Applewood is an excellent fuel for burning wood. It is considered a hardwood, which means that it is heavy and will burn longer than softwoods. However, if your apple tree wood is not cured, it will be very difficult to burn it properly.
We have had great success with applewood seasoning because our summers are very hot and low humidity. Seasoning apple wood doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Just cut the wood, stack it or throw it in piles and let it dry or cure for at least a year or more.
However, if you want to dry the wood more slowly, don’t be afraid to put a sprinkler over the top during the summer. Spraying the wood will also help control insects that can damage the wood.
Applewood is susceptible to these tiny mites that drill tiny holes in the wood. Your wood will still burn well, but you need to keep a close eye on your pile so it doesn’t get invaded. I highly recommend burning this wood as soon as you have cured it. Apple wood can be difficult to stack because it has many different shapes and is not uniform. However, as you begin to stack the wood, you can quickly fill in the holes with other smaller pieces. We use a lot of 4 foot tubes to help us keep our wood piles from falling over.
Firewood burners living in a city or town should place their firewood in an area that does not receive water from their garden sprinklers. Wood that gets wet can take 2 years or more to dry completely if you continue to water. As for keeping the wood covered, it is a personal preference. My people cover their wood and we don’t. The benefits of covering your wood during the winter months is that it can dry out faster, but in the west with our dry summers that’s not a big deal.
If you are consistent with your wood cutting and each year you cut more wood than you need, it will not take long for you to have a 3-year wood reserve. That means if during a cutting season you get injured and can’t cut, you won’t have to worry about cutting because you have a reserve.
Those of you who want to buy apple wood can do so, but make sure you get what you pay for. Many places will charge around $ 100 for a wooden rope that has all the branches. These little limbs burn fine, but they can never be trusted to burn all night leaving you, the embers alight in the morning.