Around these parts ( Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) most people believe in cutting down trees for firewood when the Moon is in decline or in the early stage of getting bigger but never when the moon is bigger than half full. We feel wood cut at the bad moon stays wet in fact I had wood that I bought from a fellow who claimed it was cut at the good moon but 4 yrs later the wood still has water coming out the ends when thrown in the stove. Does anyone else watch the moon prior to cutting their firewood or are we just plain crazy here in Cape Breton?
The Moon and wood seasoning
- Thread starter ziggy19
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
yooperdave
Minister of Fire
never heard of it.
i did hear that on the 19th of this month, the moon will be the closest to earth that it has been in 18 years. one prediction was more natural disasters-earthquakes, floods, volvcanos, storms. you know, the usual doomsday predictions. wait a minute...earthquakes???? uh, i gotta go-
i did hear that on the 19th of this month, the moon will be the closest to earth that it has been in 18 years. one prediction was more natural disasters-earthquakes, floods, volvcanos, storms. you know, the usual doomsday predictions. wait a minute...earthquakes???? uh, i gotta go-
Thistle
Minister of Fire
In the tropics below the Equator its custom to cut logs for lumber using the moon & tide phases,instead of seasons like in temperate zones.Anytime its cut during a full moon,the sap is supposedly flowing more & the added moisture brings out more insects,mould/mildew that develop into more degrade & waste.
I've been to Cape Breton a few times and I think the moon idea must come from being isolated during long winters....
Matt
Matt
I always cut during the day so I seldom see the moon when I am cutting. LOL. In retrospect though it is possible that there is more sap running during a full moon period because the light of the moon may trigger more photosynthesis. Photoperiodism has an effect on a lot of things we seldom give much heed to. Now I wonder paying attentio to moon phases will help keep my chain sharper longer? (Like not using it in a full moon?)
Kenster
Minister of Fire
I don't think a full moon has any effect on photosynthesis as moonlight is just a reflection. However, the moon, especially a full one, has a powerful pull as reflected in tides.
Our friend from Nova Scotia can vouch for this. The Bay of Fundy, which lies immediately west of Nova Scotia has the highest tides in the world. I have seen the tides actually reverse the flow of rivers in Nova Scotia. Anyway, it makes sense to me that the moon could also have a great effect on the flow of sap.
The threat of bad things happening on and around March 19 is real enough. I disregard all predictions based on astrology, but astronomy is another thing. The moon will be the closest to Earth in 18 years which would already have a strong effect on tides, but it is also going to be a full moon at that point. The pulling force of the moon can quite possibly create terribly high tides, but also have a pull on the earth's plates. It doesn't take much pull along a fault line to cause an earthquake. Fault lines are already under enormous stress.
Our friend from Nova Scotia can vouch for this. The Bay of Fundy, which lies immediately west of Nova Scotia has the highest tides in the world. I have seen the tides actually reverse the flow of rivers in Nova Scotia. Anyway, it makes sense to me that the moon could also have a great effect on the flow of sap.
The threat of bad things happening on and around March 19 is real enough. I disregard all predictions based on astrology, but astronomy is another thing. The moon will be the closest to Earth in 18 years which would already have a strong effect on tides, but it is also going to be a full moon at that point. The pulling force of the moon can quite possibly create terribly high tides, but also have a pull on the earth's plates. It doesn't take much pull along a fault line to cause an earthquake. Fault lines are already under enormous stress.
-PB-
New Member
dont know much about how the moon affects wood but Blue Moon makes a good beer! Garnish with an orange slice. Does that help?
As far as possibilities are concerned we don't necessarily have to be in complete perigee with the moon for there to be an effect and the quake in Japan may well have been triggered by the nearness of the moon. I would think the gravitational pull of the moon whether full or new is based on it's proximity to the earth and not based on it's fullness or it's newness. That said however, and not trying to discredit historical observations, where the moon is at at these times can more or less aid other gravitational forces or be aided by other gravitational forces in our solar system. (Anybody remember the book about the Jupiter Effect?) That is to say unless there is some new scientific evidence that we as humans have ignored conscripting the degree of force of gravitational pull with light emission intensity. It would be interesting to find whether what some call folk lore has actually been a mild scientific account. :long:
midwestcoast
Minister of Fire
Cave2k said:
It's not the light of the full moon that has anything to do with tides, it's the fact that when we see the moon as full it's because the sun and moon are more or less lined up in the same direction from earth. So the sun and moon are both pulling the tides in the same direction & we get an amplified effect called a Spring Tide.
midwestcoast
Minister of Fire
I'm not biting too quick on this one, but I'd guess that if anyone were to see a regular effect of moonphase on the flow of sap in trees it would be the folks making Maple Syrup (now & for many centuries prior). If the buckets filled up more (or less) on the full moon every year for hundreds of years you can bet it would be noticed and the knowledge would be passed down through generations. Ask some sugarers.
As for a residual effect on the wood drying years after it's cut? I'd blame the effects of the weather in Cape Breton, be they physical or psychological. ;-)
As for a residual effect on the wood drying years after it's cut? I'd blame the effects of the weather in Cape Breton, be they physical or psychological. ;-)
Thistle
Minister of Fire
-PB- said:
Have you tried their Winter Seasonal - "Winter Abbey Ale" yet? Copper-colored ale,with selected roasted malts,a hint of Belgian sugar & touch of wheat.I like it as much as Guinness & it ranks right up there with any real Belgian Ale I've had so far.It was just released in late 2010 for the first time.I think the season's over now,luckily I grabbed a case of it before distributers started stocking the Spring Ale in local stores.
I know of barbers who manage clientele by the moon--the ones who want their hair to grow faster get cuts on the waxing moon; the ones who don't like to come in for cuts very often, so want their hair to grow slowly, get their hair cut on a waning moon. I tried her system, and thought it made a difference for me, but who knows? I know that there were people who laughed at the idea without even considering it.
If the preponderance of evidence is on the side of the theory, then the theory deserves investigation. Experiments have been run by forum posters before: the round-piles-of-firewood theory; the drying-indoors theory, and more. Why not run an experiement with similar trees on different cut dates, and use a moisture meter to test it?
If the preponderance of evidence is on the side of the theory, then the theory deserves investigation. Experiments have been run by forum posters before: the round-piles-of-firewood theory; the drying-indoors theory, and more. Why not run an experiement with similar trees on different cut dates, and use a moisture meter to test it?
woodchip
Minister of Fire
Best time to cut down trees for firewood is in Autumn/early Winter when the sap is down, this will assist greatly in seasoning. Quite a few varieties of tree will be ready to burn by the following Autumn if they are felled, cut, and split before Christmas the previous year.
As to flowing sap or non flowing sap....... the wood will be sappy during the Spring and Summer whether the moon is waxing or waning.
If you cut, you would have to season the wood that much longer as it will be full of sap, whether flowing or not
I reckon folks around Cape Breton have a lot of time on their hands to be dreaming up stuff like this. But I'm happy to be proved wrong!
As to flowing sap or non flowing sap....... the wood will be sappy during the Spring and Summer whether the moon is waxing or waning.
If you cut, you would have to season the wood that much longer as it will be full of sap, whether flowing or not
I reckon folks around Cape Breton have a lot of time on their hands to be dreaming up stuff like this. But I'm happy to be proved wrong
!
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Yup woodchip. I do the cutting during the winter months. We usually start around Dec. 1. We've never paid attention to what stage the moon is in; we just leave the wood in the stack for a few years and it is dry.
woodchip said:Best time to cut down trees for firewood is in Autumn/early Winter when the sap is down, this will assist greatly in seasoning. Quite a few varieties of tree will be ready to burn by the following Autumn if they are felled, cut, and split before Christmas the previous year.
As to flowing sap or non flowing sap....... the wood will be sappy during the Spring and Summer whether the moon is waxing or waning.
If you cut, you would have to season the wood that much longer as it will be full of sap, whether flowing or not
I reckon folks around Cape Breton have a lot of time on their hands to be dreaming up stuff like this. But I'm happy to be proved wrong
I don't know about moon phases, but sap (water) remains in the tree during all seasons. The living cells of the tree contain an antifreeze that protects the cells and there is water bound within the wood fiber that freezes in the winter. Cutting the wood in winter doesn't quicken the seasoning time. It only means you have more seasoning time vs waiting and cutting in spring.
The stories I hear about maple syrup supposedly started within the last four or five hundred years and that is certainly time enough for some opinion on moon phase and sap flow to develope. Don't recall any to do with maple syrup though. And yes it's nice to know that others see the sun would be another gravitational influence in our solar system. 
Naandme
New Member
wood butcher
Member
In the book" Seasons of America Past" author Eric Sloane talks about something similar. It reads ' The proper time for wood cutting has many variations. The "second run of sap in August" as the best time for cutting fence railing is still disputed by many; in a nation wide vote over a century ago would have chosen February as the best month for felling fine building timber- and of course," during the old moon". ... "The moon has such potential influence in the various parts of her orbits," says the New England Farmer, "that by cutting one tree three hours before the new moon and another of the same kind of tree six hours afterwards, a difference in the soundness of the wood is noticeable." ... It was also the opinion of the old-timer that as the moon affects the mechanics of all liquids on earth just as it does the tides of the oceans, so does the moon affect the flow of sap within living plants.'
It is a great book and worth a read. I cut my wood when the logging truck drops it off, usually in late fall into winter.
It is a great book and worth a read. I cut my wood when the logging truck drops it off, usually in late fall into winter.
-PB-
New Member
Thistle said:
Haven't seen it, I will definately look. maybe if I have enough I can howl at the moon also!
I have cut trees in the spring that had so much sap that it was shooting off the chain and spraying me. Never had had that happen in the winter.
Sisu said:woodchip said:Best time to cut down trees for firewood is in Autumn/early Winter when the sap is down, this will assist greatly in seasoning. Quite a few varieties of tree will be ready to burn by the following Autumn if they are felled, cut, and split before Christmas the previous year.
As to flowing sap or non flowing sap....... the wood will be sappy during the Spring and Summer whether the moon is waxing or waning.
If you cut, you would have to season the wood that much longer as it will be full of sap, whether flowing or not
I reckon folks around Cape Breton have a lot of time on their hands to be dreaming up stuff like this. But I'm happy to be proved wrong
I don't know about moon phases, but sap (water) remains in the tree during all seasons. The living cells of the tree contain an antifreeze that protects the cells and there is water bound within the wood fiber that freezes in the winter. Cutting the wood in winter doesn't quicken the seasoning time. It only means you have more seasoning time vs waiting and cutting in spring.
Some of the oldtimers around here cut in fall of year leaving the trees lay with the branches on. The thought was that the leaves still being green would suck up the sap as the tree died thus leaving
it dryer when harvester later in the year anyone hear of this? It seems to have some merit might be a way to get dryer wood and let mother nature help. Just saying????
it dryer when harvester later in the year anyone hear of this? It seems to have some merit might be a way to get dryer wood and let mother nature help. Just saying????
15-1 that were crazy and I`m the one who voted that we` re not...ouch. around here among wood burners it would be 15-1 the other way but I guess we `ve always done it that way so why mess with a good thing, maybe we `d cut during the bad moon it would be ok?
- Status
Similar threads
