In the process of cutting back a row of trees at the back of my garden. Not surprisingly it has already produced an horrendous amount of branches. What to do with them? They'll obviously not burn as they're too wet. I have a big field behind my house, one option was to put them over the fence as the field is awaiting development of some sort but too close to the boundary and they'll dry out and no doubt some kids come along and set fire to them, move them into the field and that's obviously just a little antisocial even though the field is not currently in public use.
Hire a chainsaw? I guess I could put them over if pieces were small enough.
Any other (sensible) suggestions?
Hire a wood chipper for the day and get 'em chipped up. Impressive bits of machinery.
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But seriously, what he said ^^^
EDIT: Or do as I am doing - combine it with other work on your house and get a skip (we needed a skip for the other work and it worked out cheaper to get a bigger skip and not bother with a chipper, although I really wanted to hire one).
I spent yesterday loping stuff back in my wood, built a fire with the cuttings from last years coppicing, plus loads of windfall and raked leaves, and then when it was burning well, stuck the whet stuff on.
You can see the moisture boiling out of the wood straight away and it burnt to nothing in no time.
So if you can get your hands on any other waste wood, get it burnt... 😀
I tend to chop any bigger bits for burning. If you don't have a wood burner or open fire then I'm sure someone local will take them. All the thinner bits either get chipped and used on the garden or bagged up in a builder's bulk sack and taken to the tip for composting. Fly tipping them would be pretty antisocial
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Fasthaggis, I'll take your pair of little peckers and raise you one big fat
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Mmmm, Beaver...
this is STW: why are you not piling it up in your woodstore to dry for the woodburning stove in your front room ? 🙂
Another thing I do is chop various thickness sticks into 18" lengths and just stack them up in gaps under hedges etc
They make a brilliant habitat for creepy crawlies, voles etc.
Shibboleth - excellent suggestion. I did this last year and there are loads of wee bugs loving it in there. I also stack up stones too. It's also good for the foraging of hedgehogs etc..
Another good idea is to make a box frames (open front and back) and stuff it with twigs and branches and hang these off the fence. I did this as a wee Bug Hotel - various bugs love it and moved in almost immediately. Looks cool too!
Where are you and how many logs do you have? We have a trailer and two fires to feed and we're running low on wood...
If the wood is of any size, then stick it on freecycle/Gum Tree or whatever and someone will come and clear it up and take it away free of charge.
Shibboleth - excellent suggestion. I did this last year and there are loads of wee bugs loving it in there. I also stack up stones too. It's also good for the foraging of hedgehogs etc..
Have a lot of fun with my nephews building these - we make little chambers by using short logs at either side then cover it over leaving a void. They sprinkle a bit of leaf litter inside for bedding - it really fires their imaginations.
I also have a GoPro which I leave next to openings where I've seen woodmice, toads etc. They love watching the footage on their iPad!
The next generation of conservationists!
Seriously though, I'd suggest that the OP does this anyway. If you get down on your hands and knees and have a look, there tends to be a void underneath hedges and large shrubs. Stack up a few bundles of sticks of all thicknesses and let nature move in and do the rest.
Wood chippers are not to be operated on Saturday or Sunday morning's just saying.
