[SustainableTompkins] Poplars for fuel

[Katie Quinn-Jacobs]

I'd like to plant a stand of locust for future fencing material.  Are 
there any seedlings available locally?

-- Katie Q-J



Joel and Sarah Gagnon wrote:

> I have used poplar and other low-density hardwoods as fuel and can 
> share my limited experience.
>
> They burn cleanly, once dry, but they don't burn long because of their 
> low density. A pound of dry wood has the same fuel value whether it is 
> oak or willow, but the oak packs a lot more heat into a unit volume. I 
> use poplar, box elder, willow, pine, hemlock, spruce, sumac and 
> fungally-compromised normally denser woods to heat in the swing 
> seasons when all you need is a quick shot of heat to take the chill 
> out of the house in the morning. To use them when the heat demand is 
> greater requires frequent feeding of the fire. Being lighter, though, 
> they are easier to handle.
>
> One problem with growing poplar for fuel is that it is rabbit candy. I 
> don't think it coppices or root sprouts either, so it needs to be 
> replanted every time it is harvested. I like a locust stand for 
> firewood (Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia). They grow quickly, are 
> dense, have multiple uses (fence posts and rot-resistant lumber) and 
> both coppice (grow back from the stumps) and root sprout. The light 
> shade they cast allows understory cropping of things like blackberries 
> and raspberries.
>
> Joel
>
> At 08:16 AM 9/15/06 -0400, you wrote:
>
>> The recent posting of an article about the genome of the black
>> cottonwood (a kind of poplar) raises a question about poplars in
>> general.
>>
>> It's been suggested to me that a person who heats with wood might
>> be wise to plant a stand of fast-growing poplars.  Apparently you
>> can get seeds or seedlings (I'm not clear on which) locally, I
>> think from CU or from County Extension, for about 25 dollars a
>> thousand.
>>
>> On the other hand, I've also heard that poplar wood is not the
>> greatest for heating.  I'm talking about just cutting them up and
>> feeding the billets to a fireplace insert, not cellulosic
>> conversion or anything like that.
>>
>> Does anyone have experience with growing poplars for fuel in this
>> area, or pointers to the advisability of this approach in our
>> growing region?  Given their rate of growth, it sounds like a
>> great idea, but I haven't heard of a lot of people around here
>> doing this.
>>
>> Jon
>>
>>
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