Ash firewood

[xrrider]

After 38 years of heating with wood I find myself in a situation where I have never been and need help. The Emerald Ash Borer has decimated the ash trees here in KY and I have 200 acres with widespread dead ash.
Its hard to determine exactly when the damage first started but some of the trees are starting to fall over on their own now. I have been burning the dead on stump trees for 2-3 years now and most of the still standing wood is excellent. The more rotten wood falling over is worthless as firewood. I would really like to preserve a lot of the wood but don't know what I should do with it or if its even possible to do so for the future. I know leaving it on the stump does not always work (because of the trees that have fallen and are already rotten) So should I fell/buck the logs and store them off the ground in the open? Most of the bark is starting to fall off on its own. Or would the logs have to be stored under cover? so as not to get raided on. I would love to harvest many of these trees and have a supply for years to come. Any advise is much appreciated. Thanks Bill

 

[D8Chumley]

Subscribing... my ash trees are doing the same thing, starting to fall over

 

[xrrider]

Subscribing... my ash trees are doing the same thing, starting to fall over

I dont understand why some are so rotten they are falling over and other are dry but still in great shape. I know ash is only about 45% water even when green so I wouldnt think the rotten ones have more moisture in them?? Of course it makes sense that the first trees that had the borer would be more dead but I just dont think the time spread was that great between when the borer's infested all the trees.

 

[Montanalocal]

Yea, we have had the same problem out West here with Pine and the Pine Bark Beetle kill. Many thousands of acres dead about 5-6 years ago, and starting to rot off.

Where they have fallen over each other jackstraw-style, the ones on top are staying fairly good. If you want to go in and cut, you might think of felling a sacrificial tree, and then felling a number of others on top to help keep them off the ground and preserve them until you can get to them. 200 acres. Oh my.

 

[Jeffm1]

...
Its hard to determine exactly when the damage first started but some of the trees are starting to fall over on their own...

It started when the environmentalists outlawed logging. We went from one extreme to the other. As mentioned in a different post we have a similar situation out here in the west with our pine forests...They used to clear cut and overlog. And now we went to practically no cutting. This results in overly dense forests which the water supply cannot sustain and so the trees don't get enough water and become stressed and easily susceptible to insect infestations. They then die and lightning sets the forests ablaze and they burn and go to complete waste anyhow. It's a situation of "use it or loose it." A more moderate, middle of the road approach such as selective thinning would solve much of this problem, create jobs, provide affordable building materials and resources... But this makes too much sense so the enviro-nazis and tree huggers fight it tooth and nail. Too many overzealous environmental regulations are killing both us and the trees.

 

[Rangerbait]

It started when the environmentalists outlawed logging. We went from one extreme to the other. As mentioned in a different post we have a similar situation out here in the west with our pine forests...They used to clear cut and overlog. And now we went to practically no cutting. This results in overly dense forests which the water supply cannot sustain and so the trees don't get enough water and become stressed and easily susceptible to insect infestations. They then die and lightning sets the forests ablaze and they burn and go to complete waste anyhow. It's a situation of "use it or loose it." A more moderate, middle of the road approach such as selective thinning would solve much of this problem, create jobs, provide affordable building materials and resources... But this makes too much sense so the enviro-nazis and tree huggers fight it tooth and nail. Too many overzealous environmental regulations are killing both us and the trees.

100% correct. I grew up on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, and lived through the beetle infestation of the 80's and subsequent loss of a huge percentage of the fir population...30 years later, it's happening all over again with the Ponderosa Pine. About 90% of the pines on my dad's property bordering the national forest are dead or dying such a shame.

 

[johneh]

Getting back to the original post
I have had great luck with dead ash
buck split and stack top cover should last for years
as long as any water that gets on it dries . so store inside or
in the sun with good air movement .
Ash will rot on the stump at ground level because of moisture
The ash I am burning this year was cut in 2010 and I have NO
rot only nice 11% moisture fire wood

 

[Tar12]

I would cut every bit of the good stuff and get it under cover. You would have wood for years to come to burn.I cut some 6 years ago for my friend and we put the logs under a lean to and in his barn..premium fire wood!

 

[Montanalocal]

Another thing you might think of with that much acreage is to partner up with a local firewood dealer. If the access is easy you could cut your way into the ground and come in with a logging truck with a self loader. Felled and limbed logs could be hauled out to the dealers landing, and you could split the profits. At your age there is probably no way you could use this all up before the wood is past its prime. At least this way it would benefit someone.

 

[Woodfarmer1]

I'm focusing on my large trees first to see what can be cut out for lumber, then work away on the rest for firewood.
I would also agree to have the bush logged for firewood, at least you'll make something from it.

 

[xrrider]

I'm focusing on my large trees first to see what can be cut out for lumber, then work away on the rest for firewood.
I would also agree to have the bush logged for firewood, at least you'll make something from it.

 

[xrrider]

Thx for all the replies. I am not interested in selling the wood for firewood partly because I dont want all the buyers coming to the property. and access is limited. All I really want to do is preserve as much of the wood for as long as possible. Three of my friends burn also and all of us together burn a lot of wood. We really dont want to split years worth of wood and create dry storage for it. I was hoping to learn that felling the trees, bucking suitable wood in 10 foot lengths and stacking "lumber yard style" off the ground in an open field might preserve it for several years. Wishful thinking I guess. Thx again for the suggestions

 

[Firefighter938]

I think the bark is the key. You see trees that lose their bark standing for years. I have left several ash trees standing with bark off and they are fine. Yet we had a storm move through recently and several ash came down because they were partly punky. Maybe if you girdled the bark off the bottom few feet it would help the rest of the bark fall off, helping dry the tree and preserve it.

 

[xrrider]

That makes sense and I will try to do that. What does not make sense is that Ash is pretty dry wood even when green and if I understand correct what has killed them is lack of water due to the cambium layer being interrupted by the borers. It seems to me that considering these points the dead trees should be pretty darn dry on the stump??

 

[blades]

The upper areas , yes but down by the stump you have a wicking action going on, Plus the various micro organisms . As fire wood debarked will keep a much longer time, in my experience, as the bark tends to hold moisture in against the wood and then that is the perfect environment for mold and Fungi.

 

[xrrider]

OK that makes a lot of sense. Beginning to think that taking the trees down and helping the bark fall off then storing up off the ground might be best. I might even look into covered storage. Actually there are some greenhouses listed on Craigslist for cheap. Thanks again for the great info

 

[Flynhigh]

I'm still cutting and burning 10-12 year dead ash. Everything that I cut now is hung up on other live trees, or otherwise not laying directly on the ground. There is a very small amount of punk, mostly on trees that are laying horizontal, and the bark did not completely come off. Usually I'm leaving the bottom 4 to 6 feet of the stump behind, as that is fairly rotted.

I would say to go after the fallen, on the ground wood first, as this will quickly start to rot. Leave any standing, as here in southern Michigan, those that made it the 10 years actually standing are somehow starting to have new growth on them. Also leave for later the tress that are hung up. They will give you good firewood for many years to come. I'm cutting out of a mature woods, with very little to no sun, the key is not letting it sit in the dirt for long.

Hope this helps. I know it's not a good feeling loosing a lot of trees. But you will have plenty of high quality firewood for many years to come.

 

[Flynhigh]

Matter of fact, here's some 10 year eab wood, cut in may. 18% Mc when c/s/s.

 

[xrrider]

Wow you people are a wealth of information. And to think I almost didnt register. My trees are in mostly mature woods also so what you are saying I can really relate to. I am feeling good about saving a good bit of this wood.

 

[xrrider]

Yep your Ash looks just like mine does. I really like the way it splits also. I use a Super Split kinetic splitter which is not the best splitter for wood that has to be powered thru to split. The Ash just pops apart. I can be picky about the wood I choose to process so I only choose straight, clean logs with out big limbs or crotches and with the speed of the Super Split I can flat split some wood.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have had great luck with dead ash
buck split and stack top cover should last for years

I'm not sure which Ash you have there. Looks like you are in the range for Black, Green and White Ash. Down here (Kentucky is close,) we a strictly White Ash from what I've seen. I would assume White holds up better than the other types, since it is quite a bit more dense.
Although I haven't seen the bugs yet, I've seen some borer-type tracks under the bark. But I'm pretty sure I've seen similar tracks under the bark of non-Ash species. That said, I think we are starting to get hit by the borer...seems like more White Ash are dying than there were a few years back. I'm going to start grabbing it and hope it holds up well split and stacked, if I can get the bark off. I'm guessing it will do well, even uncovered if it comes to that.

 

[xrrider]

Its all white Ash Under the bark all the wood looks like a jigsaw puzzle.

 

[baseroom]

yep
Thats what we have up here. Most of the bark just falls off due to all the tracks underneath. The more bark off the better.