Balsams

[svk]

Sorry for the semi-rant here but looking for any ideas I might have missed.

The land around my cabin is littered with overly mature balsam trees. Some as big as 16"+. A couple of years ago the land to the west of us was logged which has seemed to increase the amound of wind we receive. As a result I have been losing these miserable trees at an alarming rate. I lost 14 of them in one storm last spring including two across my shed roof, luckily only causing minor damage. I just had a big one break off 5' above the ground and take down two really nice maples with it earlier this summer and the whole works very narrowly missed both my shed and cabin.

As someone who doesnt like to waste anything, I have been splitting and burning the bigger trees, which literally takes twice as much wood to heat up my sauna as I would using with the birch/maple/aspen mix I normally have. I end up putting the smaller stuff right on the brush pile or fire ring.

Is anyone doing anything constructive with this species? Or am I just doomed to poor BTU output or a lot of fire pit wood until I get rid of the rest of these buggers....

P.S. After dealing with these for the past several years, I made a vow to myself to never let a balsam within 200 feet of any of my buildings grow larger than a Christmas tree.

 

[olyman]

Sorry for the semi-rant here but looking for any ideas I might have missed.

The land around my cabin is littered with overly mature balsam trees. Some as big as 16"+. A couple of years ago the land to the west of us was logged which has seemed to increase the amound of wind we receive. As a result I have been losing these miserable trees at an alarming rate. I lost 14 of them in one storm last spring including two across my shed roof, luckily only causing minor damage. I just had a big one break off 5' above the ground and take down two really nice maples with it earlier this summer and the whole works very narrowly missed both my shed and cabin.

As someone who doesnt like to waste anything, I have been splitting and burning the bigger trees, which literally takes twice as much wood to heat up my sauna as I would using with the birch/maple/aspen mix I normally have. I end up putting the smaller stuff right on the brush pile or fire ring.

Is anyone doing anything constructive with this species? Or am I just doomed to poor BTU output or a lot of fire pit wood until I get rid of the rest of these buggers....

P.S. After dealing with these for the past several years, I made a vow to myself to never let a balsam within 200 feet of any of my buildings grow larger than a Christmas tree.

they are definitely junk...been there,,and have known what they look like for lots of years...even soft maple is better...

 

[CWME]

Funny story.... Up to camp and my buddy is in the outhouse when a thunder cell moves in. We get some fairly decent localized winds and a fir tree is snapped off about 20' up. Came crashing down beside the cabin, missed the outhouse. My buddy heard the snap and the crashing and was waiting to die on the can:msp_w00t: still get a laugh thinking about it. We have cut them back since then. Just about useless for heat IMO.

 

[Erock]

I'm surprised you're even bothering to buck and split em. As stated, they're worthless, little strength, knotty, short burn times. They're what we in the wildland fire world call a ladder fuel. Gives a fire a way to climb from the ground into the upper canopy. If it were my property I'd have cut all the balsam down and gotten rid of em. Give your house a defensible space against wildfire and be happy they're tipping over.

Edit: on second thought heres what you do. You're from MN so it'd be safe to assume you ice fish right? Ok... cut a couple of them bastards down, go to your favorite walleye crappie whatever jigging spot and cut open a spear hole during the day and put a house up, then that night drag them bastards out there and shove them down the hole. let em sink and come back next year to some awesome structure to jig by.

 

[zogger]

I'm surprised you're even bothering to buck and split em. As stated, they're worthless, little strength, knotty, short burn times. They're what we in the wildland fire world call a ladder fuel. Gives a fire a way to climb from the ground into the upper canopy. If it were my property I'd have cut all the balsam down and gotten rid of em. Give your house a defensible space against wildfire and be happy they're tipping over.

Edit: on second thought heres what you do. You're from MN so it'd be safe to assume you ice fish right? Ok... cut a couple of them bastards down, go to your favorite walleye crappie whatever jigging spot and cut open a spear hole during the day and put a house up, then that night drag them bastards out there and shove them down the hole. let em sink and come back next year to some awesome structure to jig by.

We did that back when I was a kid and did some ice fishing, drag the Christmas trees we could scrounge out and sink em tied to blocks.

As to trees around structures, get rid of them! All of them! Little short dwarf hybrid fruit trees are OK, anything else, big winds find them and whomp onto your house or something. I done been cured of thinking trees nearby are cool, only takes one tornado to get rid of that idea. I don't care what species, close enough to hit the house, it sure might someday.

If I was an insurance company, big fat DENIED to any coverage with burnable or towering trees nearby. And green space around, good idea, nice wet grass or otherwise.

 

[GeeVee]

Whi;e you're young, deal with it. Burn it and thin it, save your better trees and better BTU's for when you are older and feeble.

Sure it takes effort but whatelse woudl you do with it? Waste not -want not.

Start with everything close to the structures, then anyting near a decent harder wood.

But you don't have to be in a hurry, once they're clear of the Structures.

 

[bert0168]

Rent a chipper, make mulch.

Didn't waste a thing. :msp_thumbup:

 

[GVS]

In addition to everything else that has been said they have a very shallow root system so not much wind will take them down. You could check with a logger to see if they're interested in takeing them.I have used balsam as firewood when nothing else was avaliable but I was in a bind and needed to get and stay warm. Don't know which kept me warmer- runing for wood or the fire .

 

[CTYank]

Mebbe more easily recognized as Balsam Fir. What your newspaper's printed on.

"Balsam" is the stuff that is exuded through the bark, and lights with a match.

 

[svk]

Thanks for all of the thoughts!

I am an avid spear/ice fisherman but these are way to big for that.

Between Mother nature and Mr. Johnny, most of the building threats are now down. Ive got a few more questionable ones to drop this fall. The rest can just fall down in the woods behind the shed and I'll buck them and throw in the brush pile as they go.

 

[Sal C]

I'd still use them for burning. But that's just me. They put off a lot of heat and are good for starting an cold fire.