beginning…

  • Growing our own firewood

    Many years ago we abandoned the idea of being able to own our own woodland as there is so little of it in West Lancashire in the first place and, of that, it is very rare that it comes up for sale. But, rather than admit defeat, we bought some arable land and field by…

  • Pollarding Ash Trees

    We have quite a few young ash trees which we grew from seed gathered from local trees and planted out around 8 years ago. Whilst the vast majority of our ash trees are being grown to coppice, we have some that are under grazed by free range chickens. Pollarding trees is a bit out of…

  • Growing SRC willow for firewood

    For some years now we have been growing a variety of traditional basket making willow for use as wreath bases, twig wreaths and wreath decorations with any leftovers and offcuts being used as fuel for use in wood boilers. Nothing at all goes to waste. We spotted a number of websites proclaiming hybrid willow and poplar…