11229 best firewood?

have you thought of eucalyptus .. smells nice too. grown from seed.

Doesn't really answer your question, sorry, but may help others.

We were told and have found that oak is the best for heat and only take castagne (chestnut) if you have to because it spits so much.

I recall a similar question during 2008 revolving around burning logs and "growing your own". So perhaps worth tracking back. I personally think that as this will be a LONG term project, hope you have the time to wait for the trees to mature.

hybrid poplars are also useful in the sense of speed of growth... and the use of coppicing as a method is more or less essential....

however Janetta suggestion is pretty useful... and there is research being done on this now with a project showing a five year growth that would enable you to use the wood at that stage....

[url=http://www.primabio.co.uk/bm_sppbiomasspotential.htm]Prima Bio - eucalyptus specialists - eucalyptus species with biomass potential for the British Isles[/url]

certain varieties also coppice well.... having grown them in Devon...the main problem is they are very brittle and therefore tend to snap off... however many of the species are good for coppicing with astounding growth rates once the root system is established....

having grown poplars in the UK too what is impressionable about them is the fact that they like willows and ash can be easily growing by just inserting twelve inch sticks into the ground and letting them get on with it... plant up closer than normal to start as you can then remove extra plants... and once they are large enough cut them down and they will regrow with multiple stems...

as no one doing this sort of planting would be using an open fire... basically any fast growing tree will do... as spitting should not be a problem... getting it all dried will take 12 months at least but as a long term project its something that after that first start will take care of itself...

forgot to say unless you are near a zoo with Australasian mammals the other good thing about the eucalyptus is that nothing eats them... although bees like them...

one final thought is that most of these trees will grow in any type of soil... however making sure they are well drained is a good idea... obviously willow can cope otherwise...

Our neighbour has given us some large trunks of fig, after he took a chain saw to his.We intend to keep it for a year before burning, is it a good candidate for the stufa?.
A

I found the following link helpful:

[URL="http://www.thelograck.com/firewood_rating_chart.html"][B]Firewood Guide BTU Rating Chart[/B][/URL]

See the rating for 'Black Locust' at the bottom. It's the N.American name for 'false-acacia' (robinia pseudoacacia) - a tree which is common and grows well in Italy and has a superb energy yield. You can coppice pretty quick I have heard. Seasoned quercia (oak) and olive has done my termocamino very well up to now, but with future supplies low, I plan on planting false acacia in the spring.

[quote=AdamInNarni;107225] I plan on planting false acacia in the spring.[/quote]

We have a lot around our vineyards. Mind the thorns! Othe than that it grows like a weed and is good for fires (both open and closed) after a year of seasoning. Also good for ground works (posts, fences, soil bank retaiers) if you have lots of it. A bank I cleared two years ago is full of the stuff again.

Because the false acacia trees are attractive and because close to them, there are often, small seedling trees, I have tried to dig these up and plant them, at various times of year, in our garden. They have never taken, so when the time comes, I would be interested in knowing how AdamInNarni gets on and if his trees where in bought in pots please.

Noble, perhaps it may be easier to pick up some seed pods in autumn and try to grow seedlings from them. Just an idea....

[quote=Gala Placidia;107309]Noble, perhaps it may be easier to pick up some seed pods in autumn and try to grow seedlings from them. Just an idea....[/quote]

Tried that Gala....far too slow a process and again not really successful. Do so want to hear how Adam fares.

If you have some olives there seems to be a reasonable supply of thicker prunings and it does seem to burn nicely but I do find that at least 12 months of drying time is essential for any wood. The local chestnut trees are cut down every 20 years so your plan could be long-term! As for the false acacia you really do have to look out for those spines!

[quote=Angie and Robert;107218]Our neighbour has given us some large trunks of fig, after he took a chain saw to his.We intend to keep it for a year before burning, is it a good candidate for the stufa?.
A[/quote]

I did prune some fig trees and after drying, I put the wood in the garage. There it was attacked by insects who turned most of the wood to dust. Luckily we did not have much other wood together with the fig-wood. When discovered, we burned the fig-wood outside, not vanting to get the small bastards inside the house and maybe get starting on the furniture.

[quote=sanje48;106258]we have some spare land which we would like to turn over to fast growing trees for biomass ( for our own use eventually in a log gassification boiler or in a vulcano). I've been trying to do some research on the best species for this purpose.
I've been told that Acacia which grows like a weed all over central Italy is a good candidate as it's hard and burns well and is also fast growing. Also Ash and Willow for coppicing.
I'd be very grateful for any advice from anyone here who has some experience in this field.[/quote]
Sanje
I have been investigating just this subject for quite a while now, with input from various online resources, colidiretti and the corpo forestale. There are a number of fast growers, but Acacia doesnt soak up much carbon and the firewood isnt the best, Oak takes too long and again hasn't got that good a carbon sink rating.

The Ash is the indigenous tree that has the best speed of growth to weight gain ratio and also devours most carbon- best of all its up the top of the calorific league for heat output when burnt. This link reaffirms the carbon impacts [url=http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/08/10/how-effective-is-tree-planting-for-carbon-offsetting/]How effective is tree-planting for carbon offsetting? - AutoblogGreen[/url] and this links you to an article that has a 1930's poem extolling the virtues of Ash. [url=http://www.hobbyfarming.co.uk/firewood.html]Firewood - why and what trees to grow for the best firewood[/url]

Go to your corpo forestale and enquire into their vivaii in you area- we have numerous Ash on order costing €5 for a 3m sapling.

[quote=sanje48;106258]we have some spare land which we would like to turn over to fast growing trees for biomass ( for our own use eventually in a log gassification boiler or in a vulcano). I've been trying to do some research on the best species for this purpose.
I've been told that Acacia which grows like a weed all over central Italy is a good candidate as it's hard and burns well and is also fast growing. Also Ash and Willow for coppicing.
I'd be very grateful for any advice from anyone here who has some experience in this field.[/quote]

You want to get hold of a little booklet called "Home heating with wood" ISBN1-90217-527-1
[url=http://www.cat.org.uk/catpubs/pubs_content.tmpl?subdir=catpubs&sku=PUBS_25&key=hhw]Centre for Alternative Technology[/url]

This gives info about heat output of various woods, amount of land required to grow different species, utility log burners, pelletisation all sorts of vital stuff.

Pip pip

[quote=sanje48;106258]we have some spare land which we would like to turn over to fast growing trees for biomass ( for our own use eventually in a log gassification boiler or in a vulcano). I've been trying to do some research on the best species for this purpose.
I've been told that Acacia which grows like a weed all over central Italy is a good candidate as it's hard and burns well and is also fast growing. Also Ash and Willow for coppicing.
I'd be very grateful for any advice from anyone here who has some experience in this field.[/quote]

Carpino (hornbeam) grows very readily in our area and is a popular firewood - it is a hardwood but don't know how quickly it grows, I suspect reasonably fast. The carpino trees around here do not have a main trunk, they are made up of numerous smaller trunks (about the diameter of an arm) which make for easy harvesting and ongoing growth as you do not have to chop the whole tree down in order to get firewood - probably another reason why they are such a popular firewood.

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornbeam[/url] ( Picture at bottom of page)

One of the few trees that I didn't chop down in my garden was a nice large holly tree.
Whilst doing work on the garden they must have damaged the root and it has since died.
I have been told to chop it as well but does anyone know if the trunk would be suitable for firewood?

[quote=IRITALIA;107898]One of the few trees that I didn't chop down in my garden was a nice large holly tree.
Whilst doing work on the garden they must have damaged the root and it has since died.
I have been told to chop it as well but does anyone know if the trunk would be suitable for firewood?[/quote]

Found this 'chart' on what wood burns well - hope it helps

[url]http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs315001.pdf[/url]

I particularly like the rhyme;-

These hardwoods burn well and slowly,
Ash, beech, hawthorn oak and holly.
Softwoods flare up quick and fine,
Birch, fir, hazel, larch and pine.
Elm and willow you'll regret,
Chestnut green and sycamore wet

.

Walnut is a very good one with a high calorific value; although a bit slow on the growing; but any wood needs to 'season' for at least a year 2 if poss before burning in a Stuffa if you wish to avoid large tar deposits in your chimney/stove pipe.

Hi
Have a look at [url=http://www.bowhayestrees.co.uk]Fast Growing Trees - Hybrid Willow and Poplar Trees - Game Cover - Bowhayes Trees Limited[/url] I thought about going biomass but it would have taken all my .75acre garden. Well suited for what you want, they sell shoots by the hundreds just poke them in the ground. Harvest once every three years in a copice style. I've read somewhere that willow doesn't need seasoning. Don't know how you would get on with importing maybe, you could get the same strain of willow in Italy
good luck with your project cheers chris

I went to a "serious" nursery to buy an ornamental tree and asked about the acacia mentioned in this thread. Once we got over the chat that acacia is related to Mimosa, they were somewhat horrified...false acacia is a pervasive weed and we know of no one selling it! So the point of this post is to say that in Italy you may know what you want to grow in the way of trees, but finding them is quite another matter. I should be interested in knowing in the future, what actually happened in the end please?

Is there any planning or other restrictions on using any type of land to grow trees for this purpose? From some reseach I've made I understand you need around a HA (in England I assume) to grow enough for a single family, would this be the same or less in Italy (say middle Italy)? Obviously I would not be ripping up Olive trees (I understand you can't....), but what about agricultural or other land?

Thanks