I have about three acres of fairly dense woods on the back of my propoerty. Mostly pines and some cedar. Does anyone have any guidane on how to start clering some of this area out and gowing some good quality fiewood for the distant future? I would love to be able to fell and split off of my own land.
Growing my own Firewood
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Get ahold of your local habitat/forest management peeps. Those folks will be well versed for your area.
paul bunion
Minister of Fire
Definitely get some local expert advice. You need someone that knows your area to identify what species can be grown and how to go about growing them. Soils and other things come into play also, hence the need for a local expert who can look at your site. Some trees need shade to grow, some full sun which would dictate what you do with your existing trees.
Another thing you can do is to read up on 'coppicing' or the practice of allowing stumps to grow back and then harvesting the shoots that come up. It is about the fastest way to produce wood mass. You might have some trees growing that will respond well to that treatment. You might be able to produce wood sooner than you think.
Another thing you can do is to read up on 'coppicing' or the practice of allowing stumps to grow back and then harvesting the shoots that come up. It is about the fastest way to produce wood mass. You might have some trees growing that will respond well to that treatment. You might be able to produce wood sooner than you think.
i hope you are young! My tree guy told me that I would not see another harvest from my woods. Nice guy! 
It was for lumber though,,,firewood is faster.
We have forest manage guys up here that will help out with advice. You probly have them too. Start burning what you have first i suppose,,that will clear the land for planting other stuff.
How many acres does it take to support a family heating down there?
It was for lumber though,,,firewood is faster.
We have forest manage guys up here that will help out with advice. You probly have them too. Start burning what you have first i suppose,,that will clear the land for planting other stuff.
How many acres does it take to support a family heating down there?
I am not sure of this, but was told by an outdoor wood burner that you need 20 acres of woods to support yourself in wood burning year after year here in central Wisconsin. Outdoor burners use more wood, but I tend to agree that one probably needs 15 acres to sustain a wood stove and avg size house around here.
It is typically 5 to 7 depending on different factors and assuming established wood lot. A single stove won't keep up with 20 acres.
trees grow a little faster down in alabama where the OP is, and they need less heat, thats probably doable...
Sweet gum big in your area? it grows like a weed
Sweet gum big in your area? it grows like a weed
I can vouch for that. I am cutting much more then I could ever burn from a 25 acre woods, and have not dropped a living tree yet. I have heard the 5-7 theory before too.
Butcher
Minister of Fire
Not trying to burst your dream here but since I am in the nursery/landscape business and ACTUALLY grow trees and shrubs for resale I gotta ask several questions. You do realize how slow hard wood trees grow don't you? Even if you were to plant what is native to your area ( which is what I would recommend) you would probably still be looking at a 20 year cycle unless you don't mind cutting down trees that are at best 6 to 8 inches in diameter at best. You could asses your forestry area and cut on a as needed bases which would open up the canopy to let young saplings to grow at a better rate but that is still iffy on only a 3 acre plot. Unless of coarse your name is Moses then I bet your gonna live a long long time. Just sayin.
And just to add. Meat is not made in a grocery store.
And just to add. Meat is not made in a grocery store.
I planted 10 BL last year and the Deer seem to be immune to them, actually, they seem to love them and that is not a good thing. I had to put netting on all the ones they didn't destroy. But BL is supposed to be one of the fastest growing hardwoods.
If you want to have wood to burn from the trees in your lifetime, I think it would be better to go with a medium wood like Tulip Poplar, they grow pretty fast.
mol1jb
Feeling the Heat
I have to agree with butcher. Black locust may be awesome firewood and a fast growimg tree, but it is highly invasive and difficult to get rid of once established. I would never plant anything other than native, for the sake of your neighbors and the people who live there after you.
I would look into black locust too. NY has all kinds of volunteering enterprises and government agencies that train foresters. We have Master Forester programs and DEC foresters who are available for help in woodlot management. And then there is private industry. I get help from the county I live in and the state as well.
Usually start by having your land soil mapped. Usually done by the state.
And dont worry about your age. My father planted 70 acres of apple trees when he was in his 60's.
Usually start by having your land soil mapped. Usually done by the state.
And dont worry about your age. My father planted 70 acres of apple trees when he was in his 60's.
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
Wow Talk about the Grim Reaperi hope you are young! My tree guy told me that I would not see another harvest from my woods. Nice guy!
It was for lumber though,,,firewood is faster.
We have forest manage guys up here that will help out with advice. You probly have them too. Start burning what you have first i suppose,,that will clear the land for planting other stuff.
How many acres does it take to support a family heating down there?
Wow Talk about the Grim Reaper
well, he is right,,, but my kids or grand kids will get to log it next time.
If you have three acres of dense woods, I think you have a great start on growing firewood. If the woods are a natural regrowth there should be a mix of species already there, including a mix of hardwoods that are growing among or beneath the pines. I assume you want to grow hardwoods rather than just pine, but keep in mind that pine makes good firewood too.
What I'd do is take a look through the woods and locate any hardwood saplings you can find, and work on 'releasing' those trees by clearing some of the surrounding trees that are crowding or shading the ones you want to save. You can do the same with the pines - thin them out so that the remaining ones will grow faster. As you do this you can use the stuff you clear for firewood.
What I'd do is take a look through the woods and locate any hardwood saplings you can find, and work on 'releasing' those trees by clearing some of the surrounding trees that are crowding or shading the ones you want to save. You can do the same with the pines - thin them out so that the remaining ones will grow faster. As you do this you can use the stuff you clear for firewood.
I've always heard, "don't burn soft woods like pine". I was under the impression that these contain significantly more creosote. Is this mitigated if the wood is properly sesoned wood?
Butcher
Minister of Fire
Yes . . . you are correct. Perhaps one of the most prevalent myths when it comes to burning wood . . . but don't let on to your neighbors that you know it's OK to burn seasoned pine or that folks out west rely predominantly on softwoods to stay warm -- if they learn the secret they may no longer give you the free pine for your own use.
Bret Chase
Minister of Fire
it's toxic to horses. Ash grows pretty damned fast too.... I cut a 12" one of of my lawn that was only 25....
I have a lot of Catalpas and they don't seem to grow very fast. It's one of my least favorite woods to burn. It pops a lot and burns fast.
The trees that grow fastest for us are Sycamore, but they aren't the most desirable for burning either.
KindredSpiritzz
Minister of Fire
I have 26 acres and im struggling to find wood to cut. Some of it is just to hard to access and about 10 acres was logged back in 96 so that doesnt help. The aspen that grew up after it was logged is about 20 ft tall and 3-4 inch diameter so i probably have another 15 yrs before that would be worthwhile cutting for firewood. Maple trees forget it, you'll be dead by the time them are big enogh to cut.
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