Interesting read. I would note that the fast rate of growth in the Coed y Brenin makes for a much less durable timber than Douglas grown in its native environment, which has growth rings about 3mm apart rather than 3cm. It seems particularly susceptible to rot caused by damp conditions: especially it dislikes being in contact with the ground. I would hazard a guess that Larch species that grow as large and as quickly would be a better bet for construction, being almost as strong mechanically, and rather more durable.
Incidentally, I can vouch for the dangers of cutting windfalls, the stumps crash back into place suddenly and with frightening force. I count myself lucky to have survived one such experience.
Hi Steve, coincidentally, I wandered past a very large series of stacks of felled larch yesterday, clear-felled due to the phytophthora ramorum disease which, sadly, probably means the end of growing larch in the UK. These ones were planted in 1937- there was one stack of 4.9 metre, straight grained, knot free timber of 45-50cm diameter with growth rings almost perfectly centred and evenly spaced, of about 1-2mm. Your point made exactly- a sawyers dream. Pity they are going to France. I'm going to write this up in a newsletter at some point so thanks again for your comment.
Hi Steve, good to hear from you and thanks both for reading and taking the time to comment. I would agree with you on the Douglas and Larch. Incidentally though, I've been dismantling our first home here, the cabin, which stood for twenty years, and the Douglas boards, well protected by verandas and off the ground, look almost like new.
Re larch, sadly, with the widespread occurrance of phytophthora ramorum throughout the Uk now, its pretty much the end of the species here, although if the larch is not too badly affected, you can still use the timber. Unfortunately, the latest phytophthora variant, pluvialis, also in Coed Y Brenin, targets the Douglas, as well as several other species...
Here in the south of Portugal it would also be oak - rotundifolia and suber, olive, eucalyptus is a commonly grown exotic, white poplar, pinus pinea is the only conifer I'm sure of, grevillea robusta and paulownia are seen in towns and could be more widely utilised in the right situation. The grevillea's common name is silky oak because the timber is similar, or so I'm told. I have seed but imagine it'll be a while before I find out for myself. The limiting factors here are water and degraded soils, with little to no topsoil on hillsides. Coupled with the fire anxiety which leads to "cleaning the land" by discing at the beginning of summer, it's hard to find soil with organic matter, which of course, exacerbates the water shortage situation. We likely won't get rain again now until October, September if we are very lucky. It's very different to what I'm used to, small off grid farm near Oxford, but I'm sharing my kitchen with lizards and I couldn't be happier. I've been reading your old posts and I see we share the same interests. Very much enjoying reading them.
Hi Shadiya, thanks once again for the kind words about my work and thanks also for the details about your surroundings- I have had to look up several of those species as they are completely new to me!
So a lot of differences but some similarlities, including a shared concern regarding fire, one of the three possible Fates of Coed Y Brenin. Seems like organic matter would greatly benefit your local environment but how to produce it in quantity will be the challenge. Do you have any ideas or strategies? I may well look at this in a future post.
I'm glad to hear you are happy in your situation. Hwyl! Chris.
Bale grazing sheep is my current plan. Basically, cut down the existing cistus (sign of degraded land), add straw, feed them a big bale, move and repeat. First thing to do is get the soil covered, already thirty plus degrees here, build up from there. In the autumn I will put in some ponds for water storage and start planting trees. I'm trying to maximise effect with minimum inputs but at the same time, need to be able to live off my land asap, so importing resources, whilst not optimal in many ways, is the path I will go. I know people bale graze without adding straw but in my context, ageing and poor, it makes sense to prioritise soil health over most other things. Yes, it's added expense and time, but hopefully, it will be worth it. It's a bit "suck it and see" because my Portuguese is still very basic and anyway, most farmers are pretty conventional, so discussions over the fence are not all that helpful. It's an interesting mix of traditional practices and the usual chemical dependent industrial ag mindset. For example, here, small farmers get subsidies, including for shepherding, as in, wandering about with your sheep/goats over the landscape, which you would never see in the UK. What's sad is that the end result is that the land is both under and overgrazed, because there isn't enough animal impact to manage it healthily but the repeated predation drives a downward spiral in terms of forage production and availability. On my smallholding in the UK I planned for dry years by planting a lot of trees for forage production and will do the same here. I'm going to try tagasaste, which I came across in NZ when I did my pdc, because if it works here, it could be a real game changer in terms of forage production. Bit too cold and damp in the UK. Leucaena is another possible one, though I think you have to buy in the right bacteria for the animals to adapt to being able to utilise it and I don't know how easy that is. Robinia is on the invasives list, like it is in the UK, but mulberry and poplar are ok and good fodder. I may try some willow in the valley, there are clumps of soft rush that suggest there is water year round, but where possible, I'm looking at using natives and drought hardy species rather than be dependent on irrigation. I will irrigate to get things started but with a view to phasing out irrigation by year three. So I will basically plant as many trees as I have water for, which won't be very many, to begin with.
Hi Shadiya, thanks for the detailed description- I'm impressed by the thought you've put in and agreee with you that soil is crucial and buying in material probably essential to get the ball rolling. When David Holmgren stayted with us we looked at a UK equivalnet to Tagasaste and decided it was probably gorse but now its just to much of a fire risk to include in designs. Sounds like a very challenging environment where you are- I shiver when I hear folk say that it probably won't rain now till September, because I know its on the way here too- longer, drier spells and what rain we get in briefer, heavier bursts. The spring and early summer here have been refreshingly damp, a contrast to the preceding three years and a great relief in the reduction of the fire risk, even if only temporary. I hope you are documenting your work- pictures, writing whatever. Maybe you could use Substack to pass on somethnig of your experiences? Good luck with it all and take care- as a pensioner myself, I'm getting a few leassons in the need to not over do things physically...Hwyl!
This was an interesting and enjoyable read, thanks. Sadly, the species are not hugely applicable to my personal context but very useful for ideas, nonetheless. I'm most definitely in favour of planting trees for homes.
Hi Shadiya, many thanks for reading and for your comment, including kind words which are much appreciated. I'm now wondering which species would be applicable to your personal context?
Interesting read. I would note that the fast rate of growth in the Coed y Brenin makes for a much less durable timber than Douglas grown in its native environment, which has growth rings about 3mm apart rather than 3cm. It seems particularly susceptible to rot caused by damp conditions: especially it dislikes being in contact with the ground. I would hazard a guess that Larch species that grow as large and as quickly would be a better bet for construction, being almost as strong mechanically, and rather more durable.
Incidentally, I can vouch for the dangers of cutting windfalls, the stumps crash back into place suddenly and with frightening force. I count myself lucky to have survived one such experience.
Hi Steve, coincidentally, I wandered past a very large series of stacks of felled larch yesterday, clear-felled due to the phytophthora ramorum disease which, sadly, probably means the end of growing larch in the UK. These ones were planted in 1937- there was one stack of 4.9 metre, straight grained, knot free timber of 45-50cm diameter with growth rings almost perfectly centred and evenly spaced, of about 1-2mm. Your point made exactly- a sawyers dream. Pity they are going to France. I'm going to write this up in a newsletter at some point so thanks again for your comment.
Hi Steve, good to hear from you and thanks both for reading and taking the time to comment. I would agree with you on the Douglas and Larch. Incidentally though, I've been dismantling our first home here, the cabin, which stood for twenty years, and the Douglas boards, well protected by verandas and off the ground, look almost like new.
Re larch, sadly, with the widespread occurrance of phytophthora ramorum throughout the Uk now, its pretty much the end of the species here, although if the larch is not too badly affected, you can still use the timber. Unfortunately, the latest phytophthora variant, pluvialis, also in Coed Y Brenin, targets the Douglas, as well as several other species...
Here in the south of Portugal it would also be oak - rotundifolia and suber, olive, eucalyptus is a commonly grown exotic, white poplar, pinus pinea is the only conifer I'm sure of, grevillea robusta and paulownia are seen in towns and could be more widely utilised in the right situation. The grevillea's common name is silky oak because the timber is similar, or so I'm told. I have seed but imagine it'll be a while before I find out for myself. The limiting factors here are water and degraded soils, with little to no topsoil on hillsides. Coupled with the fire anxiety which leads to "cleaning the land" by discing at the beginning of summer, it's hard to find soil with organic matter, which of course, exacerbates the water shortage situation. We likely won't get rain again now until October, September if we are very lucky. It's very different to what I'm used to, small off grid farm near Oxford, but I'm sharing my kitchen with lizards and I couldn't be happier. I've been reading your old posts and I see we share the same interests. Very much enjoying reading them.
Hi Shadiya, thanks once again for the kind words about my work and thanks also for the details about your surroundings- I have had to look up several of those species as they are completely new to me!
So a lot of differences but some similarlities, including a shared concern regarding fire, one of the three possible Fates of Coed Y Brenin. Seems like organic matter would greatly benefit your local environment but how to produce it in quantity will be the challenge. Do you have any ideas or strategies? I may well look at this in a future post.
I'm glad to hear you are happy in your situation. Hwyl! Chris.
Bale grazing sheep is my current plan. Basically, cut down the existing cistus (sign of degraded land), add straw, feed them a big bale, move and repeat. First thing to do is get the soil covered, already thirty plus degrees here, build up from there. In the autumn I will put in some ponds for water storage and start planting trees. I'm trying to maximise effect with minimum inputs but at the same time, need to be able to live off my land asap, so importing resources, whilst not optimal in many ways, is the path I will go. I know people bale graze without adding straw but in my context, ageing and poor, it makes sense to prioritise soil health over most other things. Yes, it's added expense and time, but hopefully, it will be worth it. It's a bit "suck it and see" because my Portuguese is still very basic and anyway, most farmers are pretty conventional, so discussions over the fence are not all that helpful. It's an interesting mix of traditional practices and the usual chemical dependent industrial ag mindset. For example, here, small farmers get subsidies, including for shepherding, as in, wandering about with your sheep/goats over the landscape, which you would never see in the UK. What's sad is that the end result is that the land is both under and overgrazed, because there isn't enough animal impact to manage it healthily but the repeated predation drives a downward spiral in terms of forage production and availability. On my smallholding in the UK I planned for dry years by planting a lot of trees for forage production and will do the same here. I'm going to try tagasaste, which I came across in NZ when I did my pdc, because if it works here, it could be a real game changer in terms of forage production. Bit too cold and damp in the UK. Leucaena is another possible one, though I think you have to buy in the right bacteria for the animals to adapt to being able to utilise it and I don't know how easy that is. Robinia is on the invasives list, like it is in the UK, but mulberry and poplar are ok and good fodder. I may try some willow in the valley, there are clumps of soft rush that suggest there is water year round, but where possible, I'm looking at using natives and drought hardy species rather than be dependent on irrigation. I will irrigate to get things started but with a view to phasing out irrigation by year three. So I will basically plant as many trees as I have water for, which won't be very many, to begin with.
Hi Shadiya, thanks for the detailed description- I'm impressed by the thought you've put in and agreee with you that soil is crucial and buying in material probably essential to get the ball rolling. When David Holmgren stayted with us we looked at a UK equivalnet to Tagasaste and decided it was probably gorse but now its just to much of a fire risk to include in designs. Sounds like a very challenging environment where you are- I shiver when I hear folk say that it probably won't rain now till September, because I know its on the way here too- longer, drier spells and what rain we get in briefer, heavier bursts. The spring and early summer here have been refreshingly damp, a contrast to the preceding three years and a great relief in the reduction of the fire risk, even if only temporary. I hope you are documenting your work- pictures, writing whatever. Maybe you could use Substack to pass on somethnig of your experiences? Good luck with it all and take care- as a pensioner myself, I'm getting a few leassons in the need to not over do things physically...Hwyl!
This was an interesting and enjoyable read, thanks. Sadly, the species are not hugely applicable to my personal context but very useful for ideas, nonetheless. I'm most definitely in favour of planting trees for homes.
Hi Shadiya, many thanks for reading and for your comment, including kind words which are much appreciated. I'm now wondering which species would be applicable to your personal context?
Thanks again. Hwyl!
Chris