Small planting of coppice

Villain

I have a .9 acre site with a house been built on the rear of the house has about .6 acre which is just grassland at present.

I planted some beech hedging 4 years ago and it has taken quite well, the soil I'd pretty good with the surround fields all been used for crops mainly barley. In the past 2 years some willows have just spouted up on site obviously blown in the wind. They have grown very quickly and led me to consider using Willow for coppice. I will have a solid fuel stove in the house which will the main living/kitchen area.

My idea at present is to try planting about .3 of an acre with Willow and see how it goes if it grows well and works well in the stove I may have the option to buy another acre behind the site which I could use to plant with some more variations of hardwoods?

Does that sound like something people with expierence think would be worthwhile? Does the fact that willow has naturally grown well on site mean its worth while doing it?

Is there any varieties of Willow that are best suited? Anyone around Carlow or Wicklow that would supply?

crackcrack30

But i wouldnt sow too close to your house , some of these plants can grow 15-20 feet, affecting sunlight, leafs, views......i think a minimum of 30 metres from house is advised, and appx 2 acres for self sufficency..

Have a read on "coppice uk, or .co.uk..........lots on here too

El Kabong!

Hi Villain,

I am growing willow. Best to plant in blocks four, staggering the planting for 4 years if you wish, so you can get a regular harvest.

I buy all mine in the UK... I recommend you get a hybrid mix from mammoth willow.

You have to plant in Dec/Jan and there is some work needed to get the space ready.

I have a wood stove too in my living room, not hooked up to the radiators or boiler etc
.25acre/year should give me plenty as a 2ndary heat source, and if there is any left over, just dry it for another year or share with family/friends.

Some say willow is poor to burn, some are happy with it.

Villain

El Kabong! wrote: »

Hi Villain,

I am growing willow. Best to plant in blocks four, staggering the planting for 4 years if you wish, so you can get a regular harvest.

I buy all mine in the UK... I recommend you get a hybrid mix from mammoth willow.

You have to plant in Dec/Jan and there is some work needed to get the space ready.

I have a wood stove too in my living room, not hooked up to the radiators or boiler etc
.25acre/year should give me plenty as a 2ndary heat source, and if there is any left over, just dry it for another year or share with family/friends.

Some say willow is poor to burn, some are happy with it.

Thanks for that, when you say its best to plant in blocks of four can you explain that a little further?

El Kabong!

Last Feb I planted .25 acres.
In a few weeks I will plant another, and so on for 4 years.

Then I will harvest 1 .25acre per year... so I will always have a .25acre section which has 4 years growth.

Oh, I suppose I should incorporate the drying time into that aswell, I might try to cut in Jan/Feb and use the next winter.

.25 acres will supposedly give the equivalent of 1400litres of home oil... but who knows!

TomOnBoard

FWIW, from the research I have done in this area, a 4 year rotation for Willow might not be optimal in the British/Irish climate. I have seen most rotations plumping for a 5-year timeframe, with a not- too dense initial planting spacing. This is because:

1. There may be a significant volume added between years 4 and 5, with a more generous spacing ensuring that this volume adds to log diameter rather than stem length, but still producing a product that will dry relatively quickly without necessitating splitting.

2. After year 5, you may be growing logs that will need splitting to ensure optimal drying. It would be better to harvest at year 5, and facilitate re-growth.

3. Consideration ought to be given to the practice of pollarding rather than coppicing, as it may allow stems to be harvested at a height that will facilitate re-growth above the level of suffocating ground cover.

4. Indeed, by opting for a more generous spacing and using pollarding for harvesting, you can use sheep as an additional revenue producer on the same land, which will result in an optimal natural management of grass/weeds etc.

Hope this doesn't sound too prescriptive, and that it helps.

El Kabong!

Hi TomOnBoard,

Thanks for the info. All info in this area is greatly appreciated!

From my own perspective and to answer those points:

1) I have spaced my trees at approx 90cm in each direction, whereas some recommend 60cm between 2 rows, and then a gap for light machinery access. It is a bit trial and error but hopefully I will have enough space so I don't just grow long rods

2) My stove isn't massive so I don't want to have to split logs. My intention is to harvest after 4, but if it is not good enough I might leave till 5, just harvest .2acre/year.

3) I will actually be pollarding at a height of 3 foot. At the moment, I have transparent spiral tree guards on them, to protect from rabbits. For my fist .25acre, after year 1 (coming up in the next few weeks!) I will cut them just above the top of these spiral which are 90cm long, I think. At a minimum it will simply make it more easy to cut the branches without having to work at ground level.

4) NO SHEEP!!!

gozunda

El Kabong! wrote: »

Hi TomOnBoard,

Thanks for the info. All info in this area is greatly appreciated!

From my own perspective and to answer those points:

1) I have spaced my trees at approx 90cm in each direction, whereas some recommend 60cm between 2 rows, and then a gap for light machinery access. It is a bit trial and error but hopefully I will have enough space so I don't just grow long rods

2) My stove isn't massive so I don't want to have to split logs. My intention is to harvest after 4, but if it is not good enough I might leave till 5, just harvest .2acre/year.

3) I will actually be pollarding at a height of 3 foot. At the moment, I have transparent spiral tree guards on them, to protect from rabbits. For my fist .25acre, after year 1 (coming up in the next few weeks!) I will cut them just above the top of these spiral which are 90cm long, I think. At a minimum it will simply make it more easy to cut the branches without having to work at ground level.

4) NO SHEEP!!!

It is very easy to take long hardwood cutting of willows and place cuttings directly in the soil. Do this in spring and you will be able to generate new trees quickly. The native Irish willow varieties are best suited to our conditions and do best in terms of growth

Source cuttings from local stands - you will get better growth rates and disease resistance in my experience

I have had a a stand of coppiced willow active for about 10 years now.

The trees never get beyond 15 foot approx. so no worries about felling etc

I harvest rotationaly when wood is between 10-15 cm diameter - no need for splitting
Just debranching, cutting to lenght and stack in shed with air flow to dry. This is the important bit

I burn the wood in an old Waterford stove originally designed for the US market and it burns perfectly.

Never had any issue with burning willow. Once dry it is excellent

Tbh if you have storage / drying with the expanded average - you could have a nice little earner there.

If you don't have sheep - the best thing is a flock of geese grazing the ground. They remove weeds and pests. Keep the ground grazed and fertilise the trees as well! Oh and you can eat them too!

El Kabong!

Hi gozunda,

My initial plan was to plant up my 2nd .25 acre with cutting from the 1st, but for the 1st I only have 1 variety planted. I want to have some protection against disease etc so I am putting in a 5 variety mix for the 2nd .25acre.... and will use that to plant up the remaining .5 acre over the next 2 years.

gozunda

El Kabong! wrote: »

Hi gozunda,

My initial plan was to plant up my 2nd .25 acre with cutting from the 1st, but for the 1st I only have 1 variety planted. I want to have some protection against disease etc so I am putting in a 5 variety mix for the 2nd .25acre.... and will use that to plant up the remaining .5 acre over the next 2 years.

All Sounds good - source your hardwood cuttings from a number of healthy mature willow trees. There is so much naturally occurring hybridisation in willow species - you should get a variety of genetically different stock.

Cut lengths up to 1 - 2 foot, remove side shoots. Have a clean straight cut at the bottom and an angled cut at the shoot end just after a bud.

Plant straight cut into ground by simply pushing them into the soil.

This is the cheapest and easiest way to propagate willow. Even if some don't take root that's not a problem. I use a nursery bed for cuttings and once well established move to their final location.

Remember to leave decent spacing a between trees to allow coppiced stems to grow straight and upright and give yourself enough room to harvest. Best of luck.

Boardnashea

gozunda wrote: »

If you don't have sheep - the best thing is a flock of geese grazing the ground. They remove weeds and pests. Keep the ground grazed and fertilise the trees as well! Oh and you can eat them too!

Or chickens - layers or broilers; or turkeys ('tis the season...)MMmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Anything to keep the grass and weeds controlled

gozunda

Boardnashea wrote: »

Or chickens - layers or broilers; or turkeys ('tis the season...)MMmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Anything to keep the grass and weeds controlled

Agree with edible suggestion...;)
Geese unlike chickens and turkeys are primarily grazers with 2-3 Adult geese having the same grazing requirement as one sheep. During the summer geese on decent grazing don't require supplementary feed. Chickens / turkeys require grain or feed all year around. the best place to put geese is in an orchard, they do all the above and eat the windfalls. They are also very good people deterrents....