How to ties trees into knots.

[sixdogs]

This is pretty lame but here's how to put a knot in the middle of a branch. It's good for kids. Yes, I had an idle childhood and yes, I did this to many hundreds of trees back then.

You start with the earliest, extra soft growth of a tree in the early Spring. Then find a particularly soft and springy branch and gradually form an increasing bend in it. It might take a day for this to happen. Then slowly slip one end of the branch into a loop and tie a loose knot. If you're lucky it won't break and the knot will begin to grow into place. Even if it breaks it will likely grow just fine. The next year it's harder and stronger and in a couple of years is a fully formed hardwood knot. Old timers made canes this way with the knot being the handle.

Maples work the best because they grow fastest and are therefore the softest but I've done oak as well. Just an FYI and a good trick to teach kids looking for something to do. It's a little harder than it sounds but over the years it's neat for kids to look back on the growth of things.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Neat!
I always wondered what everyone else did to kill time in the old days....

 

[AchingBack]

Neat post. Although I've not tried the knot trick, I have woven the Oregon ash trunks together, giving them a quite intimate appearance.

 

[Egon]

Make a fence from weaved trees.