A dry day (at last) allowed a late afternoon walk through a row of hybrid willow short rotation coppice (SRC) to hand cut poles of 7cm dia or more for processing into wood chunks to be used as fuel in BBQ’s, wood fired Pizza Ovens, Wood boilers wood burners.
![Hand cutting hybrid SRC willow for wood fuel](http://www.rustical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hybrid-willow-coppice-2018-c-768x1024.jpg)
Whilst a mechanical harvest is much faster, it would clear all stems and thus be much more disruptive to the habitat. Hand cutting allows only those poles which have achieved the optimum size to be cut leaving the rest for future years.
![The hybrid willow SRC 'stools'](http://www.rustical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hybrid-willow-coppice-2018-b-768x1024.jpg)
It might be some time before we can get on to the ground with a trailer to collect the harvest but at least this row has been cut through.
![Lengths of hand cut Willow Short Rotation Coppice (SRC)](http://www.rustical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hybrid-willow-coppice-2018-768x1024.jpg)
A few sticks were brought back to the yard for processing into wood chunks. Once dried, the willow wood chunks makes a first first class fuel for wood ovens and also as a great alternative to lumpwood charcoal on BBQ’s (just light it 15 minutes earlier than you would with charcoal).
![Willow sticks loaded into the back of the car](http://www.rustical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hybrid-willow-coppice-2018-d-768x1024.jpg)
The chunker is powered by a tractor and makes short work of all the sticks fed into it. The wood chunks are then air dried in plastic trays for a year.
![Our 'Chunker' powered by a 1971 MF 135](http://www.rustical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hybrid-willow-coppice-2018-e-1024x904.jpg)
The chunker will process seasoned sticks but it is much kinder to feed it freshly cut sticks as it is far easier for it to processes them and it makes less splinters whilst doing so.
![The 'Chunker' output: Willow wood chunks](http://www.rustical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hybrid-willow-coppice-2018-f-768x1024.jpg)
Once in plastic trays, the wood chunks are stacked up on a pallet and air dried for at least one year before they are ready for use.
![Wet willow wood chunks stacked ready for seasoning](http://www.rustical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hybrid-willow-coppice-2018-g-768x1024.jpg)