With the cost of fuel rising and many homeowners turning to wood burning stoves to heat the hearth and home, gardeners are starting to realise the potential of their growing space. Even a small garden produces a variety of woody stems and branches on small trees and shrubs. Any material thicker than a pencil can be pruned away and cut up into neat piles of kindling for winter use.

Using firewood for fuel is considered to be environmentally friendly because it is both a renewable resource and carbon neutral as the tree takes the equivalent carbon from the atmosphere when growing as is released on burning which results in virtually no stored or 'fossil' carbon dioxide being added to the present environment and thus helps minimise the effects of climate change as compared to using gas, oil or coal.

Burning wood to heat your home is more eco friendly than using fossil fuels and if you grow your own firewood you reduce transport miles. If you have a little more space consider growing a handful or more of trees specifically to supply burning material for the future. Remember that wood is a renewable resource and if you fell trees for firewood it is important to plant more to replace them.

Dealing with wood

It's no use growing trees for firewood if you don't have the ability to fell the tree, cut it into rounds and chop it up into pieces. You can employ someone to do that for you, but it may be cheaper and more convenient to simply buy the wood by the load. If you simply plan on coppicing young trees for sturdy poles you will get away with a decent saw, some loppers and pruners, but if you have your sights set on proper firewood you will need a chain saw, a saw bench and an axe or wood splitter, plus dedicated protective clothing, again these add hugely to your costs and you need to weight that up against the cost of firewood. Like most commodities and especially fuel the price of firewood is rising so if you can grow your own trees and get some help with the felling and chopping this would be a sensible option.

Trees for wood

By far the best tree to grow for firewood is the ash. It is relatively fast growing but revered for its burning habit and the heat it gives off. Deciduous broadleaved trees are considered to be the best choice with Ash, oak, beech, birch, sycamore and hornbeam among the most popular. Blackthorn, hawthorn, cherry, hazel and willow are also a good choice. Conifers and wood such as sweet chestnut should be burned in a confined wood burner, as they are prone to sparking.

Wildlife Wood

Remember that many trees provide vital forage in spring for insects. Bees in particular feed off pollen and nectar rich species such as hazel, sycamore, alder and willow. These trees also provide vital nesting sites and shelter for wildlife. A managed woodland or even a handful of coppiced trees will help regenerate lost wildlife and help to re-establish the traditional woodland habitat that has been widely lost across the UK.