Pruning Logs for Lumber

Reader Contribution by David Boyt
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We’re finally getting a good hard rain, and things are really greening up–most appropriate for St. Patrick’s day.  It seems like I’m always running way behind where I should be on taking care of trees.  They’re like children– they grow so slowly you scarcely notice, until suddenly, you’re grandpa!  Not only does my son have a toddler and a crawler, but the walnut trees I planted when we first moved here thirty years ago are producing nuts and sprouting up saplings of their own.  So grow my family tree, and my family’s trees.

I was going to try to prune at least 1,000 young walnut trees this year, but have managed only about 100 that so far, which is a shame.  It is one of the most pleasant jobs on a tree farm.  The trees manage to continue growing without pruning, and with no set deadline, my attention usually shifts toward more pressing matters.  I have about another three weeks before they break dormancy.  I can prune them while they are actively growing, but the risk of fungal attack on the open wound is greater, and I avoid it, when I can.  Besides, by then, I’ll have brush hogging, gardening, and, of course sawmilling to do.

Pruning, to me, is a quiet, thoughtful process.  I seldom resort to a chain saw, relying instead on a few hand tools.  Most versatile is the pole saw for high branches.  It cuts quickly, and gives my arms and shoulders a good workout.  The hand saw is good for the lower branches and has a very aggressive cut.  A pair of loppers makes quick work of the smaller branches.  All my pruning tools together cost less than $200.  Pruning trees for lumber is a different from fruit or nut trees.  Of course there will still be plenty of walnuts to plant and eat, even when the trees are managed for lumber.  With a decent walnut tree worth around $1,500 and exceptional trees several times that, the fifteen minutes spent now to get a young tree to that point in the next 100 years is a small investment.  What if I could manage just fifty trees per year and the next owners (hopefully my own “saplings”) continue the tradition?  Ice storms, tornados, fire, disease, and even family situations can make it a risky investment, especially over the span of a century.  Still, I can imagine few things I’d rather be doing.  What would the payoff be, say, for whacking a little ball around a golf course, or spending the day in front of a 50″ television watching football?

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