Scrap land coppice.

[Midge_Fodder]

Myself and Farmboy have just managed to secure ourselves some scrap land to grow as coppice. Haven't a clue what were going to plant yet. Our idea is we can manage the wood for craft materials whilst also making ourselves carbon neutral. It's a good 2 acres of ground and it was given as an early part of his inheritance. So I'm looking forward to it all.

[ratcatcher]

willow is easy to grow from stems, but hazel is a good green wood to work with, grows quite quick too,

[Midge_Fodder]

7 years for hazel is it not, thought about alder and ash too.

[headshot]

like ratcatcher says hazel is the taditional coppice wood as is chestnut.
your very lucky to have that,its an ambition of mine to buy a bit of rough ground and do something with it,all to often these days folk just want to build to make a quick buck...atb kev

[happybonzo]

Hazel will grow for you in 7 years

Plant the saplings and cut them back at 3 years. They will then be of a usable size at 7 years after that...

Before you get too carried away try and do a survey of the whole area. Mark in what you already have. You might be very surprised. I've found Walnut, Peach and Plum and that's not counting the 6 wild Pear :)

[Yorkshire wanderer]

Hey up,

Take a look here

http://smallwoods.org.uk

They run courses during the year for people interested in coppicing/greenwood crafts, but more usefully they have a lot of coppice owners details, some may be local to you. But more importantly there may be some grants available for developing the land to get you going.

Worth a browse and a quick email even if nothing comes out of it.

[Midge_Fodder]

Cheers bud

[FishyFolk]

For a Norwegian, used to finding a wild forest outside my door, reading about what you do over in England is nothing short of Amazing. I've always wondered why it is that when I see woodland in Britain on TV
it all look like a park, rather than what I know as a forest. But since I joined the NB forum I am starting to learn why. But it is still amazing to me.

That said most of the forrest here is over run with small brush birch. Traditionally we let our livestock roam wild in the forest in the summer. Goats, sheep and cows managed the landscape for us and kept the brush at bay. These days there are allmost no small hold farmners left, and the forest is growing wild, and what used to be fairly open landscapes is now wild forest, and almost impenetrable. Whicj is why I don't blink an eye at cutting down a sappling to make my self a spit to barbecue my hot dogs over the fire, or to make myself some pegs to tie down my tarp.

Watching you is a lot like sitting on a lake watching people in the dessert manage their water...

[Midge_Fodder]

Aye it's a whole different kettle of fish, especially when you look at history. Scotland was once part of the boreal forest, they are restarting to recover a lot of it. It will take a lot of effort across the country.

[ratcatcher]

Hey up,

Take a look here

http://smallwoods.org.uk


They run courses during the year for people interested in coppicing/greenwood crafts, but more usefully they have a lot of coppice owners details, some may be local to you. But more importantly there may be some grants available for developing the land to get you going.

Worth a browse and a quick email even if nothing comes out of it.


I was a member for a year, in all honesty I found more help via other peoples you tube clips and being a member of the SWOG forum much more helpfull and free of any costs
(small woodland owners group) .....

[Yorkshire wanderer]

Fair enough ratcatcher!

It's always worth knowing other peoples experiences of such groups:)

Did you go on any of the courses they offer as I'm thinking about doing the week in the woods course later in the year...

[ratcatcher]

Fair enough ratcatcher!

It's always worth knowing other peoples experiences of such groups:)

Did you go on any of the courses they offer as I'm thinking about doing the week in the woods course later in the year...

no I didn't, and in all honesty, others (yourself) may find it a really good group

[Midge_Fodder]

It's a good idea getting together with others anyway. We're quite lucky in the fact Farmboy is a trained forester so knows what he's doing anyway.