So not only does black gum absolutely suck to split but it gets moldy easily. I’ve been throwing split pieces in windrow piles for close to 25 years and have never encountered mold until this year. Every moldy piece is black gum and some of it was only 2 feet down from the top which is about 8 feet high. I won’t sell it but it won’t go to waste as I will burn it in my fireplace but it’s aggravating. Will probably have close to a cord of it. The oak pile next to it didn’t have any mold. Yep, black gum is my enemy.
I unwittingly "scored" some Black Gum in the summer that had been on the ground for a few months. One of my mystery wood highway scrounges. After splitting it I saw it was already getting full of black mold inside. That stuff smelled pretty ripe in the heat of July too, yuck! I still have a small pile of splits that'll probably go in the outdoor pit when I'm burning brush or something. I'm not too keen on sitting by an ambiance fire with that nastiness smoldering away in front of me.
Agreed, Blackgum makes elm look good. I’ll never get it again, no matter how long and straight it is. Gum is evil in disguise.
thats on hellacious pile of wood kinda impressed i wonder how much harder/easier it is 2 split when compared to sweet gum
Any gum is one of just a few species I will not being onto my property. It’s just not worth the hassle. Willow and elm are two others.
dang that really stanks even though i kinda get ticked off when tryin to splitt sweet gum i still burn it when i have the chance
Dont feel bad Joe, its my enemy too, along with sycamore and elm. Wont touch em with a ten foot axe. It was a dry Summer too!
Sycamore and elm are a dream compared to this crap. I thought I had lucked out this year when I ran the black gum through the 6way with relative ease. It’s getting the last laugh and there’s nothing I can do about it
