coppicing the hazels
nutcutlet
Posts: 27,158
before, a shady path
sticks for the shredder
lots of firewood
after, rather bare looking
How much longer can that 45 degree willow defy gravity
In the sticks near Peterborough
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nutcutlet
Posts: 27,158
In the sticks near Peterborough
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Hazel poles are great for beans etc. and for building things. I do hope you didn't cut them all up
They'll come back though
Some for all purposes Steve.
These hadn't been touched for 13 years, they were more than bean poles, just right for the wood burner in 2018.
In the sticks near Peterborough
That sounds good. How often do you normally cut them? My friend has a half-acre copse he's planted with haze; ash, alder and willow for coppicing for firewood - I'm not sure what his cropping plan is there.
There are three very old hazels at one of the places I garden which hadn't been cut regularly; I cut one last year and got 20 good solid beanpoles out of it. The intention is to cut them on a three-year rotation. Is that too short, d'ye think?
Steve 3 years would be short for firewood maybe, willow is the fastest, good in a closed wood stove but a bit fast burning for an open fire. Your friend can play it by eye, when they look right for purpose, get the saw out
our hazels were planted in 1993 and this was their second cut. The first cut made a temporary fence, they were very tall but a bit lightweight, trunks up to 6 inches this time
In the sticks near Peterborough
These thre aren't for firewood (there's plenty of that in the wood surrounding the house) but for poles, fences etc.
My friend with the copse has an enclosed wood-burnng stove with a back boiler which does his hot water and radiators. And solar hot water. And a big PV array in the garden. I want to be him really
Friends place sounds good,
In the sticks near Peterborough
Thank you Nut. I enjoyed seeing your photos. I have woodland too and a tough chap comes and does the coppicing and thinning. He gives me logs for the woodburners and he takes some for his heating. So I always have a pile of wood at various stages of drying out. That is a good thing about living in France, more land and it's cheap. But sometimes I feel I own a wild life park! The animals don't always know what they can eat and what is my bit!
My friends' place is wonderful. Nice house, four kids all grown up now. Half an acre of rough grassland and rubble originally which they (with help of several friends) turned into a splendid garden with big veg plot, pond, chicken run, bees and the rest. Then they bought up two more adjacent plots (the whole thing is a really weird shape now), one of which is the copse. I love working there with them!
Lovely scenes Nut
. Amazing how it opens it up - have you got treasures there that might come up in the spring?
Share your amazement at that willow - obviously missed the gravity lessons when it was a young'un
Thanks B-L and chicky I love the woodland. and our fuel bills are tiny
That tree will come down across a pond, squash a hawthorn, maybe 2. It's a lovely habitat as it stands and I hope there won't be too many animals with concussion after the event
In the sticks near Peterborough