Ok, what do y'all use for "shoulder wood"?

Silver maple, tulip poplar, sassafras, pine, etc. I have done a 180 where I get just as happy with a shoulder season score as a high btu one like oak. Shoulder wood dries quickly, throws heat quickly, and is very helpful with jump starting something like black locust that takes forever to get started burning. As others have said, it’s also great when it’s cold out and you have a fire box full of coals to burn down.

 

So do you all store "shoulder season" wood in a separate stack and just pull from it as needed? I don't usually have the foresight or attention I guess when splitting to kick out poplar and maple (the 2 I have available that have been mentioned in this thread). Pine, sure. I have tons of that that I usually use to stack my rounds/splits on or have set aside to process when I finally pull the trigger on a chainsaw mill. But most of what I'll be using the next few years is just a mix of whatever I happened to have available at the time. Guess it would be smart to start another stack with "lesser" wood but that will take some planning (and more room!)

 

Pine, short ugly dirty wood and maple

 

I usually start with the uglies and unstackables. Then move to the gopher wood. If i didn't use it all as camping wood first...

 

Yes

 

Ok, so I'm doing things right by burning my smaller branches and stuff. I was worried that I was doing things wrong for some reason.

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well, I will be creating a new area this year then! Good to know

 

Why worry?
Its what works best for you.

 

I like to do things the best way that's available to me.

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I store shoulder season wood by the fire pit because it gets burned there a lot too. As previously mentioned it is also most of what I take camping.

 

No real wrong here at all, use what you have as needed. Some of us have to burn what we have while others can choose the wide assortment. Makes it a lot easier when you can try gopher wood which is a quick burning fire, fuel doesn’t last long. The heavy hitting wood or longer burns tends to be that wood you want when it’s below temps for a considerable amount of time, otherwise the wood can be used more sparingly. Smaller fires are very helpful, much more so when it’s in between the freeze and the rainy season. Chills are easily taken away but if you overload then even outside can seem too warm too.

 

I use lower btu wood during shoulder season and keep the good stuff when the temps drop. My good wood is red oak, white oak, and hedge (Osage orange). Would love to get my hands on some hickory or black locust but I take what I can get.

 

Shoulder wood: pine of course! Not a huge selection of wood here. I do have about a facecord of poplar this year, I burned a couple splits last nite mixed with Douglas fir. Seems like pine is way better wood, although I'm not sure what type of poplar I have.

 

I’d be happy to trade you black locust for hedge.

 

Yes. I have stacks for pine ( which I might put hemlock in if I get any )
stacks for red maple ( which I'll add grey birch and cherry to if I get any )
stacks for red oak
stacks for white oak

I don't have to sort anything out because I don't mix it up in the first place.

I have room to have separate areas to process.

 

In the past I didn’t separate anything. Everything got burnt in one year so it was all fuel. Now that I’m getting ahead I’m trying to separate things. Have a stack of just ash. Have a stack of maple, sassafras and Chinese Sumac that will be SS wood for next year. Have stacks of just oak.
I burned mostly tulip and Catalpa mix last winter. It was dry and I had cords of it. Still burning it this year for SS wood.

Basically SS wood is anything that pops up that isn’t of the higher grades. Usually comes from close to the houses. Pine will be in the future if it doesn’t get burnt up in the campfire first. Still haven’t decided on that.

 

I made 2 bins outta skids.....all my ugies go into those. Theres gingko,ash,oak,locust,etc. in there....so its first come first go.....

 

For this year I have chinese sumac, box elder and poplar. Hope to add pine next year into the mix.

 

My SS wood can be pine, poplar, elm, soft maple ( silver, red, or box elder), or black walnut.

This year it's silver maple, and maybe box elder, depending on if the BE is ready yet, or for spring.

 

Shorts, uglies & BARK. I process at home, so all of that stuff is already here. I have a large (now covered) pile of pine & fir bark, big plates of it, some as thick as an inch or more. It makes a quick, hot fire that I can build up with the shorts & uglies or let die depending on need. I've started placing a pallet at the end of my regular stacks for the shorts & uglies. What was waste is now fuel.