Willow is probably the best firewood in the world...!

So, what is the best firewood to grow? That’s a very good question and the answer is actually another question. But, that question does have an answer although your answer might be different to ours!
Many people have asked us why we are growing a willow coppice for firewood, instead of oak or pine. Coppicing willow will provide us with a limitless amount of firewood and benefit wildlife at the same time. It really is an amazing tree.
The graph that I discuss in the video can be found here:
cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/202...
We are trying to be as self-sufficient and off grid as possible on our smallholding, our English homestead, with a little help from Hazel, our pup.

[@uhadonejob]

I am surprised you didn't touch on processing / curing. The ease of handing and drying smaller diameter wood is a huge benefit especially as you get older.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

You are thinking like I am - drying firewood is on the list for a future video!

[@rustical]

We grow our hybrid willow so we only split the bottom 3ft at the most. The rest make lovely logs (right down to an inch dia) that do take a bit longer to season but its worth it to cut out a processing step.

[@rustical]

Ha! maybe, but this one covers off most of our findings very eloquently so no need. Euc won our trials for best firewood logs overall in a very short space of time but didn't coppice that well so willow was still the eventual winner.

[@threeriversforge1997]

Excellent video, and an important perspective. I often tell people that willow is far more important than they might realize, and for the reasons you've listed here. I'd also point out that this is a good way of approaching a lot of things around the homestead because you're considering the 2nd Order and 3rd Order Effects of a decision. One of the reasons we're in the current state of things is precisely because folks never stopped to think about the ripples their actions will cause. Those willow trees, for example, will grow quickly for you, but they also provide material to make baskets and spoons and bowls. Now, some might say that's irrelevant, but lets consider the 2nd Order and 3rd Order effects that come from turning our backs on the traditional ways of our fathers and grandfathers. We were talked into buying mass-produced stuff manufactured in some far off land rather than buying local goods produced by local craftsmen from local materials. Not only did that cost us a sense of community, of who we were as a people, but it meant that now our own folks had to scramble to find work. The bodgers are still around, but they've been relegated to a cutesy boutique kind of thing, and it's certainly not something you can easily make a living at. So what generational knowledge was lost in the process? How many uses for those different trees have we completely lost knowledge of because folks stopped interacting with the landscape? How many gallons of oil have we burned up just to manufacture and ship the chintzy goods from the other side of the globe? How did we get to a point where the taxes and regulations were so extensive and costly... that it's somehow cheaper to make something halfway around the world and transport it to a store near us rather than just make the product in the next county over? It might seem a weird way of looking at the situation, but it's an important way to look. For example, we are surrounded by trees, yet something as simple as the wooden spoons we use in the kitchen are mass-produced on the other side of the world rather than made by a carver just down the road. Does that really make sense? How can a culture survive and thrive when they don't really make anything for themselves? In the end, it only helps to preserve the woodlands and the natural ecosystem if we can see the physical value the trees and plants hold. And that takes something tangible, like stirring a pot of soup with a spoon made from the trees all around you. Culture is the collection of a million little things that sets you apart from 'the other'. It should be celebrated.

[@andywalsh4577]

Wow, finally someone talking sense. There’s too much snobbery and ignorance surrounding wood as fuel. Thank you.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks for that - glad you liked it!

[@MyEcoHomeDiary]

I've been burning dead dry sunflower stems and branches to make quick fires for tea and less often boil spaghetti. I use dried leaves for the fire starters. I'm in west African region, haven't seen Willow around here

[@willowenergy1766]

What a great video. We grow willow on a larger scale for biomass production. We grow and multiply new hybrid varieties. I would be happy to show you around. We are based near Carlisle.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thank you for that - sounds really interesting. I found your company's website and I have sent you an email. Look forward to talking with you.

[@DrRock2009]

Goat willow for me (thanks Dad 30 years ago!). And in other news, that dog is one great big fluffle floof 😍😎

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

She really is! The willow tree that I show in the video is/was a goat willow. It was doing really well. Sad that it blew down...

[@SGM97B]

Hybrid Popular is your answer. I planted two dozen of them in 2012 and they are now all 18 to 20 inches in diameter. They coppice well. The wood splits easily and you can just trim off young branches, stick them in good soil, and they will root.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Hi, thanks for getting in touch. We did try 4 or 5 hybrid poplar varieties several years ago, but they did not do well. Might try again as the aspens we have are doing really well.

[@chris-2496]

We have plenty of forest around and just use whatever falls in storms - aspen, alder, birch - and thats enough.

[@default9740]

So… this Kiwi agrees with you. And great info on the calorific value of wood by weight. We live in Central Otago, New Zealand. Have always cut our own firewood, was pine, now willow. It’s a pest/ nuisance species here. Every riverbed is full of it. We cut it green, split it straight away: it’s really easy to cut and split when green. It dries super fast in our climate. I’m burning some now that I cut green in late December: it’s too dry, under 10%. I usually cut it from February onwards, start burning mid April. We get through about 10 cubic meters a winter. It has a bad reputation as firewood here, but that’s perhaps because folk season it too long, or only cut dry dead willow as a last minute option.

[@conradswadling8495]

i planted and coppiced willow, it worked well enough from rough ground with no trees. i was able to harvest logs from about 5 years after planting., every 5 years........

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Sounds like you got a quick growing variety and it clearly likes where you are growing it. Glad you are doing well!

[@ximono]

A refreshingly nuanced video!

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks, I like 'getting into the weeds' with this sort of stuff - glad you liked it.

[@joshuadelisle]

Pollarding the mature trees can still work well, we pollard our apple trees for wood every so many years. We have a huge weeping willow that was cut to a stump before we arrived and although the center rotted away enough branches sprouted to support new growth, it's definitely weeker and so I don't allow it grow too tall and so I Pollard the higher branches, 13years on it's a fabulous tree 5m tall and I've had two crops of fire wood from it. Hazel is also one of the most carbon dense woods which makes it excellent for fire wood and as a building material. Loved the video, very well done. Cheers J

[@jeroengoetstouwers8574]

Very interesting video to watch. I must say my garden/land is not big enough for large coppicing fields of willow. Although it would be interesting to do. I got some hazelnuts that I copice every once in a while. What I did do recently is plant 5 pollard willows. Reason being is they provide plenty of firewood but need less groundspace to grow. They are quite common where I live and I'd say if maintained properply you can harvest them every 4-6years. They provide big stakes of 4-5m tall and with diameters up to 20cm.

[@pappafritto]

A worthy channel, calm voice - we need more of such content

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks for that!

[@simonparkes5514]

Poplar is probably one the best, it grows exeeding quickly and propagates really easily from cuttings. Although not the longest burning, it gives out quick heat to start the fire off and then you can use some denser wood like oak or ash to prolong the burn.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Yes, we have been trialling several types of poplar. Aspen seems to be the best so far but they are too young to use as firewood at the moment. In a dozen years, that might be very different!

[@ashleycawley5816]

Spot on! Loving your videos, thanks for sharing.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

You are very welcome - glad you like them!

[@machetepanda966]

Damn! Takes two seasons to dry wood in England!

[@GardensforLife]

Excellent video and info! Great perspective. Thanks

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks for that! I'm glad the science bit worked well. There will be more like that on the way!

[@alisdar1234]

I’m really appreciating your videos and outlook on life🙂

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thank you!

[@paulsmart4672]

Terrific dog.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

She is!

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Fabulous video thanks😊

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Most welcome. I am glad you liked it!

[@reijerlincoln]

Lovely channel. Deserves more subs and likes!

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thank you for saying so - it means a lot!

[@redcanoe14]

Thanks for these interesting videos. I did a lot of coppicing and pollarding of Crack Willows when I lived in Yorkshire as a process of developing and improving a wetland nature reserve. I had a cottage in the Derwent Wetlands and had some huge gnarly White Willows on the boundary. I emigrated to BC in Canada in 2005 and have recently built a home in a forest of Birch (Paper Bark, Silver and Yellow Species), a predominance of Douglas Fir, some Balsam Fir, Alder and Brush Maple, White Spruce (on the decline) and Trembling Aspen. Local People are zealous in their pursuit of Douglas Fir as firewood and as far as they are concerned they will burn nothing else, they think the Aspen is the worst of the worse. I burn all species and find the Aspen, when well seasoned, goes very hard, I like to burn it because it is extremely clean burning, easy to split, not heavy and in plentiful supply. I also love the White Spruce because it ignites easily and blazes well which helps get the wood stove up to heat quickly and enables it to burn any slightly damp wood effectively. For the coldest days of winter (-25 to -35C) I keep a separate stack of Brush 'Vine Maple' it rarely exceeds 8'' diameter and when seasoned is a hard as rock (it looks like Beech when split) The Yellow Birch is the hardest of the Birches and burns best once seasoned for a couple of years. Our Alder rarely get above 20 feet and I have not burned any yet. Willows out here are more shrublike and easy to grow from whips, beyoond our boundary are some White Cedars and Cottonwoods (which do not burn well). What are of the UK are you living in? Best Regards, Chris

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Hi, thanks for your comment. We live in Cumbria, so possibly a bit wetter and milder than Yorkshire. Willow grows very well here because of the rain. I have only been to Canada once, when I was little. It looks like a good place. Do you have much land out there?

[@redcanoe14]

Greetings from BC Canada. The area I lived in Yorkshire was the Derwent Valley just South of York, to the rear of my cottage were extensive wetlands fabled for their diverse waterfowl. I now live on the edge of the Shuswap lakes Region, 40 kms East of Kamloops BC. on the side of a mountain at 3,500 feet in 20 acres of forest comprising of Douglas Fir, three species of Birch, Trembling Aspen, White Spruce and a few Balsam Fir, Alder, and a lot of Vine Maples, lots of Scouler Willow a small species). To the North of my boundary on Crown (common) land there ar patches of Red Cedar and the occasional Cottonwood and Mountain Ash. The temperature variable here is from 35C in August to -35C in January with a fair amount of precipitation compared with the arid conditions in the valley to the East. I know Cumbria quite well from hiking and camping there. Best Wishes, Chris@@theviewfromtheclouds

[@healthyrootsstrongwings538]

Interesting video. Well made, great info. Hope to see more of your project :) Be well

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks for that!

[@workshopvillage]

Great Video

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks!

[@briancrackett8421]

We came up with the same conclusion...willow is tree that we have planted most for fuel, also in a higher rainfall area; on the Isle of Lewis.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

I hope they grow well and help to keep you warm. You will have longer and colder winters than we get, I should imagine.

[@DTA-me3kv]

Hybrid willow are amazing

[@lagrangebees]

Willow isn't very common (at least in my area) in Canada, but I do see 2-3 of them when I go take care of my bees. I would like to have a piece of land with a house heated by wood. Maybe one day I will get to go harvest some branches to start a willow coppice. I did do a bit of research before I found your channel, and I thought that since Maple thrives over here and it is suitable for coppicing it would be a good choice. But I just found that it grows slower than willow (Red Maple is the fastest growing, but still grows at one third the speed of willow. Thank you for giving me the right question to ask 😊

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

You're welcome - glad to be of help!

[@ladyofthemasque]

My choice in soil that isn't quite so boggy would be to grow hazel. Depending on the species (and most require 2 different species for cross-pollination), you can get nuts within 2-4 years of growth, and they can be coppiced every 5 years, so you'd get fuel for your body as well as fuel for your hearth!

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Good thinking! We reached the same conclusion and have planted several dozen. No nuts yet, though!

[@Xc31]

​@@theviewfromthecloudswhat kind of hazel are you growing if I might ask?

[@ladyofthemasque]

@@theviewfromtheclouds Awesome! I live near Seattle, so obviously I'd be going with native hazelnut species as much as possible. It's always best to get whatever is native since it's far more likely to survive the local climate conditions. I'd also pick hazel for another reason: It burns hot even at small diameters, which makes it great for a Rocket Mass Heater. Oak is great for a more traditional woodstove or fireplace, but I prefer the much steadier heat and thermal efficiency of RMHs. For an RMH, you don't want big thick pieces of long-lasting slow-burning firewood; you want thin pieces that burn hot enough to re-ignite the volatile organic compounds in the smoke, giving you a secondary burn and dramatically reducing ash residue & creosote buildup. I know a lot of people have been slamming willow as a poor choice for firewood, but if a person splits and thoroughly dries the coppiced branches, you'll still manage to get quite a lot of BTUs out of the wood with a Rocket Mass Heater. ...For those who don't like the idea of playing around with constructing your own RMH with heated cob bench, etc, you can instead consider getting a soapstone fireplace, such as the Tulikivi, out of Finland. They have a similar thermal storage-and-release capacity, using soapstone instead of cob as the primary thermal mass. (Even just a more normal style woodstove with soapstone side panels will produce a longer-lasting heat over several hours than a regular iron woodstove, which will heat up faster, but cool down a lot quicker as well, meaning you'd have to constantly low-and-slow burn the wood in it to maintain heat overnight...and still have to get up to feed the fire a number of times, all of which leads to severe creosote buildup in short order.)

[@emmaslow]

I have recently concluded the same for me in the wet forest region of the northern Dordogne. Really useful video to confirm my own conclusions for an exposed, clay-rich hillside where we have wet autumns, winters and springs. I also have a neglected hazel coppice to try to encourage back but deer pressure is high so we'll have to see ...

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Yes, it really is about choosing the right tree for your location. Deer can be a real problem for us too. We had to install a deer fence to enable our woodland to grow. I don't think you can pollard hazel.....

[@thecurrentmoment]

​@@theviewfromtheclouds why wouldn't you be able to Pollard hazel? You can certainly prune it in an orchard. I used to propagate hazels and I'm pretty sure I've seen them topped and grow back. I'm not sure if that means you can do a proper pollard though

[@TheKlink]

context is key. have you considered planting shelterbelts?

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks for getting in touch. We have planted lots of shelterbelt, but those trees are still too small to be of much benefit yet. They will be a huge benefit eventually!

[@gee3883]

Interesting facts about calorific value but does that take into account the amount of time it takes to burn the equivalent sized log? apologies if that's a dumb question. One thing I dislike about burning pine or wood full of resin is it gives off black smoke and that creates furry black deposits that cling to the inside of my stainless flu. This makes cleaning it a monthly chore rather than every 3 months if I burn say ash.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Hi, I have thought about that too. I don't think I have seen any research on the burn speed vs heat density of different woods. That would be a good experiment for someone to do.

[@saskwatch123]

Excellent, straight forward explanation. Oaks trees are too precious for firewood. I like pines for ease of planting but because they don't coppice they are best saved for other purposes except when thinning poorly formed trees. I'm planting cottonwood background poplars which I feel is better adapted to my drier environment.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thank you for saying so - it means a lot. Good luck with the cottonwoods!

[@bigonorganics5753]

start making biochar and reapplying it to the trees it will increase aeration of the soil, drainage and help with plant fertility. trees will start producing heavy with large bud break numbers after vertical mulching hole around the trees and filling with biochar and fertilizer. It is what im doing in attempt to get a feed back loop.

[@Ry_Rides]

Started watching for the wood, stayed for the dog

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Yes, she is wonderful!

[@bigbraincontent]

Nice hoggle drop

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Glad you liked it!

[@Emiliapocalypse]

I loved that too!

[@howardchambers9679]

I didn't see Leylandii on that list. I've been burning it in my wood stove and it's as good if not better than yew. I know everyone looks down on it as an abomination but it's fast growing, makes an excellent wind break and there's loads of it!

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

I agree that it generally grows well in most areas. We have planted a few dozen of them as a windbreak, but ours are not doing that well. The ground here is very wet. I am not sure why some species were included on that graph and others were not. I suppose Leylandii is not commonly grown for its timber so it got left out? Not sure.

[@tooluser]

Please consider some tranquilizers for your severely overactive dog. lol such a cuddlebug!

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Yes, she is. She is super chilled and snuggly!

[@chris_private]

Interesting, I didn't know that the heat densities of different dried woods is the same!

[@shoutatthesky]

How could anyone not know that? It's logical.

[@garymaxwell3086]

​@@shoutattheskyno need to be rude

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

It really is! I had never really thought about it until I came across that graph.

[@shoutatthesky]

@@garymaxwell3086 I'm not being rude. Why so sensitive? Daddy didn't hug you?

[@stuearth5076]

@@theviewfromtheclouds but normally you buy wood in cubic metres (at least that is how it is here in France), so the denser woods are more expensive.

[@lancemcque1459]

Short answer.... willow.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

You see - its all about asking the right question. Then, the answer is easy!

[@patrickbelongea6896]

Beech leaves very little ash.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Thanks - I don't think I have had the pleasure of burning much ash. Ash does make a fair bit of ash!

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

Yeah willows actually alright its easy to grow and you burn what you have a lot of.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

I agree - it is a decent wood and it really does well here.

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

@@theviewfromtheclouds Aye down in the southeast here where the marshes are it's largely willows and Poplars that do anything aha. To be fair the Oak does alright but is definitely the land of the Salix at sea level lol

[@Shyska]

Sorry, but volume matters, weight doesn’t. The only fact on this video - calories chart is interesting, but useless. It is how much volume you grow in an acre, how much volume wood takes in shed, how much of it fits in your stove and then how often you need to refuel. It is ALL about volume, not weight. Willow is the absolute worst firewood - very twisty, hard to chop, least calorific value, rots asap if gets wet. Furthermore it propagates like crazy. Sure, if nothing else grows, it’s ok, but there are better species that will save your time vs give loads of volume of crappy wood to deal with.

[@richardweaver1062]

What would you recommend then?

[@Shyska]

@@richardweaver1062 don’t get me wrong, I think in your case willow is great, white/black alder would likely be better (black better for wind resistance). It would be interesting to see some number based wind resistance, root penetration numbers. Since both my and your opinion it’s just that - an opinion. I have read a good few books on forestry and tree species (native to Lithuania) and the numbers can be found :)

[@tonydoggett7627]

Australia Ironbark is the best. Dense heavy hardwood

[@eckythump6429]

I was surprised alder wasn’t mentioned. I live in the same part of the world as the video maker and it does really well. Willow is good if you are chipping it for biomass, not so good for wood burning logs as it grows long thin whips rather than solid branches.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Hi, thanks for the comment. We have also planted lots of alder. It does grow here, but not at nearly the speed of willow and aspen. Glad it is working well for you, though!

[@charleswhite758]

What's up with the Merican accent dude?

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

Well, I was born there! I moved to Britain about 30 years ago and my accent is now rather muddled!

[@charleswhite758]

@@theviewfromtheclouds That's unfortunate! Accent is very important. Especially away from cosmopolitan cities. In that situation I would force myself to learn the English accent. Many Brits moving to the USA speak Merican, unless they want to act as butlers in Hollywood.

[@bradclark6796]

Willow produces less heat than many other types of wood. Willow ranks poorly for coaling. Willow is really good kindling.I would burn it if that is all I could get. I mix it with all my good wood works great. Willow is definitely not the best firewood in the world.

[@theviewfromtheclouds]

I suppose it depends on how you get your wood. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy willow, but as for growing it... that is a different question. For us, on our land, it seems to be the most promising so far. Your situation may be very different. Thanks for your thoughts.