On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 23:39:54 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

In article , Tim Douglass wrote:

Of course not, but the original post was about quick growing firewood
trees, and the general response was that oak and hickory grow to
slowly to be considered quick-growing - as though there weren't any
other options if you are interested in firewood soon as opposed to the
best firewood possible. I have never burned either oak or hickory
except as the result of some unfortunate breakdown in woodworking
skills, so I can't even make a useful comparison, I simply point out
that if you want to grow trees to make heat there are a lot of
fast-growing options that will do the job.

With all due respect ... you're talking nonsense. There is NO species of tree
that grows fast enough that you can plant one (as the OP was asking) and get
firewood, good *or* bad, quickly -- even the rapid-growing hybrid poplars
take ten years before they reach firewood thickness (and they'll never be
firewood quality). The *only* way to get quick firewood is from trees that
have already been growing for a number of years. Anyone who thinks he can
plant and grow his own firewood is dreaming.

The OP never specified what he considered a "short amount of time".
When talking about growing trees I consider 10-15 years a short amount
of time, so that is the framework I'm using. I know many people who
are cutting trees for firewood that they have planted - I even know
loggers who are cutting timber on ground that they clear cut before in
their career. So it is not a dream that you can plant and grow your
own firewood, it just takes a few years. If I had 5 acres in a
temperate and wet climate (like the Puget Sound basin) I could easily
start with bare ground and within 5 years be getting enough small
thinnings off of the trees I planted to at least provide a substantial
percentage of my firewood needs. From 10 years on I could cut all the
wood I needed and never run short - forever. Yeah, the wood would be
alder, but I heated a house with it for a lot of years and it does the
job.

Tim Douglass

http://www.DouglassClan.com