7 Comments

Not I! No one who we know - not even Dave Sawyer - has managed to sub-split hickory bast with bark from a tree growing on our place. We don't know why. Perhaps the subspecies here, soil quality, or ??? When we start to subplot ours it just runs out, almost immediately. That makes hickory bast all the more precious for us. And has led to experimenting with tulip poplar bark, which is plentiful. And, honestly, not hickory, but an acceptable substitute if you don't require the very best.

Expand full comment

A pleasure as always having you! I’m lucky to have Franklin Chthonics give access to this incredible bounty.

Expand full comment
Jun 15·edited Jun 15

I put on Merlin to ID the bird who was singing away while you were striping the bark. I was wondering if Merlin would record and ID the bird, no problem. The red-eyed vireo's repetitive call was identified without any difficulty.

Expand full comment
author

there were several singing all around us this week.

Expand full comment

so the red-eyed and the blue headed vireos and the Rose-breasted grosbeak--nice spot for gathering hickory.

Expand full comment
founding

Do you also get some chair parts at same time as harvesting the bark?

Expand full comment
author

I brought home two 6-foot lengths of the log. It turns out to have grown so slowly that it's not ideal for some chair parts - too weak for rungs, say - but it'll get turned into stuff. It's gorgeous wood.

Expand full comment