Cut Down Some Tree Branches Yesterday

[carlo]

After cutting down a lot of branches off my birch trees yesterday I am unsure how to store the twigs. The thicker branches that were cut I can put on my wood rack and keep partially covered during the summer months. But I have so many twigs that I don't know what to do with. I love throwing twigs in the stove when building a fire. They really catch quickly and the intense quick burn is pleasant on the eyes.

I have no covered storage area on my property, so what I have done is put the twigs in a plastic garbage bag. Many of the twigs poked holes thru the garbage bag because of their sharp uneveness. Will the twigs dry out if in a plastic bag with holes popped in it ? Should I even bother with these twigs ?

 

[hareball]

I am loving twigs for the shoulder season. Having to start a new fire everyday makes them come in handy.

i'd skip the garbage bag as I think it will cause condensation and mold. My neighbor recently threw a big pile of branches and twigs over the fence for me and I'm trying to figure something out too. For now I go out every other day and fill a 5 gallon bucket and that last 2-3 fires but there is no way I will burn through the pile before the season is over.

I think I might cut them all down and spread them out over the woodpile. My branches are all oak though and might have a chance of making it through to fall but birch I'm not sure will last unless you can find some inside storage for them.

 

[carlo]

i was thinking because the bags had like 20 holes each in them from twigs sticking out that enough air would circulate. Especially being that there is plenty of air in the bag from the twigs not being densely packed within the bag. I was still worried about condensation in the summer months though.

I was also thinking about putting the twigs on top of some splits and then putting more splits on top of the twigs and then covering the pile. I guess this would be the best solution

You think some of the skinnier birch twigs may disintegrate quickly over time ? Never thought about that.

 

[hareball]

Since birch is kinda rare here in south jersey I really don't know but I've heard some mention that there is a fine line between a green round of birch and rot so people seem to split it pretty quick so it dries out before it rots. Thats why I was thinking birch twigs will go south quick.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

How about a big plastic Tupperware-type container like they sell at Wal-mart or K-mart; you can cut holes in the sides of it for air, and take the lid off or keep it on. Or do the same thing with a plastic garbage-can container like Home Depot sells; just put lots of holes in the sides of it. I did that years ago for twigs/branches and it worked fine.

 

[andybaker]

Just find somewhere on your property to stack them. Stack them on a couple rows of 2x4's or bricks or something like that. Cut them to length and stack them up. If there are a lot of them criss-cross the ends so you can stack them up higher. They will dry out over the summer. Remember, there's much more sunshine than rain overall. If we hit a very wet spell just throw something on top with a weight on it so it won't blow away. Storing in a plastic bag I would think would get smelly and moldy, even with holes in it. A nice stack of wood, twigs or splits, always look nice and tighty.

 

[carlo]

Well, I think I took the advice of a few and combined them for my solution. What I did was to leave the twigs and small branches in the plastic bags. I then cut the bottom of the plastic bag off, so the plastic bag is like an open cylinder, so any water can just pass right thru. The branches in the bag keep the bag cylindrical on both the top and bottom. I then put the bags of branches on an empty wood rack that sits 6" off the ground. If we are to get heavy rains I'll just put a piece of plastic over the bags with a weight on top. Otherwise I will let them sit in the open cylindrical bag so they can get air and dry out nice.

A question regarding wood moisture ......... If a nice dry split sits on the ground and gets exposed to the summer weather (rain, humidity and dryness) and then let's say you pick up the split and put it on your wood rack come October. Will that split need many months to dry out or should it dry out quickly if covered and sitting on the rack ? I'm not sure how deep into the split external water can penetrate over time.