So today i was doing some thinning....and woods management ( taking down undesireable tree).... at my property. Came across what we always called Cucumber trees. Not sure if thats what they are...but I do know they are springy...and heavy....and we just cut them so the good hardwood trees can grow better. We never process them. Probably not worth the effort compared to good hardwood trees. But was wondering if you guys ever do anything with them . Mine are destined for the brush pile... I'll have to get some more pics tomorrow of the leaves and such.
If it’s anything like it’s cousin the tulip poplar, it should make decent shoulder wood. I’ve never seen one here but apparently there are a few around.
Never heard of that one before. Had to look it up. Grows fast so it’s going to be light and low btu. Try some for shoulder season.
Apparently tulip poplar is related. I've seen a couple BTU charts and it's apparently about 18 mbtu a cord. I certainly would process it into firewood. Looks to be a heck of a lot straighter wood than box elder and a little better BTU's than BE, or some soft maple.
Thank you guys for the great info ! I had no idea it was related to tulip poplar. So I googled a little bit. Seens like people have decent luck milling it as well. I just so happen to be gethering wood to use my Alaskan mill for the first time. Maybe I'll try out some of the bigger pieces !
Ive heard of cucumber magnolia which is a common yard planting. Dont know if they are related. Give it a shot. Dont know til you try. Be interesting to see how it splits and mills.
Mill it ; if it turns out like a bucket full of poop' then burn it. It looks like a nice clean , straight section there at the bottom.
I've c/s/s a bunch of tulip poplar. I'd definitely say buck it up and use it. Burns good and hot, just doesn't last real long which is excellent for shoulder season, as others have mentioned.
I guess you can call me a firewood snob...cuz we have 50 acres here to thin and manage..so we go where our effort is best used. So a mix of red and sugar maple..cherry...oak...what's left of the ash trees lol. Theres enough good wood..if I live to 100...itll never look like I cut anything lol ! I vow to stop by snobbish ways ! So I'm gonna get into this stuff. I've got 2 big nice straight pieces I'll try and mill...and the rest I'll split up. I pulled it out of the brush pile already . You can see them on the milling pile. Got them off the ground
As horkn said, looks a lot nicer to process than box elder. I would do it. I like shoulder season wood…especially at the start of the year whrn you’re not tired of fetching wood yet
Mostly red maple..ash...tiny bits of cherry and oak. Mostly red maple. Last year we mixed a percentage of tulip poplar in. Didn't seem to help anything over straight good hardwood. Processed the tulip special then mixed it in as we stacked it. To me..wasn't worth the deliberate extra work and brain function . This stuff will burn no doubt. I'll mix it in where I can !
Your assistant among the rounds I didn't see him until I zoomed the whole pic to see the rounds only for him to show up like a Waldo!
