Not bad for an inedible fruit though he does say it takes a lot of work to get the seeds, and he’s right. They taste somewhat like raw sunflower seeds. In fact, osage orange is reputed as the hottest-burning firewood, offering the highest heating value of any commonly available North American wood.It was from Jim Mason, a naturalist with the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita Kansas, that I learned the seeds were edible. Can you burn osage oranges?īurning and Storing Osage Orange Firewood However, the wood actually burns so hot you can easily damage a wood stove if you’re not careful. It is often labeled incorrectly as a hedge ball. The hedge apple takes many different names, including the Osage orange, the Maclura pomifera and bodark. Are osage oranges poisonous to dogs?įollow Us: Hedge apples are not poisonous to any animal, including dogs and cats. A good friend of mine has killed his two largest deer under the same Osage Orange tree. Its hard yellow-orange wood, formerly used for bows and war clubs by the Osage and other Native American tribes, is sometimes used for railway ties and fence posts.Īs Christine and JM said, deer will absolutely eat them. The Osage orange is often trained as a hedge when planted in rows along a boundary, it forms an effective spiny barrier. Mice hate the smell of mint and will stay away. You can also rub toothpaste along the bottom of your baseboards and anywhere else mice may get into your home. Get Rid of Mice If you’re suffering from a mouse infestation and can see the mouse holes, smear a bit of mint toothpaste nearby and the smell will deter them. According to a recent report from The Incline, yinzers commonly refer to them as monkey balls. PITTSBURGH - A heart-stopping moment the other day was all thanks to a weird-looking fruit that used to feed woolly mammoths tens of thousands of years ago, and it can still be found around Pittsburgh. As for humans, they collect the fruits and put them in their basements to deter spiders and insects. Monkey Balls Can help keep mice and spiders from invading your home. And those who can look past the hedge apple’s bumpy, ugly exterior, eat its seeds. This is largely due to the unpalatable taste of its fruit despite its orange-like smell. Hedge apples, also known as osage oranges, are generally considered inedible. The truth is that there is a lot more speculation about hedge apples than formal study, but it is generally believed that hedge apples, while unpleasant dining fare, are not poisonous to humans or livestock. Can horse apples kill you?Ĭommonly called hedge apples, the fruit of the Osage orange are mired in mystery and myth. The fruit has a sweet aroma of nectar mingled with citrus and its texture is dense and stringy. The Osage orange contains flesh that is overwhelmingly bitter with a touch of sweet its taste is reminiscent of the green rind on watermelon or cucumber. Squirrels strip out the seeds and eat them, so only dropped seeds are dispersed. These woods are easy to burn but not split and do not smoke or spark excessivelyĭeer do eat Osage-oranges, but apparently mainly by munching fallen fruit late in the winter. Red or Soft Maple both burn at a medium heat level. Both burn hot and easily, are easy to split and do not smoke or spark much. Pecan and Dogwood are both an excellent choice as firewood. A standard handsaw is very much like a crosscut saw, but it is more suited to one-handed operation. How can I cut firewood without a chainsaw?
But if you use a log splitter, you shouldn’t have trouble splitting either wet or dry wood The latter is usually easier to split, though many people prefer to split the former so that it dries out more quickly. The bottom line is that you can split both wet and dry wood. It also causes a build-up of creosote in your chimney / flue which becomes a fire hazard over time and is near impossible to put out once alight Is it bad to burn wet wood?īurning Wet or ‘Green’ wood can be dangerous for your health, your flue, your appliance and your property. It will help you properly heat your home and keep you safe. It creates a lot of smoke and may cause a dangerous creosote buildup over time. Is it bad to burn green wood?īurning green wood can be dangerous. If there is any green colour visible or bark is hard to peel, the log is not yet dry. Dry seasoned wood is lighter in weight than wet wood and makes a hollow sound when hitting two pieces together. If they are dark in colour and cracked, they are dry. To identify well seasoned wood, check the ends of the logs. How do you know if wood is dry enough to burn?