It is remkable how little one reads on the subject of coppicing in modern literature. Not so long ago, coppicing would have been one of the main Winter activities of people living in this area – and one of the main sources of wealth. Coppicing involves cutting down trees such as ash and hazel in a regular cycle and then letting them grow up again. Done properly it has minimal impact on the health of the tree – or upon the wildlife that depends upon it. In the past when fields were small, and every field was surrounded by banks of trees, coppicing yielded almost unlimited amounts of firewood, plus material for all forms of country crafts. Done properly it is labour-intensive (and therefore not commercially profitable) but immensely enjoyable, and therefore almost tailor-made for the keen amateur gardener, which makes it all the more of a mystery why coppicing does not feature more prominently in gardening books. If you do not have any trees for coppicing, now is a good time to plant some; alternatively, you could consider letting your hedges run wild, particularly if they contain native trees: let them grow for a year or two, and then cut them down to the ground. After this, leave them alone for three or four years. With any luck, the plants will send up masses of branches which can be harvested for firewood, or used to make stakes or other useful items in the garden.
I have noticed that since coming to Brittany, I have moved away from the sort of gardening that I did in the UK – managing a lawn and flower beds – and now do a lot of things that in the past were associated with small-scale, peasant farming – coppicing trees, maintaining an orchard, growing potatoes, having a wheat patch, etc. We all know that in the past, people experienced a very hard time when they were obliged to support themselves from very small farms, but one cannot help but be struck by the fact that almost all the different tasks that one performs to maintain a small farm – hoeing, sickling, coppicing, harvestings, etc. essentially count as leisure activities in today’s busy world.
Coppicing yields a surprising amount of firewood - you need surprisingly few trees and just a few weeks per year in the garden to become self-sufficient in fuel.
There are few more satisfying sights in the garden than a new pile of wood.
