Can anyone identify this tree just from the bark & wood?

I recently bought my first real land (8 acres as opposed to a suburban lot) and learning as I go. For now, I'm trying to create next year's firewood by dropping trees that are clearly sick. I'm also trying to strategically find places to fully clear, creating sunny areas so that I can plant selected, native, edible type trees there instead.

So given that red oak has reddish wood and black walnut has black wood... can I assume that tree color names are based upon wood? (although obvious now, I am somewhat surprised at this)

your county soil conservation district/ Ag office.. most likely has a forester available to ID trees for value ...

ken

I'll check into the possibility of selling them.

The Black Walnuts ... the older ones... seem to be sick anyway (and they spread themselves like weeds apparently)

Which they dig up and take away themselves.

Keep thousand cankers disease in mind when you are deciding what to remove. A miracle may occur and our black walnuts in this area may be saved, but chances are pretty small. I would not get attached to any of my black walnuts growing here in east TN.

One was telling me that I cut the chunks to small... but those are just a few hunks that I cut off before stopping.

Brandon... feel free to give me the contact. I'm not totally sure I want to bother with selling this stuff unless it really seems to be worth the trouble.

but even one can be of value ... in the sense that you might get it taken down for free ... rather than paying $100 to fell a large problem tree ... [though i would make sure that the perp is fully insured.. before he came on my property]

should i be looking for my check for bringing the value to mind.. lol ... a finders fee??? .... i suspect i shall not be holding my breath .. lol ..

ken

The wood is then harvested for the wood burning furnace... so I'm actually wanting the wood from the trees I'm dropping. I'm trying to create a big stash of split wood for next year(s).

However, if by some magical twist, I can get paid enough that I'm willing to forgo the wood-burning aspects of it, I might do that. (I'd also have to tolerate the hassles of large vehicles crisscrossing my property and probably making a nasty, mucky mess)

Because these trees are in the woods, it doesn't take much skill to drop them. It's a tad dangerous, but I don't have to worry about hitting a house or powerline. It's actually excellent practice as I try to deliberately "aim" my cuts so the tree falls as planned.

ken

As for growing in the floodplains, I'm actually near the very top of the tallest hill in my area of Knoxville (Holston Hills). I'm looking down on my town's lights from just about all directions. The Walnuts seem pretty aggressive up here, too. I could do without them.

I'll probably let the split walnut go two years before burning.

Just so you know, I'm very frugal on when I use the heat. For instance, it is Dec. 17th, and I have probably used the central heat for a grand total of 10 hours and the wood for maybe 15 hours. Don't want you to get the impression that I'm puffing smoke 24/7.

It is almost 11am right now, 38degrees outside, and the heat is off. When I lived in Florida, I would blast the heat under these conditions. For some reason, I'm kinda ok with a bit of nip in the house now that I'm in Tennessee.

Being sick isn't the only criteria. I do want to clear a sunny spot and have selected an area in which many of the trees are either all consumed with ivy clear to the top, sick, or are spindly and thin due to intense competition...and I'm not seeking to clear much of an area at all... just enough for an orchard of 10 or so trees to get sun.

I'm also want to get rid of most of those walnuts and replace them with more desirable varieties that do well here and serve the wildlife... like serviceberry.

I'm going to allow a huge amount of half dead trees to stand though because I know that some critters use that as habitat.

Question: Do the trees that are thin, stretched tall and spindly finally expand or fatten up once their nearest competition is removed?

I know "they" say serviceberries and walnuts don't get along, but I have a serviceberry (x grandiflora) doing fine under the canopy of a black walnut for about 15 years now.

tj

I don't have the time to remove all walnuts, but I'm wondering if I have any that don't look like crap! (I do think I have a number of very young ones that look good)

Also, there is a quarantine on Black Walnut!!! So, you aren't allowed to transport black walnut outside of our county... this, to prevent the spread of a canker disease that has entered our area... and even more, to prevent the spread to the Appalachian mountains.