Woodland management

[low plains drifter 11,177]

26 minutes ago, mel b said:

I've been clearing the bracken from a couple of spots at my place . I've been doing it about three times a year , for about five years . It seems to have pretty much stopped it now though .

I wanted to do more , but on the really steep parts , the juice just ain't worth the squeeze. 

What will you be planting ?.

If you want , oak , Hazel,  Holly,  rowan . You're more than welcome to pop up and get as many saplings as you want .

I put in a few sweet chestnuts , but the farmers sheep got in and ate the lot. The fuckers did the same with the Tenby daffodils.

I've got a couple of three year old walnut saplings to go in , but I'll put cages around them.

I still want to get a few fruit trees in at some point as well.

I'm looking to plant guelder rose, dogwood, wayfaring tree, spindle, the odd field maple etc, broken up alongside a few short lengths of hawthorn for edging the rides. And replacing some of the felled spruce with oak, might do a bit of a mix with some Hazel, and got a few ash saplings to bring up. There's quite a bit of regeneration of spruce, larch, rowan and the Birch is prolific like clumps of grass. This place could probably be a full time job if I was to plant coppicing and do charcoal making etc, got other things like a mixed fruit orchard in mind, but again it's all time and graft

 

 

Edited July 6 by low plains drifter

[low plains drifter 11,177]

Hydration o'clock 

 

[mel b 3,554]

20 minutes ago, low plains drifter said:

I'm looking to plant guelder rose, dogwood, wayfaring tree, spindle, the odd field maple etc, broken up alongside a few short lengths of hawthorn for edging the rides. And replacing some of the felled spruce with oak, might do a bit of a mix with some Hazel, and got a few ash saplings to bring up. There's quite a bit of regeneration of spruce, larch, rowan and the Birch is prolific like clumps of grass. This place could probably be a full time job if I was to plant coppicing and do charcoal making etc, got other things like a mixed fruit orchard in mind, but again it's all time and graft

 

 

That's the problem with a woodland.  You buy it to just sit in and relax , but little by little,  it becomes a full time job , that you have to fit in around your other full time job .  At least most of it is pretty enjoyable .

[low plains drifter 11,177]

17 minutes ago, mel b said:

That's the problem with a woodland.  You buy it to just sit in and relax , but little by little,  it becomes a full time job , that you have to fit in around your other full time job .  At least most of it is pretty enjoyable .

This is it mate  

[low plains drifter 11,177]

Bit of brash burning

Windblown clearance 

Habitat creation and some regeneration 

 

[mel b 3,554]

You've been hard at it as always mate .

[low plains drifter 11,177]

A bit Potter aboot

 

[mel b 3,554]

2 hours ago, low plains drifter said:

A bit Potter aboot

 

You've earned that bap mate . 

[low plains drifter 11,177]

1 hour ago, mel b said:

You've earned that bap mate . 

It's thirsty work Mel

[low plains drifter 11,177]

Bit of thinning of the Sitka spruce, firewood prep and some brash burning on top of the Bracken and Crocosmia

 

[mel b 3,554]

9 hours ago, low plains drifter said:

Bit of thinning of the Sitka spruce, firewood prep and some brash burning on top of the Bracken and Crocosmia

 

You should be building yourself a log cabin with all those trunks .

[low plains drifter 11,177]

14 hours ago, mel b said:

You should be building yourself a log cabin with all those trunks .

I know Mel

It's just all time, and I'm working a lot of hours 

But I am hoping to make some use of them, was looking to get a chainsaw mill  and cut planks out of them

See how it goes

[Arry 24,747]

On 06/08/2025 at 19:06, low plains drifter said:

Bit of thinning of the Sitka spruce, firewood prep and some brash burning on top of the Bracken and Crocosmia

 

I don't mean it interfere  or teach granny how to suck eggs but if you leave so brash piles where you cut them you might get some good fungi.

I mainly find two sorts Winter Chanterelles and Hedgehog mushrooms both good eating.

Cheers Arry

[low plains drifter 11,177]

18 minutes ago, Arry said:

I don't mean it interfere  or teach granny how to suck eggs but if you leave so brash piles where you cut them you might get some good fungi.

I mainly find two sorts Winter Chanterelles and Hedgehog mushrooms both good eating.

Cheers Arry

I've got dead hedges and habitat piles dotted about the place Arry, fly agaric and stinkhorn are a couple of what grows, hopefully get something a bit more useful, and you've reminded me I've still got a mushroom growing kit to set away

[mel b 3,554]

1 hour ago, low plains drifter said:

I know Mel

It's just all time, and I'm working a lot of hours 

But I am hoping to make some use of them, was looking to get a chainsaw mill  and cut planks out of them

See how it goes

I bought an alaskan mill , and saw with a 24 inch bar a few years ago , and it's just sitting in the shed now.  It was fine on pine , but not good enough for oak.  If I need to cut oak planks now , I just do it freehand.

I did a knife making course a few years back , and the guy had built his own log cabin in his woodland ( he even forged his own 16 inch nails). It's was only a single room , but it was amazing.