Clean up

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I get a kick out of heating the house with yard waste.

My neighbor stacked a bunch of wood on the edge of my property before I lived here. He intended to burn a little, but mostly just to get it off the lawn. I estimate the pile was about 100' long and about 4' tall. Now, it's a great resource for us, just requires a bunch of work- sorting through to pick out the peices that are not rotten, hauling them down the hill, splitting and cutting to length. Almost all are too long for our stove, and lots of uglies that will have to be carved up with the saw. The worst part is, the pile is about 1000 feet away, down a steep wooded hill. Too steep for the tractor, so it's all hand work. Figure it's good exercise, but it is slow going. Losing about 20% to rot, but that'll melt into the ground in another year or two.

Got 2/3 done last winter, and hope to have the rest done this winter. Too many snakes and spiders to work on it except in winter. And, same neighbor had three oaks taken down in the meantime, and now they are at the top of the hill as well. 2020 heat (or later).

Looking forward to burning it up in the stove while the good stacks season for another year or two, then spreading the ashes on the lawn. No landfilling required, and helps keep the beer belly in check.

 

[kennyp2339]

Yeah that beer belly will sneak up on you if your not active.

 

[Wickets]

is ash good for the lawn? for some reason i was under the impression it was a no-no to put ash down. thanks

 

[SeanBB]

Wood ash is a good source of potash.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

is ash good for the lawn? for some reason i was under the impression it was a no-no to put ash down. thanks

Don't use wood ash if your soil is alkaline (above pH 7.0). If your soil is acidic, your lawn will love it. Helps keep moss at bay also (although I really like a lawn that is half moss). Keep wood ash away from acid loving plants such as blueberries, rhododendrons, azaleas, etc. Wood ash is also good to balance the acidic nature of your compost pile.

 

[Dobish]

I have seriously been thinking about getting a keg and inviting the whole neighborhood to come clean up my back yard. I'm working on it slowly, but it seems like every time I go back there, I find more crap that I didn't think was back there.

This year the thistle and the elm suckers are taking off... which i guess is better than the Giant Rose bushes... i have most of the wood organized, but it would be nice to get the rest of the stuff out of the way! I am guessing I could get a pretty good bonfire going with the pile of rotting cottonwood, the elm bark, the elm suckers, and the rose bushes!

 

[sportbikerider78]

I burned a massive area this past weekend. It was almost too dry out and I put about 50gallons of water on it to keep it in check. Round area about 6' high and 8' tall. So much heat!

My main concern was the pine tree about 30' to the right in this picture.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Don't use wood ash if your soil is alkaline (above pH 7.0). If your soil is acidic, your lawn will love it. Helps keep moss at bay also (although I really like a lawn that is half moss). Keep wood ash away from acid loving plants such as blueberries, rhododendrons, azaleas, etc. Wood ash is also good to balance the acidic nature of your compost pile.

Acidic soil here, the lawn loved where I put it last year. Like to do it right before a rain.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I have seriously been thinking about getting a keg and inviting the whole neighborhood to come clean up my back yard. I'm working on it slowly, but it seems like every time I go back there, I find more crap that I didn't think was back there.

This year the thistle and the elm suckers are taking off... which i guess is better than the Giant Rose bushes... i have most of the wood organized, but it would be nice to get the rest of the stuff out of the way! I am guessing I could get a pretty good bonfire going with the pile of rotting cottonwood, the elm bark, the elm suckers, and the rose bushes!

I used to have lots of bonfires, but only have a few anymore since we moved into the place. Now I feel like I'm burning valuable fuel, and only burn brambles, and real marginal stuff. I do like the keg idea.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I burned a massive area this past weekend. It was almost too dry out and I put about 50gallons of water on it to keep it in check. Round area about 6' high and 8' tall. So much heat!

My main concern was the pine tree about 30' to the right in this picture.

View attachment 199614

Nice pic!

 

[Dobish]

I used to have lots of bonfires, but only have a few anymore since we moved into the place. Now I feel like I'm burning valuable fuel, and only burn brambles, and real marginal stuff. I do like the keg idea.

i'm pretty sure i could burn brambles and punky cotton wood for a good few weeks straight and not really seem to make a difference!

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I gave up hoarding all my "bonfire wood" I just have mountains of crap. So on the weekends when I'm home I just burn all day long to get rid of the stuff. But I also feel like man what a waste of heat

 

[sportbikerider78]

I gave up hoarding all my "bonfire wood" I just have mountains of crap. So on the weekends when I'm home I just burn all day long to get rid of the stuff. But I also feel like man what a waste of heat

Agree...I was thinking the same thing as my face felt sunburned 20' away from the fire. LOL Probably 2 months of heat in the winter all at once!
Too bad there is no good way to chip it and reuse it without it being more work and mess than 2 months of split and stacked.

 

[Ashful]

I gave up hoarding all my "bonfire wood" I just have mountains of crap. So on the weekends when I'm home I just burn all day long to get rid of the stuff. But I also feel like man what a waste of heat

Same here. Only perfect straight hardwood trunk goes in my stacks for the stove. Every crotch, branch, and crooked piece goes into my big fire pit. I burn that off every third weekend, or thereabouts. It's a waste of heat, but a huge saver of time, and time is my most precious commodity.

 

[kennyp2339]

I bought a 3pt wood chipper for my tractor that can take up to 5" diameter wood, my plan is to chip anything that's 3" and under into my compost pile of leave, grass clippings and cold wood ash. Anything larger than 3" will go into the burn pile unless its a real soft wood

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I have been thinking about buying a chipper. And then drying the chips and burning them, probly make some sort of drying rack to fit inside my grain bins. I have a friend with a boiler he gets chips with wood from the tree service says he just throws a pail full in after a load gets hot.

 

[kennyp2339]

I have been thinking about buying a chipper. And then drying the chips and burning them, probly make some sort of drying rack to fit inside my grain bins. I have a friend with a boiler he gets chips with wood from the tree service says he just throws a pail full in after a load gets hot.

Guy up the road from me has a wood chip furnace for his workshop, the thing is a beast but pumps the heat, he gets 2 chipper loads for free since the wood chip guys have to pay to dump it else were around here.