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Coppicing willow for biomass
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Posted by Claire_W West Cork (My Page) on Sat, Aug 13, 05 at 20:02
| Hello all
we live in south-west Ireland and our farmer neighbour has said that we can use a bit of his land for growing some biomass willows for coppicing for fuel, some for us, some for him. Does anyone have any experience of starting this from scratch? I have read about the process of coppicing but I have a few questions.
Can we avoid having to cultivate in advance? The land is boggy pasture, it would be handy to use black plastic or something and just push the rods through.
There was something I read a few years ago about new varieties of willow being bred specifically for biomass, but searching the net I have not yet found them; anybody heard of them?
There is a fence running through the centre of the field, I was thinking that to save costs another fence could run parallel to it, making a nice strip of land; the willows would help drain the land and also (hehehe) create a nice windbreak for our garden, which is up the hill a bit.
If anyone has any thoughts or experiences on the matter I would be very interested to hear them.
Regards
Claire. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Coppicing willow for biomass
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| I did experiment with this about 20 years ago on a small scale with good results. At that time the most suitable willow for fuel was Salix "Bowles Hybrid" but others may have been developed since. There is no need to cultivate prior to planting and you can get away with just mowing the land with an old mower if the area is not too large. The grass tends to cede once the trees hog all the light. I have looked up my old supplier and they do not appear to have a website or e-mail but the contact details are listed as follows:
Mount Pleasant Trees
Rockhampton
Berkeley
Gloucestershire
GL13 9DU
tel: 01454 260348 Jan/Feb is considered the best time to plant the cuttings. |
RE: Coppicing willow for biomass
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Hi Moriati
Many thanks for your response, and for looking up the supplier you used. I will give them a ring and see what they have to offer. I'm encouraged to hear that you found your trial was sucessful, I have grown willow before with good results, but was not growing it for harvesting. I shall be making this my research project over the next few months (nice to focus on going home from the US!), I have only made a couple of sweeps on the net, but it is communication with actual people that I feel is always mose useful! One thing I am interested to know, how thick were the rods when you harvested them? I was looking at a website yesterday that said to harvest 2 years after stooling, but it didn't give any indication of what size they were. I'm sure I read somewhere a few years ago that new hybrid willows would grow as thick as your wrist in one year, but whether or not they are available to buy I don't know. Regards
Claire |
RE: Coppicing willow for biomass
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| For biomass production you would normally take an annual harvest each winter but the first year from planting is non-productive. Planting cuttings in January will produce stools with maybe 6-8 wands about 8ft tall in the first summer. These are then cut down to the stool and used as extra cuttings. Subsequent years produce real growth with 15-20 wands each about an inch thick growing 15ft or more high. If these are left for a second year they would fatten up a lot but will produce a lot of floppy top growth. I've long since lost all my facts and figures but a lot of research was done particularly in Ireland, and the greatest tonnage of fuel was obtained from annual harvesting. Apart from any production, they would make a good amenity, as they leaf out early, provide your windbreak and help to absorb excess water from the ground. |
RE: Coppicing willow for biomass
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Hello Claire W,
Things have moved on a bit regarding BioMass, if if want some good advice and realistic quotations for planting materials contact, sheephort@btinternet.com Best wishes,
Gerald. |
RE: Coppicing willow for biomass
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| For biomass, look for a modern hybrid willow. There are plenty available but they aren't always labelled with the term biomass. They will be called hybrid and often listed as fast-growing. They are not considered good for ornamental use but they do grow fast. |
Here is a link that might be useful: One example, no endorsement intended
RE: Coppicing willow for biomass
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Hi folks, and thanks for your input. I’m interested to hear that from what you remember, Moriati, the best volume could be got from annual harvesting. Shrubs I had a look at that link you put up, very interesting pictures. You made a good point that I shouldn’t necessarily be looking for biomass. Those willows on the link page were a really good size after only a few years. I really can’t wait to get back and get on with it. GardenG I will try that e-mail address you gave me, thanks.
Thanks for all your advice. You’ve given me a good start! |
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