How to turn a large heap of prunings into a small pile of useful wood

The heap of prunings

I took advantage of the cold spell here to do a bit of severe pruning of a Willow hedge. In the sunshine the work was pleasant and progressed quickly, thanks to a good saw and my trusty Felco secateur. This sort of task has its own satisfaction.

The resulting small mountain of branches and twigs of varying sizes looked somewhat daunting and occupied almost all of our small front garden. I intended to cut it down to manageable pieces but wondered where to start.

The answer was simple. Start with the first branch. Cut off all the side branches and twigs with the Felco and pile them up neatly, having trimmed them to a handy size. Do the same to the next one, and the next one, and so on. Progress was rapid, and in seemingly no time at all, the wood pile started to form. Once they have been relieved of their twigs you can then saw the main, thicker branches to the sizes you want and pile them neatly.

The twigs can be used for kindling or shredded for compost. the 'logs' can be used as fuel or left for insects and other animals to use as shelter or food. Keep the longest, straightest branches, having trimmed them to the required length, for use as beanpoles or other useful stakes or supports in the allotment.

I am sure that I could do a lot more with this material. Only my imagination is a limitation. I could probably get a few cricket bats out of the largest trees which provide cover streetside, but these will be spared so that the birds can hide themselves away before or after visiting the feeders !

The very small pile !

All in all the Willow is very productive and vigorous. In England it has been pollarded or coppiced throughout the centuries to provide long straight poles and all sorts of other useful items. Modern plantations of willow can be used to provide combustible biomass for power generation.

This particular hedge will grow during the coming season to its original height, putting on up to three metres or more. I will be able to do the same thing next year. Such is Nature. Always productive and never a grumble.