Small scale log production – get the best yield from a small plot
If you look
around the web you’ll find that there are a number of companies selling “grow
your own woodfuel kits”. If you’re a small holder with limited space for
growing trees you should be looking to grow the best varieties. Crops for
Energy sell willow varieties that have been specifically bred and selected for
high yield and disease resistance. Most of these have been tested in the four
corners of the
Most willow is grown for woodchip production and therefore is closely spaced with a stocking rate of 15,000 planted per hectare. If you are growing for logs you should consider wider planting distances to give a stocking rate of 6,000/ha. We suggest 0.5m between plants in the row and 3m between rows. This will provide good thick logs in 2-3 years. The lower stocking rate will yield lower in early harvests but will gradually grow into the extra space and provide similar yields to willow grown closer together.
The
received wisdom is that willow is a poor firewood. This is because it has a
fairly high moisture content when harvested and wood of a low density. This is
all true but you have to remember that willow can do a job for you providing you with woodfuel in only a couple of years. With hardwoods like ash you'll be waiting a decade or more. Besides, not all willow varieties are the same. One
Of course for a wood burner you need logs at 20% moisture so in actual fact the yield can be adjusted upwards to 12.75 tonnes/ha/year (5.2 tonnes/acre/yr) from a first harvest and 17.1 tonnes/ha/year (6.9 tonnes/acre/yr) from the second.
You’ll get masses more woodfuel from growing Endeavour compared to one of the old unimproved varieties such as Bowles Hybrid or Q83. We sell willows as 20cm cuttings and because they are produced in large quantities they are a great deal cheaper than kits sold by our competitors. So by sourcing your willows through us you’ll get better yields and cheaper up front costs.
If you
prepare your land well (ploughing, spraying etc) you can also save yourself a
packet compared to planting through plastic. The latter is expensive, and can
ride up above the planted willow meaning you need longer cuttings. This is fine
for really small plots or f want to go organic but is incredibly expensive. You
can find out how to grow willow well and maximise your yields from one of our previous
blogs
http://www.crops4energy.co.uk/10-ways-maximise-yield-your-willow-crop
If you would like to plant Endeavour or enquire about our other high yielding willow varieties please call us for a quote on 0844 249 2901 or email Kevin@crops4energy.co.uk