Growing trees for the production of firewood

[Chainsaw_Maniac]

You'd be better off to grow something else like Christmas trees or fruit trees and use the profit to buy firewood. I have 300 acres that someone tried to clear for farmland in 1982 that hasn't been touched in decades and a 10 year increase is barely noticeable. Small ash and birch have been there for decades, so it wasn't a lack of things that can grow.

Depth and quality of the soil has a lot to do with how fast trees grow in my opinion.

 

[plips71755]

Here is a good table to tell you BTUs of wood. Also think, for home use, of europe's way of doing firewood... coppicing is the correct spelling if you want to look up more info. Centuries old practice done globally.
http://www.nativeforestry.co.uk/firewood.html
http://www.christopherlong.co.uk/oth/hedges.html
https://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/so-you-own-a-woodland.pdf/$file/so-you-own-a-woodland.pdf

 

[plips71755]

You'd be better off to grow something else like Christmas trees or fruit trees and use the profit to buy firewood. I have 300 acres that someone tried to clear for farmland in 1982 that hasn't been touched in decades and a 10 year increase is barely noticeable. Small ash and birch have been there for decades, so it wasn't a lack of things that can grow.

Depth and quality of the soil has a lot to do with how fast trees grow in my opinion.

Done Christmas trees...good luck. Hard work with lots of maintenance and dealing with public if cut your own. They will start to cut several trees and then see one they like better. You don't know the others were cut on until several weeks/months later. Best to tell them to search, have them tag with their name and come to you to actually cut - you can let them help but you know they are only on that tree. Plus it is best this way..they pay before cutting. You plant 1009s in the coldest part of the year - Jan/Feb again depend on variety and you have to candle/prune in the hottest July/August depending on variety. You are pushed to get pruning over at just right time or you screwing up growth. This is a every year process including replanting. Then there is cutting the rows to keep weeds and other growth down 3/4 year plus fertilization and spraying. And don't mention the hornets who like to take up residence in trees or the ground yellow jackets or the ants who love resin. Then there are the deer who love to nibble away and can quickly ruin nice straight growth with nibbling and rubbing. YOU HAVE TO LOVE IT, HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS, LOTS OF VACATION TIME, AND BE VERY PATIENT. Depending on your soil, climate, etc. you can be 5-7 years to get a 5' pine if everything goes well and longer for firs.

Fruit trees are virtually the same but more diseases plus fruit won't have best flavor until a little older for apples, grapes, etc. and you have all the animals, and birds to contend with. No matter what you grow, first thing is to have multiple areas of farm soil tested for what you want to grow. Good luck.

 

[Hddnis]

It is rare that someone who joined yesterday raises the dead and actually contributes useful information. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen it before.

I always wanted to raise holly, the kind with prickly leaves and red berries. That stuff makes good firewood.

 

[Tenderfoot]

http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/coppicing-firewood
It has been touched upon, but Coppocing deliberately is a sustainable method of growing wood. 3 acres is not much wood, but it can be done. I understand you have to harvest mid winter and leave higher stumps if you have lots of snow fall (pollarding).

 

[muddstopper]

If the trees where planted back when this thread was started, he would be halfway to firewood by now. LOL
Anyways, I would consider some silver or red maple. Around here it grows pretty fast. Keeping it mulched with hardwood mulch speeds it up. For something really fast growing, I would look at the lombardy popular, 5 or 6 years and it will be above the power poles high, and can be planted thick for maximum production in small areas.