I have a felling license got for first thinning a small woodland with roughly half Norway and half Sitka spruce. I have already selected trees that I want to keep, these are painted with an orange band at roughly dbh. My question is what is the best way to mark rack lines and forked trees that will be coming out at first thinnings within the next 12 months or so?   Are there specific colours for trees that are to be felled. Would a blaze mark with an axe or billhook be better than a colour? I searched on the site but the threads on the topic are over 10 years old ..read more

  A lot of the ash in the wood I’ve started managing have succumbed.  It seems that dieback has weakened them and I’m guessing something like honey fungus has rotted the roots.  So they’re starting to blow over (noticed yesterday).     What are the more experienced people likely to do to bring them down, while keeping it safe.     As they’re all going to hang up, would one, generally speaking, fell them then treat as a hung up tree by winching them out, or might one try winching them over(and felling if the roots seem intact enough) then winch them out?   ..read more

I've come up against an issue insuring again this year as I have a few sites coming up where I have to burn the rhododendron (access issues mainly) and my current insurer doesn't cover this?   Any advice for insurers who would cover this and general insurer recommendations?   Cheers ..read more

https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2024/04/14/brewdogs-dead-forest-and-the-dead-hand-of-scotlands-forestry-grants-system/   ..read more

Hey there folks. After some advice please.   At the top of a field, I have what was once a hedge but hasn’t been maintained for years. It is now a bunch of tall hazels and hollies sparsely spread in a bank. Around five metres tall!   I got a cheap truck body for storage in the field, needed to cut the overgrown hedge back to allow crane to get truck box in. Time was very short!   That’s now completed. I cut the trees at about 4-5’ above the bank.   I want to manage this so it returns to being a hedge and screens the field from view. This is only one section…. have about 100 ..read more

Is there such thing as an experienced hand cutter looking for work in the Hampshire/Surrey/West Sussex area?    Someone with reliable attitude, saws & vehicle, who wants to earn a good day rate? Working alongside recent up together machinery.   Seems a hard man to find!   ..read more

Evening boys and girls   I have an estimate of 8-10 tons multi length and size hardwood I would like to shift.    It's been gathered over 3 years, it's mainly trees that have fallen in our woodlands and or been a potentially future issue to fences around the property.   It's combination of Chestnut, Cherry, Hornbeam and Ash. It's some Seasoned and unseasoned wood. About 4 tons of the Ash is unseasoned. Some of it is potentially at waste.   I'd like about £500 for the whole lot.   I'm based in Kent. As you can tell from posting on here I am not experienced in selli ..read more

I'm certain I saw on here somewhere that brash (after chipping obviously) is making £24/tonne at the moment. Can't find the post or link tho. Any Idea? Thanks ..read more

Hello everyone. I'm looking for some advice on management of this forest floor area as seen in the picture. My knowledge isn't in forest management, but I'm curious as to how this situation can be fixed.    My ultimate goal is to be able to use a flail mower to cut the grass and manage the area. But the soil is heavily waterlogged, huge stones and rocks are present, and the soil has been destroyed using the current method. It's too soft to get machinery on in the proper method.    The area was improperly cultivated using a tine cultivator from what I believe. It was done at ..read more

Hi all,   Looking for specialist contractor help. I have a client who owns 4 islands on the Thames, these are to one side of the main channel but still get boat traffic around them. They are covered in Willow and Ash, historically been ignored and now starting to cause problems (particularly with Ash dying and pushing the willow over into the water). Access is a challenge! Worse still because they don't own the adjacent river bank.    We've just had another tree fall into the channel, which needs removing relatively promptly but also need to plan an operation dealing with the in ..read more