question on min # of acres to give you firewood

[LHJim]

Here I have a bro-in-law who asks me this, how many acres would one need to be able to sustain themselves with firewood? I know there's alot of variables in this, such as OWB/firewood stoves/fireplaces etc. But lets assume a owner needs to have 5 cords a year for himself to use for 5 or 6 months a year. And lets assume there are various age class of trees on the property and a mix of good/bad trees for the firewood piles. And I am assuming a home owner can always get a couple trees from neighbors/friends (in other words this is not a live and freeze to death situation.)

I told my BIL that I would think a good 20/30ac will work. Since oaks take alot longer time for them to become good producers I think some folks may plant some good tree species every year so that there is renewable resources and I of course told him he can get venison from his property and here in VA you can get 6 deer so that is a good source of meat

Anyway...from you guys who have small properties..what would you say is the minimum # of acres where they wanted to get a good supply of wood from?

I say prolly 20 to 30 ac is good but can probably go smaller tract if they are willing to scourge for wood and cut up dead fallen trees on other neighbors orpperty etc.

 

[jburlingham]

I think it depends more on the size house you want to heat, how much heating you choose the wood to do (primary wood, all wood, supplement with wood, etc), efficiancy of the heater, and how smart you are about the cutting.
For instance based on doing about 1/2 my total heat with wood in a small house approx 900 SF, with a woodstove of approx 55% efficiency, and the fact that I cut downed wood first, then dead standing, and then limbs that need to be removed, followed by older larger trees, I think I could go right along with about 10 acres.
Too many variables to say for sure without asking lots of questions

 

[Uncle John]

He stated 5 cords a year.

 

[gwiley]

If you follow these practices I am willing to bet you can do 5 cords/year with 5 acres of woodland (remember, an acre is 200ftx200ft - 40,000sf).

- selectively cut and manage tree growth
- harvest and use deadfall and snags
- relocate or plant saplings/seedlings in open spaces
- be careful with felling and skidding - stick to permanent trails
- new growth should lean more toward faster growing marginal trees

 

[LHJim]

jburlingham,

as one poster put it...I am setting this variable as 5 cord/yr. I know there are pretty much an infinity of variables but I should also have said this: assume that the fire stove (not fireplace or OWB) is used in the primary gathering room (living/family room) and that other heating source is used.

I know back when I was a young lad, my family used to take our annual trek down to the Smoky Mountains to visit my grandparents and their only source of heat at that time was a coal stove in the family room. Guess where everyone hung around but this was a large gathering as my mother had 8 other sisters and brothers that all came down and at night we split up and slept over those who were local. Back in those days I distinctly remember climbing in a cold bed but quickly warmed up with heavy quilts on beds and in the AM we'd all gather around the coal stove that my (bless her heart) got up early enough to get going so everyone was warm when they got up.

Fond days for sure...however in this day and age we are wussies so lets say the fire log stove is an auxiliary heating source BUT in a pinch the fire log stove could work.

I am guessing 5 cords but can be less or more but I assume if we need more we can always scourge up some more.

Oh..and this place is prolly a 1,000sq ft cabin...nuthing fancy...

 

[Longshot]

I like the 20 to 30 guesstimate......if it's all woodlot.

 

[Rick Alger]

Around here in northern NH, the average growth rate is about a half a cord per acre per year. Ten acres would probably do it.

For a lot with mixed species, you might think it through in terms of tons per acre or btu per acre to factor all types of wood into the equation.

For example a ton of poplar has about the same btu value as a ton of sugar maple, but it takes at least two cords of poplar to equal the btu value of a cord of sugar maple.

 

[gwiley]

Around here in northern NH, the average growth rate is about a half a cord per acre per year. Ten acres would probably do it.

For a lot with mixed species, you might think it through in terms of tons per acre or btu per acre to factor all types of wood into the equation.

For example a ton of poplar has about the same btu value as a ton of sugar maple, but it takes at least two cords of poplar to equal the btu value of a cord of sugar maple.

I like your calcs, seen conservative though. Believe it or not there is a measurable difference in the length of the growing season between Va and NH. Virginia feels more like a jungle than a forest in many places.

 

[ATH]

I like your calcs, seen conservative though. Believe it or not there is a measurable difference in the length of the growing season between Va and NH. Virginia feels more like a jungle than a forest in many places.

Yeah...0.5 cords per acre per year is really low. I generally assume 2-3 cords per acre per year (in northern Ohio) to be a very safe/conservative estimate. We do have good soil, but most of VA will have a longer growing season...

You can probably just cut the dead stuff out of 20-30 acres and get 5 cords per year every year. But if you want to improve the woods (remove the weedy trees), it is a good idea to cut the live stuff and let the dead stuff rot (unless you can use it all).

 

[Ductape]

I saw this discussed on a television show some time ago. I believe it was six or so cord per year burned, and the lot size they claimed you'd need to sustain a lifetime supply of firewood was 20 acres.

 

[Ductape]

P. S. It may have been ' Chronicle' or similar show, so it was based in New England. I assume the part of the country you are in would matter.

 

[KeyStep]

From a few forestry sources the old "rule of thumb" for a reasonably (healthy) productive piece of mixed forestland is that you can get half a cord per year, per acre for firewood. This is not taking any growth off that acre. That means that approximately you would get 5 cords from ten acres. Of course a lot of variables are involved such as size of area to heat, insulation, species, etc...but probably more important is the efficiency of the woodstove or furnace. It all comes down to BTU output and if you go by the averages 10 acres is more than enough. In Wisconsin the typical home heating with wood goes through three full cords per year.

 

[S Mc]

This taken from Back to Basics: "As a rule of thumb, 1 acre of woodland can produce 2/3 cord of hardwood each year. If you own or have acccess to 10 acres of woodland, you should be abe to harvest 6 to 7 cords a year--enough to heat an average three-bedroom house."

With Virginia's growing season, I am going with the 10 acre vote as ample. Good management assumed.

Also, unless the BIL is using the worst stove imaginable, I can't think that he would have trouble heating a 900 to 1000 sq ft house. We heat exclusively from our wood stove (as well as cook). Our house is 1632 sq ft. And we live in Montana.

Preplan the design of the house to maximize the characteristics of the stove used. Our house is a 2 story, ground floor is 952 sq ft; stove is smack dab in the middle. Heat rises so bedrooms on 2nd floor are more than cozy for sleeping. If we just had the lower floor, we would be letting the fire go out or bank it very early in the evenings.

Sylvia

 

[Dalmatian90]

Around here in northern NH, the average growth rate is about a half a cord per acre per year.

I've read the 1/2 cord per acre, per year for Connecticut as well.

Obviously some land will do better, some land will do worse. Big difference between decent, well drained upland soils and nutrient poor swamps on my property.

Trees on south and east facing slopes will grow faster then on the north and west slopes.

I think for how we typically manage woodlots in the U.S., 10 acres of decent upland woodlands in Virginia should easily sustain 5 cords/year.

20-30 acres gets me thinking about being able to manage it for long term timber profits. Won't get rich, but would probably eventually recoup your taxes and toys expenses.

If you had more labor then land, growing a lot of young trees packs in more biomass per acre per year then growing a few big ones. Something like clear cutting an area, and in 20 years or so when the trees have re-grown to 4" diameter size clearing it again. A lot of old Yankee farmers rotated their pastures with woodlots on that basis, and a lot of European forests are managed similarly today with more frequent harvests of smaller trees then you typically see in the U.S.

 

[IcePick]

Well my father lives on a 2 acre lot and we have managed to cut the majority of wood burned in his home on his lot over the course of twenty years. Of course twenty years ago we planted a hell ton of trees.

Like one poster said, we split and burned the dead, downed stuff, followed by limbs that are trimmed, then the larger trees.

We did, however, cut the very last large dead elm down last spring

He prolly has 5-10 years of wood stacked out in his garage and sheds.

 

[kentuckyblue]

i have 5 ac this is my first winter in this old farm house built in 1938 while it has a lot of insulation it is quit drafty cold air rushes in all over the place but i will get that fixed this spring and do some along the way as i can i think i will get in touch with the dept of forestry and get a plan for planting and clearing some of the over growth of bushes and the like this land was not taken care of and dead trees and limbs are all over the place i have just a buck stove now but hopefully next year i will have a better set up think 4-5 cords a yr is do able if i can do it right

 

[rarefish383]

I agree with gwilly, 5 acres should do. If the lot is heavily wooded like my lot in MD, or the woods on my farm in WV, with trees up to about 20" to maybe 24". If the tree is straight and tall, 70 to 90 feet, not many limbs, it will produce just a about 1 cord. If any thing a little less. Cutting maybe 6 to 8 trees a year, expanding your yard. As others said you can stretch it with selective cutting, Down trees and branches first, standing dead wood next, then live unwanted trees for next year. I like to leave standing dead trees untill I need them, lose less wood to rot lying on the ground. But, I only do this fairly deep in the woods because of dangerous conditions of falling dead wood.

Years ago a friend showed me an advertisement for some sort of hybrid Poplar and they claimed something like 20 would supply you with fire wood for life. They grew something like 15 to 20 feet per year. You went through several the first year and then the others started getting so big it was less and less trees each year. To me these things were just a novelty. With good hard wood forests in Va I wouldn't even think of them. Good luck, Joe.

 

[kentuckyblue]

on the subject of replanting what do you replant that would grow fast enough to harvest before you dieopcorn:

 

[Wilson_tree]

You need to look at some local resources to decide how much land you need. http://www.dof.virginia.gov/mgt/index.htm
You need to know about soils, stocking levels of the land you are considering, typical site index for the typical species mix on the land. Don't forget to factor in non-productive land for skid roads, trails, and landings that needs to come out of the total acreage growing timber. The smaller the acreage you use, the more carefully you have to manage it. You have to leave nutrients for the residual stand and you have to be very carefull about soil compaction and damaging the future growing stock. So, I guess I would say more land is better, but the more you educate yourself the more effectively you can manage the land to meet your goals. At my home here in the Adirondacks, I would need more than 10 acres to produce 5 cords of good hardwood firewood for the next few generations. There are lots of softwoods in the mix, the soil is thin, and the growing season is short.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Talk to your state extension forester, who should have growth rate projections and site indices for your lands. Then you can quickly determine how much land you will need.

Around here, growth rates average around 6-8 cubic meters/hectare/year for conifers.