tree girdling

Kirk-NJ · Oct 21, 2016

Girdled some walnut about 6 years ago. Cut one down yesterday. When splitting still plenty wet inside, thought it would be drier. Ash and tulip no problem.
I'm not going to use this method anymore. Seem to take too long to kill the tree. Problem is with the tulip once it's dead and you get a good wind storm it comes down. Anybody have success with the girdling method?

Kirk

Zachary Hoyt · Oct 21, 2016

What are you trying to accomplish by girdling the trees? If you want to make drier firewood I would cut the tree down and into blocks and stack it by the stump for a year or two. If you're making lumber I don't think girdling is very helpful, it's best to cut them and get them milled right away. A whole tree will dry much more slowly than one thats cut up into boards or firewood.
Zach

Part Time Pete · Oct 21, 2016

When we have our woods marked for thinning, the forester will mark some for girdling if there's no way to drop them without damaging other trees. The problem with girdling, then cutting down when dead, is that you're trying to drop a tree full of widow makers.
Pete

Bob Bancroft · Oct 21, 2016

I got rid of a bunch of willows by making two slices around the trees, chipping off the bark in between the slices, and painting the exposed flesh with a herbicide. This was just to get rid of the trees without them re-growing. Prior to me, others had cut some of them, and they re-grew with a vengeance.

I don't remember the timing, but when they were obviously dead, I cut them down, in the summer, and worked at burning them up. Then over time I dug the stumps out.

Kirk-NJ · Oct 21, 2016

The trees that I am girdling is for firewood not for lumber. Those trees won't amount to much good for boardfoot lumber. I just figured if I girdled some I could harvest them over time and they would be seasoned and ready for the wood stove. I had a timber harvest a couple of years ago so I'm still cutting tops that didn't go to the mill for firewood. I wanted to give it a try and see what kind of success anyone else was having with it.

Kirk

Traditional Farmer · Oct 21, 2016

Actually with Walnut its better to cut the logs and store them under shelter for a few years before having them sawed into lumber,there is no warping doing it that way.

Traditional Farmer · Oct 21, 2016

I've found Walnut and Red Oak will stay wet standing dead on the stump.Split it and put it under cover it'll dry out pretty quickly.

Kirk-NJ · Oct 21, 2016

It's already cut, split and in the wood shed

Kirk

jeffcat · Oct 21, 2016

Especialy red oak. All of the branches were broken off and dead. Cut it down and water was comming out like a facet. Not rotten just soak8ng wet.

jeffcat · Oct 21, 2016

Just to add a little note. In Japan some of the fine woodworking is passed down through the family generation one after another. They cut, store,saw up, and use wood that a grandfather cut down. The wood is perfect!

2x4 · Oct 22, 2016

girdling is very successful with Honey Locust. They're too dangerous to be around when they fall. The thorns could kill you. After a storm fells the dead tree, go in with the loader & haul it off to a gully.

Bret4207 · Oct 22, 2016

Some woods dry on the stump, others don't, simple as that. Until the bark dies and falls off it serves to hold the moisture. There is no sure fire easy way to dry wood on the stump, especially in the humid north east. The tree you think will dry might just rot instead and the you lost that wood.

tree girdling

Kirk-NJ

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Zachary Hoyt

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Part Time Pete

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Bob Bancroft

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Kirk-NJ

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Traditional Farmer

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Traditional Farmer

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Kirk-NJ

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jeffcat

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jeffcat

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2x4

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Bret4207

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