Friday 11 March 2022

Clearing Up Some Willow

 At the bottom of the garden, below the polytunnel, there is a willow tree. 

Now this willow tree grows ridiculously well. Every year it is a sea of green. But the other day I was putting together a slide show for a garden club talk and saw just how much it had grown in the ten years since we had been here. The trouble with Sally trees is they tend to grow upwards, then break, fall outwards then carry on growing. 


I think this tree had spread about 15ft outwards. 

I was also looking for somewhere I can erect a frame to house the ducks for the rest of the avian flu outbreaks and warnings as I want the polytunnel back to grow stuff in (there have been alerts just 3 miles from us). This space would be ideal as it is just below the existing polytunnel and around the other poultry making feeding easy. 

Having a pen that I can use should there be a avian lockdown next year will also mean that the polytunnel can be continued to be used for food production. 


So I used the cordless chainsaw to trim the tree back, pollarding it. The tree will throw up plenty of healthy new growth in the coming season. 






I surprised how much wood I got from this. and I know willow isn't the best firewood, it does burn hot when it's properly dried. I think I had about 7 or 8 barrow full of wood from it, just over half of one of my firewood storage pods in fact. A few nights heat, that's for sure. 

Also the area is now clear of wood for somewhere we can house the ducks. 

Anyone else burn much willow for firewood?

10 comments:

  1. No willow for us Kev, mostly Pine and Oak, with smaller amounts of Cedar and Madrone.

    I can tell I am becoming more and more like my father - I saw your wheelbarrow of wood and immediately became excited.

    Is willow at all useful for woodworking?

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    1. Can be used for cricket bats and a bit of carving I think. Good for weaving and stuff. I use it for perches and things like that, but it does shrink a fair bit!

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  2. We use willow sticks and fire lighters, bound in a faggot, lots of twiggy bits to catch fire. Now I dont know if it is true and if it really does work or if it is just my mum and my gran saying it, but when they wanted to propagate cuttings they would snap off 5ish bits of willow twig. My gran would drop it on the floor and turn her foot on it (think how people used to put out cigarettes on the floor). then put that in the bottom of a jar of water and add the cuttings. My mum gets the twigs and twists them to break the skin off so it peels a bit. and then puts them in the water and the cuttings in on top.

    Now, both my gran and my mum could grow anything. Any cutting they will get it to grow. I know that willow grows on its own and I think Dave (Northsider) also uses willow like this?

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    Replies
    1. Willow needs no encouragement to grow, a twig in the ground is as good as planting a tree. I have it coming up everywhere and no idea how it got there at times!
      I like the idea of willow faggots, need to make a way so the children can make them safely - be a good job for them, especially with the cob oven.

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  3. I completely forgot to leave the comment I came here to make earlier. Do you feed your chickens comfrey? apparently it is a good source of protein. I wish I had known this when they were moulting. Have you heard of this before? I am going to do more research.

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    Replies
    1. We have comfrey growing here and when they free range they tend to go to the plants a few times a day, although I never see much eaten from it.

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    2. apparently the comfrey is an old homesteading thing to bring the feather back quick. I did not know this. I am going to have to grow some extra for my cut and drop no dig area I am planning and also for chicken feed anything to bring the costs down!

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    3. Just be careful where you plant it. Hard to get rid of it once it's in the ground!

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  4. We felled a willow last year and have put it to dry so we shall see next winter.

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    Replies
    1. LEt me know how you get on, hot and fast with willow I think!

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