Covered or Uncovered in a field?

[EPS]

I recently purchased a plot of empty land next to my property and immediately eyed it for seasoning wood. Once I get the splits stacked out in the field, should I bother covering it or just let the elements do their work in seasoning the wood?

I sell campfire wood and so it is mostly green pine that will be out there.

 

[moresnow]

I have that same setup. I stack on pallets 2 splits wide. All open to mother nature. Excellent results. I dont have a lick of shade, or tree residue dropping in my stacks. I used tarps for one year. Never again.
I do move dry wood into my basement prior to burn season. I also stack dry wood behind my house prior to burn season. The outdoor stack gets top covered before winter.

 

[JimBear]

I like to stack out in the open. Maximum sun & wind. I started putting landscape fabric down, then putting pallets down on that. It keeps weeds & grass from growing up into the piles. I also trim & mow around my piles. It keeps it open for max air flow as opposed to having grass grow up 2’-3’ around them restricting air flow to the bottom of the stack. I wouldn’t bother covering it unless you are going to leave it for a second year or carry over. Your pine may rot but I don’t know as I don’t cut any. Mine is all hardwood.

 

[moresnow]

I like to stack out in the open. Maximum sun & wind. I started putting landscape fabric down, then putting pallets down on that. It keeps weeds & grass from growing up into the piles. I also trim & mow around my piles. It keeps it open for max air flow as opposed to having grass grow up 2’-3’ around them restricting air flow to the bottom of the stack. I wouldn’t bother covering it unless you are going to leave it for a second year or carry over. Your pine may rot but I don’t know as I don’t cut any. Mine is all hardwood.

My stacks are in a mowed yard as well. I believe I spend more effort keeping the grass/weeds down around my stacks than my house! Very important. I also make 2 complete rounds around my stacks with the mower blowing the grass away from the wood. If not the accumulated clippings in the lower portion of the stack will hold plenty of moisture to start rot. Just a few things to consider.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Stack on pallets or put on a rack.. and top cover only leaving the sides open. have the stack facing the prevailing winds. Its hard to season wood with rian hitting it. It will dry faster if no rain hits it at all. keep the grass/weeds short around the stack

 

[bholler]

Yeah if you want something to dry keeping it from getting wet helps allot

 

[Stinkpickle]

Around here, there’s plenty of sun and wind, so I don’t cover anything stacked out in the open anymore. I keep it about six inches off the ground, and rain doesn’t bother it.

 

[xman23]

My stacks are, two parallel rows, on four PVC pipes, About a 100' long. I built peaked roof frames that sit on top of the wood. The tarps sit on top of the frames. Tarps aren't torn by the wood and it creates air space above the wood. It's not in sun all day and one side gets no sun. But it's worked well for years.

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

Yeah if you want something to dry keeping it from getting wet helps allot

bholler adds so much to this forum and he can often do it with very few words! His comment is an example of that.

The, "to top cover or not" question will come up forever I am sure. There are so many variables in climate in general and the "correct" answer can change from year to year. Sometimes in really dry years, it doesn't seem needed or as critical ... in really wet years, Oh my goodness does it make a difference! In my experience, top covering ALWAYS helps. To paraphrase bholler, If you prevent the wood from getting wet, it will dry faster and once dry, will stay dry.

 

[weatherguy]

This summer I've kept my stacks uncovered it's been so dry but I recently covered the top with plastic because mother nature evens out and we've been getting more rain. I'll keep it covered now all through winter.