Mulberry

Hello everyone! I'm somewhat new here - been reading the posts for months and posted once under EPA Wood Stoves but this is my first post to the Wood Pile. I've been cutting and burning my own firewood for years now but it was always in a fireplace at my old house in town. This year my wife and I decided to build on an acreage in southeast South Dakota and I've ordered a wood stove and hope to do the majority of my heating with wood from here on out. Working on getting my hoard up and running this summer, but it'll probably take a few years before I have as much as I need. Guessing I'll need 2-3 cords per year but I really have no idea.

Our neighbors have a bunch of trees in their fence line that they want removed and I've been happy to oblige them. I've already cut down several large Siberian elms this summer and this weekend I cut down several mulberry trees along with one small elm. By counting the rings it looks like most of mulberry trees are about 15-18 years old and are pretty gnarly and twisted. The main stumps on the trees were only a few feet high before they branched off into a bunch of twisty, smaller diameter branches. A lot of it just went into the brush pile, but I kept the larger diameter stuff. Mulberry is about the best wood I can get around here and I'm sure whatever I can't split by hand I can blow through with the hydro. I'll buck and split next weekend and hopefully this score will be seasoned enough to burn by next winter.

 

Welcome! Your screen name is perfection.

 

Welcome! If I lived on the prairie I’d keep any wood I could get. I Got a bunch of family in the Sisseton area. Not a great area for an Arborist to make a living. Haha

 

Thanks for the welcomes! Also thanks for the primer Backwoods Savage. I actually read it a couple months back - found it in the Resources tab. There's some good stuff in there for someone new to the game like me so I appreciate it.

Yes, living on the prairie can make finding good wood a bit difficult. There's quite a bit of Siberian elm and cottonwood but the good stuff is harder to find. There are some honey locusts and ash on our property but I don't really want to cut them down so I've been mainly cutting the invasive elms and now the mulberry. Hoping to be able to find some standing dead that will be ready for this winter but I may need to just buy wood for this year.

 

I second this! ^^^^^^^^^^^
Glad you're here & it sounds like you're on the right track. As Chud stated, grab any wood you can out there. I look forward to updates as you begin burning.

 

Mulberry makes great firewood. I would get as much as you can

 

Elm is not a bad firewood imo it's middle of the road. Mulberry is up there with oak. So good score

 

Welcome to the FHC BL! Great first post. Mulberry and elm are great firewood. Lots of folks avoid elm (myself included) as its hard to split and when it does the quality of split is poor. Dead elm is another story. Mulberry splits easily IME and is a scarce tree here in Southern CT. I have scrounged a couple face cords. Looking forward to seeing more of your wood adventures!

 

Do you get much of it Joe? Is that a primo wood or does it go in the "general cordage"?

 

Welcome! Mulberry is excellent firewood, I'd take all I could get. As for the elm... well I won't go there for now.

 

Welcome Benedict Lumberthatch , nice to have a fellow SE South Dakotan in the club. You’re right Mulberry is about as good of firewood you will find around here. The Elm will keep you warm as well as long as you have hydros to split it! Try to work ahead as much as you can to give your would plenty of time to dry. Most on here live by the 3 year plan.

I burn about 4-6 cord a year burning 24-7 heating my 3800 sqft house as my primary heat source. The gas furnace only kicks in on really cold days and my highest heat bill is around $40 in January/February.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! So far I don't have many complaints about elm other than the smell of course... We lived in Colorado for a few years and burned mainly pine and aspen so compared to those softer woods elm ain't half bad. We burned a little bit last year and I didn't think it was too bad.

Thanks for the insight Dakota Hoarder - looks like you are about an hour north of me. I live down in the Vermillion area so our winter temps should be similar. Our house is about 1700 sqft so I'm guessing I might need about half what you use? That's kind of what I was estimating - about 2-3 cords per year. Our house is a new build too so it's going to be pretty efficient. We used 2x6 framing so there will be lots of insulation and our windows are triple pane.

 

My guess is 3 cords average with your insulation and window upgrades.
Keep in mind that the more of the "junk stuff" you burn (cottonwood) on the warmer days of fall and spring, the more you can save the mulberry/etc for the cold days when its really needed...plus since the junky woods tend to dry quicker, this can help you always have dry wood to burn while you build up your 3 year supply too...

 

I probably get a couple cords a year on average so I just throw it in the mixed hardwood pile.

 

Welcome to FHC!

Mulberry is good stuff and good for smoking as well, great score!