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A different kind of drying

Hello all,

I'm betting that turners have some general knowledge that would be helpful here....

I just had the silver maple in front of my house removed this morning because the roots were breaking up the sidewalk, and had the tree service guys leave everything but the twigs for me. I spent all morning sawing it up and splitting the less desirable stuff for firewood, and then it occured to me that while I have spent countless hours fretting over the best way to dry turning blanks, I have absolutely no idea how long I should let my firewood dry before burning it in the firepit.

I've got about 1/2 a face cord stacked in front of the south face of my shed with decent air pockets for drying, split but with the bark on and no shade. Common sense tells me that I *could* burn it any time, but it's liable to be smoky and hard to burn for a while, and I'm wondering how long it generally takes to dry out to where I can burn it without a lot of aggrevation.

And yes, I got a lot of turning blanks out of it. Unfortunately, it's not a gloat as I liked the tree where it was- but with the sidewalk being wrecked and my discovery that a good bit of the pith was rotted, cutting it down was the best option. I intend to plant a couple to replace it- I could use a little advice on that as well; It's a 3-4' wide boulevard between the sidewalk and the street, on the border of climate zones 2 & 3 and the soil is a fairly heavy clay. I need something that won't wreck the sidewalks and looks nice- either narrow to fit the space, or with a high canopy. Anyone have some good suggestions?

Reply to
Prometheus
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Prometheus wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Your local power company might have a list of good suggestions. Or a good nursery should.

Your firewood should be good to go by this Christmas...

Patriarch

Reply to
Patriarch

Many cities have an urban forester and there's the 'dep of ag' county agent. They usually have local knowledge and are eager to help.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Reply to
Arch

I would check with one of the local nursery people about the trees you need. They should know your local conditions and such. The firewood can be burned outside anytime but it will be smoky. I would give it 6 to 12 months drying time, or at least that is what I do here in Nova Scotia.

Reply to
Darrell Feltmate

That's a great tip. Here in NW Oregon, PGE has an online page devoted to trees suitable for planting under the wires.

Reply to
Owen Lowe

The red berries are not nearly as attractive when mashed all over the sidewalk :-).

Most nut trees, given sufficient water, have a long taproot and few if any surface roots. What kind depends on your climate - talk to the local experts.

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

Butternut was one of my ideas- my wife and I may move in a couple of years, but plans do have a way of changing, and it would be nice to get some nuts out of it if we're in the house long enough.

Other top contenders are Arborvitae (cheap and can be trimmed) Northern White cedar, Ash (though I am concerned about the possibility of Emerald Ash borers getting here- the DNR is pretty concerned about keeping them out, but Michigan isn't *that* far away) and basswood.

Far as power lines go, there is a single line, but it's just for the streetlight, and the city said they don't really care one way or the other if a tree touches or grows around it. Seems to me that that may be a little flippant, but if they're okay with it, I won't argue.

Main concerns are strength and appearance. And of course, roots that won't wreck the sidewalk and curb.

At any rate, the suggestion to check with local experts actually reminded me that there is a University extenstion office that deals with this kind of thing, so the advice is not wasted- I just rarely think of it.

Thanks.

Reply to
Prometheus

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