5 best types of trees to prep with

[Kirk Freeman]

Sooo bamboo will survive... It's it invasive? Would i get into issues planting them?
With so many uses I would really consider this?

Do you like misquitos? They are a magnet for them.

 

[mrjarrell]

Sooo bamboo will survive... It's it invasive? Would i get into issues planting them?
With so many uses I would really consider this?

They can be invasive. It depends on the type of bamboo you plant. Some throw out serious runners and can create quite a nice grove. Just stay on top of it and you should be OK. Some shoots are also edible, so they can be a food source, too. Treat them like you would a willow tree and keep them away from water pipes. They tend to like shady areas, too.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Hybrid poplars do well in our climate and make for great firewood and windbreaks. They grow pretty fast, too. Unlike most hardwoods.

Poplar is not a hardwood. It is a pulpwood and is HORRIBLE for fires if you plan to heat with the fire. Take it from someone that grew up in a northern MN logging/mill town. When you hear the word "poplar", think tulip, cottonwood, aspen, etc.

 

[rhart]

I planted about 16 fruit trees last spring. One I would suggest is a Cold Hardy Fig. Also known as a Chicago fig. It produced fruit the first year!
Also, dont forget to protect them from the deer. I lost about 6 of the trees I planted from bucks rubbing and one fig chewed off low to the ground.
I know they are not trees, but dont forget raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

 

[teddy12b]

In spring'13 I plan on planting just about every tree mentioned so far with a few additions. The crab apple tree is the pollinating slut of the apple tree family and will be a help to any apple tree you want to grow. There are lime, orange, and even lemon trees that will grow in zone 5 (us). You guys should also look into sawtooth oaks. They produce nuts in 5 years and grow several feet a year. I can't wait 20 years for white, pin, or red oak trees but I'll plant some for the kids to enjoy.

I'm planning on planting the heck out of every berry bush I can find. Strawberry's especially, but also some grapes and stuff.

Waiting 5 years for trees to produce can be cut down by buying bigger trees. It'll cost more for bigger trees but what fruit or animal attracting nuts worth to you?

I hate to give away such a well kept secret, but ebay in the spring will have crazy deals on saplings.

 

[bft131]

Got four apple, one peach, one cherry, one pear and lots of bees for pollination
..

 

[THard6]

If you got 5 types of trees, which would they be?

For me, in my ideal area, they would be:

Apple
Cherry
Peach
Olive
Pear

I'd love to throw a few nut trees in there but I don't know anything about them. I've had a walnut tree and hated it.

So INGO, what trees would you want on your property and why?

what do you want trees for???
that's like asking what tires to put on your truck.. round ones!
if you're wanting trees for deer, or trees that will grow fast so you can cut them down. or are you wanting to have fruit to eat and live on in an emergency situation.. i'm just a little confused.. sorry

 

[csaws]

Seriously no one mentioned the persimmon tree or pawpaws?

Also don't forget simple things like edible landscaping, blueberry bushes, raspberry and blackberry plants, grapes etc.

 

[ar15_dude]

Olive trees are a Mediterranean native, and require a fairly balmy climate. In particular, they will not tolerate cold winters; if you experience temperatures below 15° Fahrenheit (-7° Celsius), plan on planting something else!

 

[88GT]

Poplar is not a hardwood. It is a pulpwood and is HORRIBLE for fires if you plan to heat with the fire. Take it from someone that grew up in a northern MN logging/mill town. When you hear the word "poplar", think tulip, cottonwood, aspen, etc.

What's the difference and why does it affect suitability for firewood?

 

[ThrottleJockey]

What's the difference and why does it affect suitability for firewood?

Pulp wood is very fibrous and easily broken down into "pulp" which is then made into things like paper. It is not good as fire wood because it burns very fast and dirty. Hard wood is very dense and thus doesn't break down into a pulp very easily. The density also causes it to burn much longer, more completely and thus cleaner also producing more heat. You also won't want to use trees like evergreens, maples and other trees that have a lot of "sap" in them (also like aspen/poplar) as they will cause HUGE amounts of unburned buildup in your smoke stack often plugging it completely causing smoke to back up into the home or burning your home to the ground when it catches fire. This is also why firewood should be "seasoned" properly, because any green wood will cause more buildup of unburned material than you really want to deal with or risk. Later in the winter if I didn't put up enough seasoned wood and have to resort to burning green crap or worse yet maple, I'll find myself on the roof twice or more a week cleaning the screen and the inside of our chimney. My favorite woods are Ash and Birch but birch is not too easy to come by around here. Here in IN I like Ash, Cherry, Walnut, Oak, Locust...not necessarily in that order. Ash is actually the best firewood for heating purposes followed closely by oak. With all the dying Ash trees from the emerald beetles it is pretty easy to come by and cheap too!

 

[turnandshoot4]

what do you want trees for???
that's like asking what tires to put on your truck.. round ones!
if you're wanting trees for deer, or trees that will grow fast so you can cut them down. or are you wanting to have fruit to eat and live on in an emergency situation.. i'm just a little confused.. sorry

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllllllll this IS the survival section. Soooooooooooooooo I would want these trees for survival.

It is an open ended question for a variety of answers. The questions wasn't what trees should I get, rather it was what five trees would be best to prep with.

To answer the question you have to balance what you want from your trees. Do you want to feed your family with fruit/nuts/other, bring wildlife to your property, build with it, or heat with it?

 

[Zoub]

Osage Orange

 

[Zoub]

What's the difference and why does it affect suitability for firewood?

Read the part about BTU's

"Keep in mind that all wood has the same # of BTU's pound for pound. The heavier more dense wood (oak, hickory, maple) have more available BTU's/piece than the lighter less dense wood such as poplar and pine, only because each piece weighs more. Every pound of wood that is 100% dry has approximately 8,600 BTU's /pound."


Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Kuuma "Smokeless" Vapor-Fire High Efficiency Wood Gasification Furnaces & Fantasic Sauna Stoves by Lamppa Manufacturing Inc.

 

[turnandshoot4]

Osage Orange

I just bought a washington navel orange. It flowers in Nov. and fruits in Dec. It is a dwarf indoor tree. I thought this would be nice to have something living in the house in the winter months and hopefully next year fresh oranges in Dec!

 

[Zoub]

I just bought a washington navel orange. It flowers in Nov. and fruits in Dec. It is a dwarf indoor tree. I thought this would be nice to have something living in the house in the winter months and hopefully next year fresh oranges in Dec!

Osage Orange is not about the fruit. It is about the wood and the thorns.

Before barb wire, there was Osage Orange. If you see a really OLD fence post still standing in the ground on an old homestead, it is osage orange wood.


[FONT=comic sans ms, arial, helvetica]"Horse high, bull strong and hog tight."

[/FONT]Osage Orange

 

[88GT]

Pulp wood is very fibrous and easily broken down into "pulp" which is then made into things like paper. It is not good as fire wood because it burns very fast and dirty. Hard wood is very dense and thus doesn't break down into a pulp very easily. The density also causes it to burn much longer, more completely and thus cleaner also producing more heat. You also won't want to use trees like evergreens, maples and other trees that have a lot of "sap" in them (also like aspen/poplar) as they will cause HUGE amounts of unburned buildup in your smoke stack often plugging it completely causing smoke to back up into the home or burning your home to the ground when it catches fire. This is also why firewood should be "seasoned" properly, because any green wood will cause more buildup of unburned material than you really want to deal with or risk. Later in the winter if I didn't put up enough seasoned wood and have to resort to burning green crap or worse yet maple, I'll find myself on the roof twice or more a week cleaning the screen and the inside of our chimney. My favorite woods are Ash and Birch but birch is not too easy to come by around here. Here in IN I like Ash, Cherry, Walnut, Oak, Locust...not necessarily in that order. Ash is actually the best firewood for heating purposes followed closely by oak. With all the dying Ash trees from the emerald beetles it is pretty easy to come by and cheap too!

Imaginary pos rep incoming since I can't get again just yet. I suspected as much, but wanted to verify. Would it be safe to say that "pulpy" trees could also be described as spongy when they start to decay? We're still cleaning up the brush piles left from the bulldozing when my mom built her home 5 years ago. Some logs are still rock hard with nothing more than bark that peels off. Others just squish like a wet sponge and then immediately disintegrates.

Is there a list that breaks down species into these (or similar) categories? My curiosity is piqued.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Imaginary pos rep incoming since I can't get again just yet. I suspected as much, but wanted to verify. Would it be safe to say that "pulpy" trees could also be described as spongy when they start to decay? We're still cleaning up the brush piles left from the bulldozing when my mom built her home 5 years ago. Some logs are still rock hard with nothing more than bark that peels off. Others just squish like a wet sponge and then immediately disintegrates.

Is there a list that breaks down species into these (or similar) categories? My curiosity is piqued.

Sort of. The hard woods will decay at a much slower rate because moister doesn't penetrate them as quickly. However, birch is an example of a wood that doesn't follow the rules. I think it came from another planet. I'll be back in a minute, going to try to find the chart.

Read the part about BTU's

"Keep in mind that all wood has the same # of BTU's pound for pound. The heavier more dense wood (oak, hickory, maple) have more available BTU's/piece than the lighter less dense wood such as poplar and pine, only because each piece weighs more. Every pound of wood that is 100% dry has approximately 8,600 BTU's /pound."


Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Kuuma "Smokeless" Vapor-Fire High Efficiency Wood Gasification Furnaces & Fantasic Sauna Stoves by Lamppa Manufacturing Inc.

Firewood is sold by volume, a rick = 3 cords, a cord = 128 cubic feet. For this reason you will get far more heat out of a cord of hard wood than a cord of pulp wood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_(unit)
Here are several charts, they vary slightly from one to another. Also consider that while some woods will produce a high number of BTUs, they are still less than ideal for burning as a heat source due to not burning cleanly and creating potential house fires at a more rapid rate than others.
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/W/AE_wood_heat_value_BTU.html
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-combustion-heat-d_372.html
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G5450
http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/

I apologize for so many different sources, it's been quite a while since I've referenced it and can no longer seem to find my favorite "simple to follow" chart of woods common to our area.

 

[BigMoose]

I know people don't like them, as they can make a mess. But Mulberry are very edible, we used to climb the trees and eat them as a kid.

 

[Zoub]

Is there a list that breaks down species into these (or similar) categories? My curiosity is piqued.

Yes it is called a book. You can often find at the public library. Remember that thread

Serious note, not gender oriented here: Do you understand the difference between softwood and hardwood TREES? (I said trees people)

A good one for a tree newbie would be The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. (it has words AND pictures) While many of my favorite books may be out of print, I am old, surely this one is not? Non issue to me, I own the ones I like.

Also, keep reading the posts Throttle Jockey made until you half way understand them, then read a book. After that his posts will make even more sense.

On your Mom's property in general what you are describing is rotted wood but YES some rot quicker that others. In her case, there are too many factors not given by you for us to say for sure. Example. A pile of walnut and oak, both hardwood trees, cut years ago and left where it was cut. Some is too rotted to burn some is not. That is solely based on what pieces were in the sun and air on top of the pile versus those in contact with the ground, out of the sun and wet. Then come the Carpenter Ants.

Those vile intruders that make termites look like weenies......because carpenter ants are day walkers, they do not fear the sun! If your Mom's rotted wood has large black ants in it, you need to act on that.

Dense wood has less air pockets = less air and water in it to rot it. Oak versus Pine is a perfect example.

There are a lot of reasons why well dried, dense wood is better.