Do I have to peel posts to put them in the ground?

[BeeferMan]

Generally, green wood used as posts will rot off at right below ground level after a couple years. Posts should be seasoned, like firewood...

 

[brin]

I agree, I would peel the posts and soak them...you don't want to be doing this agian in a few years...just a little extra right now saves a headache later..

 

[Tom_H]

I am not sure about other wooden posts but I've pulled a lot of old cedar fence posts and they all look like upside down mushrooms. They don't rot from the bottom up but rather rot right at the spot where the post makes initial contact with the top soil.

I've pounded unpeeled posts and they do look unsightly after a year or so.

Cedar has a lot of the same natural preservatives that redwood has, not as much, but enough that cedar takes much longer to rot than other species of trees. I had some leftover ends of lodgepole pine, cut off of the ends of the log trusses when we assembled our log home, that I put in the ground to define the place where our drive turns off the lane. They rotted straight up the center and were little more than mush in about 7 years. Fir has little ability to resist rot as well.

Cedar is a great material. Here in the west, in the mountains, you see a lot of A-Frame style houses with exposed, stained wood, both outside and inside. They are almost exclusively made of western red cedar.

 

[Chilly807]

I agree with the others about fir in general. Makes a dandy Christmas tree, for posts we try to use black spruce, juniper, or hemlock. However, if it's all you have, it'll work.

Best to peel them , cut during the winter, then peel in spring is what we do. I use a drawknife, but a PTO peeler is a blessing.

Chilly