How do I manage a woodlot

[supercut469]

Hi. This winter my dad has put a wood boiler in his house to save money on heating costs. We own a 6 acre woodlot that has been handed down from generations in our family and it's only 15 minutes from our house so we are hoping to cut our firewood there. Our lot is mostly spruce but includes also some maple, birch, and poplar.

How do we harvest firewood off our lot in a way that promotes regrowth? Will enough seeds fall from the trees we knock down to provide new growth or should be be buying and planting seedlings? Also is there anything we can do to plan for the long term to promote the growth of the best firewood trees?

I know we need to let the wood dry before burning it so we are planning on cutting wood in the fall, blocking splitting and stacking it and letting it season 1 year before burning.

 

[S Mc]

I'm expecting some very experienced foresters to chime in here, however, for starters: Have you harvested anything in the past? If not, then anything dead, down and diseased could and should come out first.

The general rule of thumb is that 1 acre of woodland can produce 2/3 cord of wood. A 3 bedroom house takes approximately 6 to 7 cords of wood/yr to heat it. Those are just rules of thumb, obviously and can vary quite a bit. However, you will need to determine what your needs are going to be and not harvest more than the land can support.

Rather than rely solely on natural reseeding, I would suggest that you replant with seedlings or liners of selected species to optimize and control your future wood. That way you will not simply be relying on what you already have but can "improve" the selection. You don't say where you are located however I would still vary that selection with fast to slower growing species to stagger the harvestibility.

Your state forestry department may have specific information regarding your area on sustainability and management.

Good luck and good for you!

Sylvia