I fought the giant cotton wood and I won!

I know lots of you aren’t fans of Cotton wood, but I like it for shoulder season and getting the stove hit and quick. I’ll burn it all day if I’m around to reload often.

Got this giant about 38” rounds off a CL ad that was blown done in a storm. Only takes about 3 of these rounds to fill the truck. I got 3 loads split and stacked so far, got at least 3 more to go.

 

Every wood has its plusses & minuses.

I once viewed my pines as "worthless", but have since learned the errors of "unenlightened" beliefs.

I will be splitting & stacking some for future use.

 

I think there are cottonwood trees almost anywhere in the country. There is no shortage here where I live. The only people who seem to utilize cottonwood are the farmers and ranchers who own the lands that it grows on. There is not a lot of hardwoods here, so cutting cottonwood that's right in your backyard makes more sense than driving a 60-100 mile round trip to the forest to get pine, fir, larch, cedar etc.

 

Nice haul.

 

Looks like it actually split instead of tore apart.

 

You are right. I get a lot of my would from the in-laws farm, but it’s an 1 1/2 hour drive, not really worth it if I’m only going to get wood.

 

Actually didn’t split to bad considering it’s still very green and wet. Some rounds literally spit water out when hit with the mail.

 

That is a some big Ole wood. Going to be a work out for you and the silverado.

 

I have a little over a cord of cottonwood ready to burn this year. Lightning it up will be my revenge on this damm tree. It laughed at my fiskars, ended up renting a splitter. damm wood cost me money in the long run!

 

Yep, it has its place I’ll give ya that! When they say Willow isn’t worth the work yet says it has better BTU’s than cottonwood, it means it’s not worth the work nor is it worth burning. Cottonwood splits beautifully and despite it being so heavy when fresh, it still makes great outdoor firewood when need it for that purpose. Splitting it into big splits is the fun part.

Someone here said farmers used it for cheap boarding in farms where cows were involved as good wood to use in applications where it stays wet often. If it’s cheap, farmers want it, doesn’t need to be terribly straight but done right, it will be easy to do so.

 

It burns just fine once dry. You will need more of it for the same heat but if the price is right then it’s all fuel.

 

Willow isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. I have a neighbor who likes it for turning wood on his lathe. I hate the smell of it, but if it was seasoned properly it would probably put out more heat than white fir. I'm Gona have to grab up a little bit of cottonwood sometime just to see what it's about.

 

I have burned some over the years and wouldn't shy away from getting more if it was convenient. Definetly SS wood, not for subzero, unless it was all you have.

 

When we were leaving Iowa, dad and I gad a discussion about trees and how farms plant poplars, cottonwoods for good wind breaks. We also brought up how farmers could potentially use up certain rows of trees to keep as firewood and grow others in rotation. Optimistically it would be good to have mixtures of it all so hardwoods like oak or ash can be planted but those can take time to get to optimal value of firewood. Cottonwood growing quick would help but need a lot to carry the btu needs. Trying to compare cottonwood to oak in cold weather can be a hard one, would need a rule of thumb to help?

 

Burn that stuff up! Plenty around. Heck I brought up my first truckload of wood for my porch supply today. Pine. Oh my.

 

Any idea how old it was?

 

I would take that any day of the week. Good haul.

I will be burning my share of cottonwood again this year.

 

How is it to process? Split easy?
We’ve got some Cottonwood along the river but I’ve never had a chance to harvest any.


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Western cottonwoods are black cottonwood. They can get impressively tall and have flowers that can get as big as baseballs, maybe a bit larger. Homeowners often detest them in western Washington, maybe Oregon too as the flowers clog gutters, downspouts and can require raking up or blowing away like leaves.

Except for American tulip tree, poplars, cottonwoods and aspens are all poplars or of the same populus family and share quite similar characteristics, from somewhat low BTU, trembling leaves, etc.

It's funny but with eastern white pine you don't expect a lot because, well, it's pine.
But poplars are hardwoods so when you don't get much heat out of it you feel ripped off. LOL.