Black Locust as firewood

[mattridessleds]

Black Locust is actually a wood that will burn green also if you are in a pinch and out of seasoned wood. I only have a few black locust trees on my property and wish I had more for my sawmill. It is a extremely rot resistant wood and has been used for farmers fence posts for years along with Eastern Red Cedar up in this area. It will last twice as long maybe longer as modern day pressure treated pine. Defiantly a good choice for fire wood.

 

[turnkey4099]

I planted a large numbe of Black Locust on my property because the ag board said honey bees really liked them, and I had honey bees at the time. All is fine until you take a chain saw to them. The next year the suckers come back to haunt you, I figure 1 tree will make 30 suckers every time you cut it. If a sucker becomes a sapling then that is times 30. This year my neighbour asked me to look after my escaped suckers/ saplings. I think I may have a job at the neighbours for life because the cattle won't eat them and the only way I have found to control them is with a riding mower. The thorns will go through rubber tires very easily. My riding mower even has homemade ballistic inner liners on the front tires. I have Slime in the rears ( a leak seal product ) and I found a flat today.

Craig Clayton

Are you sure you planted Black Locust? I haven't seen thorns on those big enough to pierce a tire. Black also has amall thorns only on young wood, never on the trunks.

Yes, B. Locust is bad for copsing - let go you wind up with a dense forest of small trees, none of any size. My control for the one I took out of my back yard years ago was roundup and diligent spraying of each and every shoot I could find. Took about 5 years before they quit showing. I even had one come up through the joint in a concrete slab inside my closed in 4 season porch 20' away from the tree.

Out here in Washington the Locust Borer is killing all the B. Locust. I am harvesting every one where I can get permission. Best score was a clear cut of around 6 acres plus a grove of 6 in the middle of a field. All big old ones. Currently have 40 plus cords in the stacks - it will be as good 10 years from now as it is today - that stuff just doesn't rot.

Welcome to the site. Lots of good information, stories, lies, etc.

Harry K