Eight Ways to Use Fallen Trees After a Hurricane
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- Опубликовано: 18 окт 2024
- Hurricanes are an unpleasant part of life in much of the world, as Hurricane Irma has shown us this month. As a child, I remember sitting in the dark as Hurricane Andrew's winds and rain lashed and beat against the aluminum storm shutters of my parents' Fort Lauderdale home. When it was finally safe to emerge, it felt like we stepped into another world. The watery sun rose over flooded streets and lawns, littered with leaves and shingles. Fallen trees were everywhere and the sound of chainsaws soon sang like devouring cicadas across the ravaged landscape.
After a storm, most of us think about how we can “get things back to normal” and press on. We see the fallen trees are a nuisance, not a resource. I know, because I've chopped up and burned my fair share of toppled oaks. No more, though! If you're currently dealing with clean-up duty, today's article will help you see those trees as more than dead weight to be dragged to the curb.
Lumber
Portable sawmills have to be one of the greatest inventions in recent history. Florida is loaded with oaks, hickory, pine, black cherry and other good lumber species. Our Cracker ancestors built their homes and barns from these trees - yet we chop them into chunks and put them by the road. I have considered going into the lumber business. Think of the potential market for locally-grown wood. The trees are there for the taking after a storm - and with the cost of good lumber, you could write your own ticket. If you're not personally interested in milling lumber, why not look up a local guy and have him cut you some boards from the fallen trees on your property? Talk about untapped potential!
Biochar
Ongoing experiments with adding charcoal to infertile soils have produced interesting results. I have one friend who has experienced huge increases in his garden yields after years of adding crushed biochar to his growing beds. Though you'll see expensive kiln systems and read lots of talk about making biochar “the right way,” at its heart it's just charcoal. Make a big fire, let it burn down to coals, then quench it. This is a good time to use nature's rage to potentially improve your soil for decades.
Mushrooms
Have you ever thought about growing shiitake or oyster mushrooms? The logs are everywhere - now is the time to order some spawn and start plugging.
Smoker Wood
The first time I had a slow-smoked, homegrown, free-range chicken, I was hooked. Nothing compares to the mouth-watering goodness of tender, smoked meat. The humble chicken is transformed into a taste of heaven. Oak and hickory are both great woods for smoking. Many fruit woods are good as well. Since wood is everywhere right now, why not pack some of it away in the shed for future culinary use?
Mulch
Following the keening of chainsaws is the cacophony of chippers. As the power companies clear the lines and the cities and tree companies clear fallen limbs, mulch is being made at an incredible rate. Claim some for your yard. I used tree company mulch for garden beds, mulching my food forest, as compost and even let some of it rot for a couple of years and then mixed it into the potting soil I used in my nursery. The soil in Florida can be greatly improved with the addition of mulch. Get it while it's hot!
Garden Beds
Fallen limbs and logs make nice informal borders for garden beds. I particularly like them because over time they rot and attract beneficial fungi and worms to my growing area, then eventually they rot down into spongy humus I can add to the soil. If you've got the raw material, why not use it? I reckon logs are better for your garden and health than using pressure-treated wood. And cheaper.
Hugelkultur
And speaking of gardens, have you ever checked out the “hugelkultur” method of burying logs and limbs in large mounds and planting gardens on top? Over time the wood rots and becomes a spongy reservoir of water and humus, keeping plants happy. Though I've only experimented a little with the method, there are plenty of gardeners that swear by it. The reason I never got serious about hugelkultur beds was because I rarely had enough wood to bury. Hurricanes change that. If you're interested in the method, now is the time to give it a try. Make beds now and you'll be ready for spring.
Compost
I've piled up limbs and logs in corners of my property and let them rot down for a few years. What remains is some of the best compost you can get. It's rich, earthy, fungally dominated material perfect for addition to the garden or the landscape. All it takes is time.
Conclusion
Though no sane person enjoys seeing their homesteads battered by a storm, sometimes we can make lemons out of lemonade. Those fallen logs and limbs can gain a new life if you're clever. Put them to work and you'll find some solace in the loss of your trees. A little extra thought now generates rewards far into the future.
This is so on point! I literally said to someone just this morning that we are "making lemonade out of lemons" and using as much of the fallen trees, limbs, and leaves around our yard. We are using large logs to frame out our raised garden area. We are going to use the leaves and pines needles as mulch around our trees, and eventually we will purchase a small chipper to chip up all of the small limbs for additional mulch. We also plan on contacting local tree companies to suggest that they dump mulch on our property.
"Good" seeing you. My husband says he misses seeing the Jack Fruit Tree over your shoulder. You all Take care, till we see you again, Thanks!
Hi Dave! I'm in Houston, so I have sympathy for your Buds in FL. I like this vid on trees, cuz, I got lots of them.
What a positive spin on downed trees! No wonder they call you Good
Sitting here in west Puerto Rico waiting for bad momma Maria to hit us and saw this in my feed. I will probably have to apply this video in two days. Stay safe and Dios le bendiga!
Great advice David! Thank you. Cate
I put out the word that if they needed a place to put wood chips, my yard is available. Love your videos. Enjoy your resort time, but I did miss the fun part that is usually at the end. Love to Rachel and the children.
Hi David, Rachel and children. I hope you are are safe and well. It looks very wet and windy there. At least its not cold, like England. Hope you can go home soon. Prayers for you all. Anna
david, Lisa and i came otu ok few small trees down and alot of limbs. i threw the limbs into the beds, until i can get around with the little 6hp chipper shredder i bought. man i love that thing. fastest way i've found to make compost.i run the bedding hay and leaves thru it together makes awesome compost. i have the papayas i got from you on the south facing wall of the house. they made it thank goodness. thery finally made papayas this year. all 4 plantsa were female lol thanks :)
Joihn nd Lisa
For all you orchid growers out there... This is an awesome opportunity to pick up some of those fallen branches of live oak, cypress, or other trees that accommodate epiphytes. I already grabbed a whole bunch of live oak that a neighbor threw to the curb, that I will use for many mounting projects. Get to it, don't let that beautiful wood go to the shredder!
Yeah! Keep the good work going!
David the Good!! 10 days without power after Irma "missed us" in Miami. This video is so timely!!!! We have mountains of debris everywhere. I bagged leaves for composting and threw piles of all kinds of debris into corners of the yard. I am afraid to light a fire lest the whole city goes up in flames.... everything is soooo dry..
Tomorrow I am going to go fetch logs waiting to be picked up. You would be like a kid in a candy store with so much bio mass for free..
Thank you !!!!
Thanks, David! And we saved the loofah! It seems to be drying fairly well even despite the insane humidity.
A good Samaritan knocked on my door the morning following Irma to see if we were alright. Then proceeded to cut up a fallen tree that trapped us in our driveway. Once cut into a manageable size, I used the logs to edge my chicken run. Hopefully to deter digging predators, eventually breaking down I to a rich compost, and attracting bugs that will help to feed the chickens.
Good Points all my neighbors have mounds of limbs in front yard waiting to be picked up. I cut mine into fine pieces and threw some rough compost on top of them.
That's a good idea. The root ball is really valuable I hear. I always think of that when I see those. And geese. Same thing.
Excellent video. Like the way you think, man.
Hi David. Sadly there were no chippers running (except mine) post Hurricane Irma here in Lee county. All the stuff is piled high by the roads waiting for FEMA paid crews to pick up and haul away. Those crews just reached my neighborhood. I talked with one of the haulers to ask where it was going. He said there was a giant pit inland from here where it would be burned. :( I'm constantly trying to get tree services to dump their hardwood chips here but even they aren't chipping now. They are dumping their crap along the sides of the roads for Uncle Sam to take to save them money.
I have been grabbing all the live oak I can get for my stick burning smoker which does all of my meat cooking. I have several tons of rounds cut, piled, and waiting for the hydraulic wood splitter that I ordered. Great job on the videos. I love them!
Update: The splitter is here! I've been splitting oak and sea grape logs all day for the smoker. I'm awash in loads of gorgeous splits! Woot!!! Best of luck with the new baby David!
You're so smart honey🎈
My sentiments exactly, check !
Great Ideas David. I used to smoke salmon I caught in Washington State with fallen Elder branches. I was gonna bring up bio-char and hugelkultur but you were so thorough. I like having a rotting wood pile for beneficial insects and great humus for my beds. Cheers! Fred & Anna :)
Downed pine tree = new raised bed at my place.
You look like a pilot in this video. Thanks for the info. I'm in Hollywood Florida and I'm building the field for hugerculture (I'm not sure that's how it's spelled) from all the fallen trees in my yard. I lost 2 avocado trees😭 but everything else is okay
I like the Resort Dave. I'd like to see you next in chaise lounge with a grinning waiter serving you a Pisco Sour. I've experimented with mushrooms, thank you very much. Ancient Chinese philosopher Chen Sau say "big storm, plenty business"
I hope you are all safe. This hurricane looks terrible. Fred & Anna from England. :(
Fencing. Firewood. Cooking fuel. Trail building. Erosion control. Boat building material. Campfire furniture.
great ideas - do some of them here
all the best
Shiitake mushrooms grow on oak and they are delicious.
IRMA kicked our tail. But I have saved as much of the leaves as I could for leaf mold
do you still count or weigh how much food you harvest or did you already reach your goal?? just watched one of your old videos and I'm just curious.
Natures chop n drop
Aloha
David! Remember reading "awake oh sleeper, and Christ shall give thee life"? Your beginning to see the body of Christ. What others dispose, we gather. What it takes is a village. I was 22 when I met the Lord Jesus. All the "friends" fled from me. All the old folks taught me.
Now that I'm old, everyone ignores me. They're out playing, but I'm still "working". Don't waste anything. Don't spend a penny on anything you don't have to. Retirement savings? What a joke. Inflation has eaten it before you reach it. But if you have food, everyone wants a share. Your just going to have to figure out your own when and where. Sawmen will not accept a timber man's lumber "outside of" the woods. If he hits wire or nail or chain, he'll ruin his blade, and could kill himself, or someone nearby. That's why companies like harbor freight sell "chainsaw" mills. You might dull a blade, but all is safe. They are affordable.
But a bio char hut could make you some fertile ground, with some left over to trade. Mushrooms, if you stich around a few more years, are growing plastics, walls for homes, furniture, the list goes on. Even mushrooms to eat! Mycelium infused grain (that's what they use to inoculate growing medium) is popular as a health food. Problem is, you can't hardly get hold of grain anymore ( I still have part of my familys farm, but Monsanto says don't touch without permission, and if you ask, the answer in and always will be no). But there are still people who produce what they own. I love tampa too much to move to a more opportunistic place. But opportunity is out there.
First?