future fire wood?

[Not enough!!]

Western distirct (VIC) firewood ideas - working on a theory/idea long term, if you were to grow your their own firewood (with perhaps a 5-7yr existing supply) what is is the best species ti grow for heat exchange verse growth ie the faster the species grows the the quicker we get some decent firewood? some species looked at are - blue gum (Christ there are about 10 of these) she-oak, manna gum, looks like the most of the planting will be in "damp" soil autumn/winter damp, dryer soil is taken up by a of strand of stringy bark and manna gum, good area for a W.A species "willow myrtle" which seem s to grow with no worries at all - and "throws out great heat" compared to stringy bark!

This is a long term project - there must be a couple of species that can be introduced that fill both a short term and long term firewood solution, l'm assummimg l'm not the "lone ranger here" so any help will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Stevo

[ian]

Hi Stevo

when you drive the road connecting Bungendore (east of Canberra) with Goulburn (on the Hume Highway about 200km south of Sydney) you go past a grove of trees labeled as "firewood demonstration planting" or something similar. Can't remember if it is a Forestry or Department of Agriculture planting. I'm sure that the Victorian equivalents will have done something similar.

In fact a quick googling found
Home Farm forestry management strategies (http://www.agriculture.gov.au/forestry/australias-forests/plantation-farm-forestry/management)

http://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/neregn.nsf/pages/ne_nessi_pdf/$FILE/Nessi%20Spring%202009.pdf

http://www.wangaratta.vic.gov.au/living/environment/images/You-and-your-land-RCOW-booklet-020707-1209.pdf
extract
Two hectares should supply you with all the firewood you need forever! To get the best result, plan and design what you grow with advice from experienced tree growers or the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) (DEPI - Forestry & land use (http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/privateforestry)).


Firewood for farm income | NSW Department of Primary Industries (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/content/archive/agriculture-today-stories/ag-today-archives/march-2009/firewood-for-farm-income)
extract
Properly managed, [firewood] plantations could yield eight tonnes per hectare a year, and provide other on farm benefits like shade and shelter, erosion control and improved biodiversity.
If the right species are selected, the trees will re-establish by coppicing after harvesting, thus minimising costs.

[Not enough!!]

Hey Ian, thanks for those.

This is a good read, as one guy (walker) mentions Wattle's and Banksia's, which grow reasonably quickly and produce a good heat, and they grow well down here

Best timbers for the fire? [Archive] - BushcraftOz - Australian Bushcraft Forum

and this

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2183979 (http://bushcraftoz.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-2585.html?)

[Euge]

Hi Stevo

The more dense the timber generally the more heat it puts out. Of course all firewood needs to be split & dry to be offer the most heat and least smoke.

Some species for western Vic you could consider are those below. Better stems could be retained sold or milled for woodworkers. Honey production is something else you can consider with the Eucs.

Sugar Gum (dense wood, fast growing and coppices well) a good firewood

Yellow gum / white ironbark Eucalytus leucoxylon): good firewood, native to area and wood has other uses if well grown.

Yellow Stringybark (Eucalyptus muelleriana) may be worth trying if rainfall is over 600 mm. Has wood that is good for other uses.

Local Casuarinas (C verticilata) a small tree may be worth trying too as their dense wood amkes excellent firewood & wood working wood

Even selected acacias (eg black wattle, A.mearnsei) are fast growing and may be worth growing with or among the Eucalypts above. Borers usually limit its age. A good nursery species for the other trees,

A few ideas you could consider. :-)
Cheers

Euge

[Not enough!!]

Hey Euge, you have done well (as usual), its interesting that you mention honey production as when l walked through the existing trees, l thought what a great sheltered spot for some bee-hives.

The black wattle would be high on the list with Casuarinas for short term, then the sugar,blue and yellow gums.

There is a web site that sells most of the above for $1 a seedling plus postage - seems a good deal.

Cheers
Stevo