I’m in the middle of doing Learn About Your Land classes on the eastern side of the state right now, and this week’s class is all about “What’s in Your Woods”. Good time to be thinking about this month’s blog post. Before I started the class last night, I asked folks what they had most […]
Blog
Category: Products from the forest
Strawberries, and raspberries, and blackberries, OH MY!
Creating the best conditions for growing berries in your woods can be a part of the rest of your objectives for your woodland. Berry picking is a big part of our family’s tradition and we take an active role in creating optimal conditions for berry production. It really isn’t anything special or difficult and fits […]
Achieving sweet success with your maples
Learn how to manage your forest to maximize maple sap production by creating healthy and vigorously growing trees. I have a friend who produces maple syrup on his woodlot, and he has invited me to help out in the production process over the past few years. This has been a lot of fun and hard […]
Spring Wildflowers and Edibles
It almost seems a little late to be doing a spring wildflower article, but I’m reminded that it really is still early spring when I walk in the woods around central Wisconsin. There is something wonderful about seeing the color, sometimes poking through the snow. The green of spring is refreshing, but the yellow of […]
An introduction to hazelnuts in Wisconsin
In past blog entries, we discussed both agroforestry and non-timber forest products. This month, we’ll spend a little time combining the two with an introduction to hazelnuts. Anyone who has had the pleasure of harvesting wild hazelnuts, and adding them to baked goods, knows how tasty these nuts are. They are even tastier in Nutella, […]
Splitting Firewood with Power
Hydraulic log splitters are great tools for making your firewood production fast and efficient. However, a plan needs to be developed on how it will be used to ensure safe operation. For most of my life, I have been a maul man. I thoroughly enjoy and get much satisfaction from splitting rounds with a maul. […]
Stackology – The art and science of stacking firewood
It is not often that my trusty assistant (who shall remain nameless) and I get into arguments, but the stacking of split wood for drying is one place we constantly butt heads. He argues that the way they have always stacked wood has worked just fine, so why change. To which I counter that he […]
An introduction to agroforestry
In an earlier post, I introduced the concept of agroforestry. In this post, I will expand on what agroforestry is, and how it is being used here in Wisconsin. Although this post may seem very agricultural centered, I should point out a few things. One, many woodlots are associated with farmsteads, and are not seen […]
Non-timber Forest Products: Part III Mushrooms
It may be helpful to understand the ecology of mushrooms before you get started hunting your own, or even growing them. A mushroom itself is a fruiting body, kind of like the acorn of an oak tree. The fungi itself (the tree trunk) is often hidden from our eyes either in the soil or the […]