Drying Wood

Generally, it should take nine months to a year to dry fresh-cut, green wood. If, however, you put this stuff under a tarp, it takes longer and can actually rot by itself. Covering something like green wood with a tarp doesn’t let the moisture escape well. When the heat of the sun hits the wood, it vaporizes and rises to the tarp where it condenses and “rains” back down on the wood. The ground moisture doesn’t help either. With a woodshed that has a leak free roof and lots of circulating air, you will have truly dry wood.  The types of wood that we prefer are of course, oak, locust, maple, cherry and hickory.

A tip that we have learned along the way is to have a garden hose available during the burning season. Because of the risk of freezing, drain the hose completely and have a frost-free water valve installed. A wood furnace chimney can get too hot and catch fire. Should this happen, shoot the water into the chimney to prevent a possible house fire.