Calling all tree geeks

[Matt Weir]

A friend of mine owns a farm and wants to set a couple of acres aside to grow some crop trees for fuel. The land he has in mind borders a canal and is pretty damp underfoot.

The question is what is the ideal species to be looking at? And management plan?

Thanks for any input

 

[Dangerous Dan]

Sounds like a job for willow

 

[locum76]

yup, willow is what you want.

EDIT: on a short coppice rotation.

 

[Matt Weir]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the input, I suggested willow which as we know loves soggy ground but I'm wondering if there is an alternative that produces a better yield - this is a long term project so we are looking for a 'best of all worlds' solution.

 

[Melonfish]

Ash, Alder and willow do well in wet/moist soils and are fairly abundant.
you may see some silver birch too when the soil gets a little drier.
Poplar may do well depending on how damp it is.

 

[Lordyosch]

definitely willow for fuel. there was an episode of Grand Designs which featured exactly this...


Jay

 

[bushwacker bob]

Willow grows quickly and loves damp soil.= The fastest yielding timber.
Not brilliantly hot for burning, but it doesn't spit much and does burn.

 

[Toddy]

My immediate response is Willow, but in the past Alder was the wood grown in damp places. It's surprisingly resistant to water........I think Venice is actually mostly built on the stuff, but the bit that matters, is that Alder was traditionally grown as the raw material for charcoal.

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. Alder burns easily and quickly though, maybe not the best idea for sole use for fuel.

 

[durulz]

For a bit of variety you could try Hazel.
It's fast growing, easily coppiced and burns hot. And you can get nuts from them. And use the wood to make bows.
It's not a traditional wetlands tree/bush, but I have frequently seen it along waterways, and we have a good 'clump' of it nearby that grows on land that does flood on occasion, so it can clearly thrive in wet soil.

 

[robin wood]

Ash, Alder and willow do well in wet/moist soils and are fairly abundant.
you may see some silver birch too when the soil gets a little drier.
Poplar may do well depending on how damp it is.

I would second this advice. Plant a mix and you will find what does best. Willow and alder will do well on wet ground but if the ash goes and it can cope with wet too then it is far better firewood and has other uses too.

Look at similar patches of land nearby and see what goes well there. For max biomass commercially you would put in new hybrid willows and poplars but personally I would go for slightly less intensivity and use locally sourced varieties, this would be better for wildlife too. Willow is easily propagated on wet ground, cut some rods from local tress stick them in the ground and they will root.

 

[Matt Weir]

Thanks to everyone for the advice:You_Rock_

 

[HeltorChasca]

...Salix Viminalis to be precise is ideal for coppicing for fuel and you get a new crop each year. And a lot of it if conditions are right. If you have loads left over you could get in with a living willow supplier to supply landscapers etc for screens, fedges, living furniture. play tunnels etc.

Good luck........hc

 

[EdS]

Osier willow (Salix viminalis) - and I know where he can get "cheap" batons to grow - from established short rotation copice.

Have willow as main bulk of the crop with hazel on margins for sale sale to weavers etc. You can also plant poplar for fuel.

Is he goes down the SRC how is he intending to crop it?

I used to work alot with the growers for the aborted Eggborough power station - 2 groups now set up:

http://www.energycrop.co.uk/

http://www.coppiceresources.co.uk/Index.asp

 

[Rebel]

I'd say willow as well. He can get started pretty quickly with a short rotation coppicing plan.

When I was studying this there were grants available from the government and advice to help you get started. There was a specific grant at the time for set aside land (which is what your friend has). These grants often change so the scheme I was looking at probably has a different name and conditions now.

You could try checking DEFRA or the Forestry Commission websites to see if there is a possibility of getting free advice and a grant.

 

[Melonfish]

I'll dig out my course details tonight and go over some stuff, i did a course with BTCV a while back on creating new woodlands and one of the test cases was a peat field that was rather wet. the idea was that it would be planted with the likes of willow, ash and alder (he already had poplar growing on another bit) and as it dried out different tree's could be added.
i'll scan some stuff and send it your way, tree charts showing types of soil they like (acidity/saturation etc) and other stuff, damned good course actually

 

[Matt Weir]

Thanks again folks. Melonfish that would be brilliant cheers.

 

[zora]

hello everyone, i am new to this forum, and this is my first post. please excuse my english (i am from Croatia).

willow is growing fast and likes wet soil.
but it does not burn hot. actually it burns out quite quick also.
ash can stand damp soil well also, but it has much better wood. for different uses. ash burns much better (good also for bows, carving and stuff).
but willow (and poplar and similar soft wood) grow faster than ash.
oak (Quercus robur) also loves swampy terrain, and has excellent wood (branches can be used for fire wood, and tree is a shame to burn). oak also grows slow.

in my country people widely use black locust for firewood. it grows quick, and burns very hot. also good for bow making, toolhandles and other stuff.
Black locust can stand dryer soil, but i have seen it in swampy areas also.
so that would be my first choice.

zora

 

[locum76]

I'll dig out my course details tonight and go over some stuff, i did a course with BTCV a while back on creating new woodlands and one of the test cases was a peat field that was rather wet. the idea was that it would be planted with the likes of willow, ash and alder (he already had poplar growing on another bit) and as it dried out different tree's could be added.
i'll scan some stuff and send it your way, tree charts showing types of soil they like (acidity/saturation etc) and other stuff, damned good course actually

Hi.

Any chance you could send that my way as well?

Rob

 

[addo]

Ive been burning a mix of 70% willow and 30% ash. Every day for 4 months.

Willow burns hot enough as theres more flame, just need to feed it more, and the stove lights easier with willow. Poplar is even better for heat. Its a fast heat like pine, great when you want a bath quick after lighting up the woodburner.

Its about the only wood you can get free now days and mixing in the ash makes the embers increase and the the times between fueling up reduce.

Mind, Ash all the way for me if I can get it, so if you find it grows well on the damp then definately go for it. With the alder and possible hazel, you'll have a nice corner of bio-diversity too.

If you fancy some Birch for projects bark ect and a good burning wood, try Downy Birch as I was told that it prefers the wetter places in a wood, where silver birch doesn't.

 

[Matt Weir]

Hi Zora,

Thanks for contributing - enjoy the forum