Apple wood is an excellent fuel for burning wood. It is considered a hardwood, which means it is heavy and will burn longer than softwoods. However, if the apple wood is not seasoned, it will be very difficult to burn properly.

We have had great success with drying apple wood because our summers are very hot with low humidity. Seasoning applewood doesn’t require you to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. Just chop up the wood pile or throw it into 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 run a spray over the top during the summer. Spraying the wood will also help control insects that can damage the wood.

Apple wood is susceptible to these tiny mites that bore small holes in the wood. Your wood will still burn well, but you need to watch your stack closely so it doesn’t get invaded. I highly recommend burning this wood as soon as it has seasoned. Apple wood can be difficult to stack because it comes in many different shapes and is not uniform. However, as you begin to stack the wood, you will be able to quickly fill in the holes with other smaller pieces. We use a lot of 4 foot pipes to help us keep our wood piles from falling over.

Wood burners who live 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 fully dry out if you continue to water it. As far as keeping the wood covered, that’s 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 your wood faster, but out west with our dry summers that’s not much of a problem.

If you are consistent with your wood cutting and each year you cut more wood than you need, you will soon have a 3 year supply of wood. 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 charge around $100 for a wooden cable that is all branches. These little limbs burn well, but they can never be trusted to burn all night leaving you, the fire kindling the embers in the morning.