Oak Ripened on the vine, Victims of the Gypsy Moths

[golfandwoodnut]

I am still cutting and hauling in this heat wave. I have been extending my trail through the woods with my Bobcat and can now reach spots with the ATV that I could never reach before. I do not know how many of you remember the gypsy moths that invaded from the northeast, due to some sceintist experimenting with moths to make better silk. Some escaped from the lab and devistated alot of Oak trees and it ended up killing several on my property (especially ones closest to the power lines). This was around 1990, and the Oak trees were standing dead for almost 20 years. Here is one of the ones that just fell and took out a couple of Beech trees on its way down. I thought it would be punky, but to my surprise it is quite solid and very dry. I split a bunch of it and tested it. It is at 20 percent moisture content. I have around 15 cords cut and stacked, so I am not desperate, but I think I will give some of this a try. I am also anxious to try a little of the Beech since I hear that is great stuff, and it splits nicely too, and very little bark.

 

[Skier76]

I found the same thing last weekend. I had a dead tree that I thought would be all punk. It sawed really easily...but after splitting, some of the chunks turned out to be pretty good! Even the dry rotted stuff will be good for the firepit.

Keep us posted on the Beech. Our neighbor in VT has a bunch he wants to take down and said we could have the wood.

 

[billb3]

I cut some down exactly like that almost two years ago.
Still haven't burnt it (on the bottom of a pile of less seasoned stuff - oops)
Still hasn't turned grey on the ends.

Bought a new chain after cutting those up. Hard as a rock.











edit: I don't blame gypsy moths alone, though.
We haven't had any (moth caterpillars) this year, or last and very few the year before that and have lost oaks last year, although this year seems OK so far.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I found the same thing last weekend. I had a dead tree that I thought would be all punk. It sawed really easily...but after splitting, some of the chunks turned out to be pretty good! Even the dry rotted stuff will be good for the firepit.

Keep us posted on the Beech. Our neighbor in VT has a bunch he wants to take down and said we could have the wood.

Skier, don't worry about the beech. It is great wood to burn. When splitting by hand, don't split it through the heart. Take slabs off the sides and it splits easier.


On the gypsy moth, we did see some areas of heavy damage along the RAAM route. Memory fades a bit too fast nowadays, especially after race, but it seems to me I saw damage in WV or Ohio, or both.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Hi Dennis, in PA we had lots of damage to the Oaks near the PA Turnpike, and near Power Lines, etc. It seems that trees that were already under some distress could not handle the blight of the gypsy moths first wave back in the early 90s. The only good thing that came from the gypsy moths (which look just like tent worms) is that they seem to kill off the tent worms. We get very little tent worm activity now, they used to be in the cherry and fruit trees every year. Rarely do I ever see them any more.

 

[jtmcgowan]

I prefer standing dead. A friend of mine cut a standing dead white oak in a wetland area and could never get it to burn.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

That looks a lot like the deadwood Red Oak I harvest around here. It can be quite wet when first split- at other times, dry enough you can tell it'll burn fine in the fall. The seasoning time can be as long as for green cut wood in some cases.

I prefer standing dead. A friend of mine cut a standing dead white oak in a wetland area and could never get it to burn.

Did he split it? Did he season it? For how long? I can imagine almost no wood which wouldn't eventually dry out for burning. Your friend with the White Oak probably had unreasonable expectations as to how soon it was going to be ready. I agree with others in here who have said that Oak can take 2 years, even on up to 4 years for small rounds that don't get split. Some bigger rounds will never season adequately until they get split. Plan on 1-3 years for Oak after splitting.

Fallen dead can be just as wet as green wood. Even standing dead can have the lower half or third of the trunk needing 1-2 years seasoning after splitting, whereas the top wood and branches can burn in the fall. I'm starting to be able to tell by the feel of the wood how many years it's going to take. There's a certain 'dry enough' feeling which tells me pretty accurately which pieces are near ready. Usually my cheapo HF moisture meter confirms this for me.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Cluttermagnet, you are right on. Even with dead elm. Most of it simply needs more time to dry enough to make decent burning wood. More so with oak.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I am certainly far enough ahead now, I have about 15 full cords stacked, so I probably will let this Oak sit awhile. However, it is really light, compared to freshly cut oak and it is confirmed on the moisture meter (20 percent) Maybe as I get closer to the roots is will get wetter. I think I will just try a little to see how it burns this winter. As I look around my wood lot I must have another 30 cords of dead oak like this. Some is down, some is leaning, and some is still standing. Now that I get get around I have my future work laid out. My friends already think I am crazy, but I enjoy the workout and if I get too far ahead I can give some away or maybe even sell a little. I am splitting everything by hand so far, so I am really not looking at this as a profit motive.