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  • From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Woodlot management
  • Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:58:53 -0400

I haven't done that with my woods, and I should. There is a lot of
deadfall up on the ridge. It seems like every storm adds to the domino
effect of tree loss. There are some trees that were killed in the
Blizzard of 1993 still hung up on other stuff. Until they hit the
ground, they are not decomposing very quickly. We should cordon off an
area and start cleaning it up as you have.
DH and I did turn an area back just this weekend, however. It was the
old buckpen, a 150 ft square that was off in the woods behind the barn.
We removed the fencing, dug up posts, etc. to return the area to
nature. In the process, we pulled a lot of muscadine and honeysuckle
vines out of the trees. Some of the vines had worked their way up 40-50
feet. As I was pulling out the vine, I could hear it scream, but the
tree was saying 'thank you kindly'. :) I need to do more of that, I
think. We have no shortage of muscadines. And vines that grow up in the
trees do not feed the deer. On one tree, I left the vine in a heap at
the base of the tree for the deer to finish off. The ball was fairly
compact and 6 ft in diameter. :)
So Rob, how do you mark your trees for firewood? Ribbons? Painted
blazes? Do you go by any kind of guidelines for spacing? Most of my
forest trees are less than a foot in diameter, and very tall and
straight, trying to reach the light of the canopy top.


Robert Walton wrote:
I don't think so, Rob. It is so wet that it often checks if extreme care is not taken. If it can be dried without too much checking, it is a good furniture wood, but you really need controlled conditions like a wood kiln.


That's what I'm thinking on the Sweet Gum. I just marked out another
wood lot I'm going to start working on this winter and marked a lot of little 6 to 8 inch gums. Best to take them for firewood and leave the better stuff. The big ones, I'm not tackling. The only way I can split it is to cut it really short.

It's a nice time to go out and mark out a wood lot for firewood harvest. Beautiful (warm) fall weather and the leaves are changing. It feels good to mark out another little area that I can improve on. I've got a lot of nice hardwood trees on this place. As I start harvesting in an area, I'm making paths to get in and out, hopefully one day with a horse.

Rob - Va _______________________________________________ Homestead list and subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead Change your homestead list member options: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/erthnsky%40bellsouth.net
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