What to do with Offcuts/Brash

Heartbreak Hank

I cut a few fallen trees for firewood (beech, oak, blackthorn) and I am left with piles of branches and offcuts now. I have an open fire at home and apart from using them as kindling I don't have any real use for them. Is there anything useful that can be done with them other than burning them in the field.

I saw a presentation once where industrial biomass boilers use forestry brash but I'm not talking a massive amount so I doubt they would be interested in collecting them.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

coin

Chip it up I guess. It's what I tend to do anyway!

The blackthorn won't be any craic to chip but he rest will be fine. Get a 6inch hydraulic feed and you'll make good.

Try and do it before it gets too dry would be my recommendation anyway. I chip into tonne bags and then drop where I need it. Can be handy for flower beds once it's composted itself down a bit.

Just my 2c

timfromtang

Heartbreak Hank wrote: »

I cut a few fallen trees for firewood (beech, oak, blackthorn) and I am left with piles of branches and offcuts now. I have an open fire at home and apart from using them as kindling I don't have any real use for them. Is there anything useful that can be done with them other than burning them in the field.

I saw a presentation once where industrial biomass boilers use forestry brash but I'm not talking a massive amount so I doubt they would be interested in collecting them.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

If you have a garden and like playing with fire, and are going to chip your brash, you could "pyrolise" it in a (couple of oil drums work) turn it into biochar and activitate the biochar (a quick wee on the pile and leave it out in the elements on the soil to season for a 2 month) , then add the biochar to your soil.

The activated carbon (which has picked up some nutrients) is an effective soil addendum that helps to retain nutrients, and provides a substrate with a large surface area for soil life to do its thing on and in.

Have a google on biochar
or indeed send me a pm and ill share my number and we can have a chat about it.

tim

Heartbreak Hank

timfromtang wrote: »

If you have a garden and like playing with fire, and are going to chip your brash, you could "pyrolise" it in a (couple of oil drums work) turn it into biochar and activitate the biochar (a quick wee on the pile and leave it out in the elements on the soil to season for a 2 month) , then add the biochar to your soil.

The activated carbon (which has picked up some nutrients) is an effective soil addendum that helps to retain nutrients, and provides a substrate with a large surface area for soil life to do its thing on and in.

Have a google on biochar
or indeed send me a pm and ill share my number and we can have a chat about it.

tim

Thanks Tim, I currently have too much brash to try to try and process that way. It is interesting though and I might try some in the future as a soil conditioner.
Thanks again,
Hank

timfromtang

Heartbreak Hank wrote: »

Thanks Tim, I currently have too much brash to try to try and process that way. It is interesting though and I might try some in the future as a soil conditioner.
Thanks again,
Hank

Well Hank,
I wonder how much is too much brash,

biochar can be made with a pit method that mechanises easily.

A small digger and either a tree shear or a man with a chainsaw on the ground, could prepare and process many many cubic metres of brash using a pit burning method.

Essentially light a small fire at the bottom of a shallow v shaped trench (v shaped ends also), elongate the fire, pile on more brash every time you see a layer of ash forming on the surface of the burning sticks, keep piling on the brash incrementally (restricting oxygen access to the bottom of the fire and building a big pile of glowing coals at the bottom of the pit), when no more brash can be added and the surface layer of ash forms, cover with a layer of soil, and leave to react and cool.
Testing with an iron bar for a prod can tell you when the pit is cool enough to excavate rebar works well for this.

tim
please do not be offended by my persistence, i believe that burying carbon in our soils is a good idea is all, loads better than simply burning the brash for instance.

wayoutwest

Tim, you flippin' pyromaniac! (....sounds like fun though) -you could just stick the brash in a boggy corner and let the hedgehogs live in it .