Buying Organic Compost Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 Buying organic compost isn't just purchasing a truck load of manure anymore. Soil maintenance needs more than just manure. Read More The Magic Beans- Hansen's Own Organic Compost - St. Louis Monday, July 26th 2010 Buying Organic Compost and using it after Aeration gives a lot of “Bang for the Buck” In the heat of a St. Louis summer, it’s hard to believe, what my lawn really is thirsty for is the benefits that organic compost brings. Read More Jumping Oak Gall Friday, May 28th 2010 FOREST HEALTH ALERT White Oaks Turning Brown in Late Spring Problem: Leaves on entire crowns of white oak trees turn brown in late Spring. In some cases, whole hillsides appear brown. Read More Thousand Cankers Disease Monday, April 12th 2010 Missouri Thousand Cankers Disease State Exterior Quarantine (Please be aware that there is a threat to walnut trees. Please call your local tree professional or the Missouri Dept. Read More Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next		Get into the Holiday Spirit with Fragrant Firewood Saturday, December 15th 2007 Get into the Holiday Spirit with Fragrant Firewood By Jeff Hansen, President of Hansen??s Tree Service Nothing sets the mood for a holiday gathering like a brightly burning fire. With each gentle flicker of the flame, a fire warms your home as it rejuvenates your soul. But that??s not all: firewood scents your home with fragrances found only in nature. Let??s Get it Started In order to get the most scent out of your fragrant firewood, you must know how to start a steady fire. You should only use seasoned firewood, or wood that has dried for six to twelve months, since it catches fire more easily than freshly-cut wood. Then, in a stove or fireplace, place firestarters or a few crumpled balls of newspaper on the fireplace floor or stove grate. Next, crisscross small, dry kindling on top of the starter or newspaper without packing it too tightly. Begin placing larger pieces of wood on top of the kindling, and the pieces should get bigger as you go up. When filling the fireplace or stove, you might want to combine both softwoods, which easily ignite, and hardwoods, which can burn for a long time. Stop filling the fireplace or stove with wood when it is over two-thirds full. Next, light the starter. If the fire is in a stove, keep the damper and draft control completely open at first. You might even want to keep the stove door slightly open until the wood catches fire. After there is a steady fire, keep it going by making sure that there is always a flame and by adding more wood if the fire starts to weaken. Now that you understand how to start a good fire, let??s discuss the scents of different types of firewood. Not All Scents are Created Equal Firewood is like fine wine: every variety is different, yet some are more pleasing than others. Here are some olfactory-pleasing varieties of firewood: ?X Many people enjoy the scent of apple wood and other fruit trees, such as cherry and pear, since they emanate delicate and fruity odors. ?X Juniper and cedar have more of a pungent note. ?X White oak has a pleasing, rich scent. ?X Black walnut gives off a nutty aroma. Although fir, spruce and pine smell like freshly-cut Christmas trees, it is best to avoid these woods since they contain a lot of resin, which can build up inside chimneys and produce fires. To give off a pine smell, you can always place a couple of natural pine cones in a fire. Bring on the Heat This holiday season, you want firewood that not only smells good, but that gives off a decent amount of heat, too. The good news is that some of the best scented firewood also have high heat values. Apple wood and white oak both generate lots of warmth, whereas black cherry wood and black walnut give off moderate amounts of heat. So this holiday season, kindle a glowing fire in your hearth and appreciate the natural fragrances that different varieties of firewood have to offer. There??s no better way to celebrate the holidays than in front of a warm, cozy hearth. Jeff Hansen is president of Hansen??s Tree Service, a full-service tree and lawn care company that performs diagnosis, treatment, pruning, tree removal, stump removal and lawn care. Hansen??s is fully accredited by TCIA and ISA, and serves residences and companies throughout the entire St. Louis metro area. With nine fully certified arborists on staff, Hansen??s educates the public on the values of proper tree and lawn care, its maintenance and the importance of environmental responsibility.