Working the Woodlot

How much wood could a hobby farmer cut, if a hobby farmer could use the wood?

- By Daniel Johnson

It's amazing to consider the versatility of wood. In a single sustainable resource, we're offered the opportunity to create three distinct essentials: heat, light and shelter. Besides that, we can use wood to create any number of wonderful objects: furniture, boats, crafts, even works of art. The possibilities are endless. And while many people must rely on purchased wood that was grown and harvested miles from their home, hobby farm owners may have a unique opportunity available to them: a woodlot on their own property.

In some cases, this woodlot may consist of trees that were specifically planted with harvesting in mind, but many times a homestead woodlot is simply a natural forest that exists within your property's boundary. And with some planning and a little care, a woodlot may have the ability to provide you with multiple useful products for years to come. Let's look at a few of the possibilities.

FIREWOOD

You might love the idea of using the forested areas of your property to harvest wood for burning, and this can be a satisfying pursuit. If your goals are small say it's mainly to harvest wood for campfires, an occasional fire in the fireplace or, perhaps, sporadically heating a small cabin, it might not matter too much what kind of trees you have. The heating quality of the wood in these situations is negligible.

However, if you're seeking to heat a home with wood over a winter, you'll want to research a bit about wood types. In a nutshell, hardwoods make better wood for heating, as the denser quality of the wood fibers makes for a wood that burns hotter and longer. While many fruit and nut trees fall into this category, they may obviously have other uses that are more valuable than burning.