What's the best tree to feed my new rocket mass heater?

Hello.
What's the best tree to propogate
And can I chose from those I have already?

I have a small strip of land - flat. Very very sandy,
with lots of chalky bedrock. Next to a river. 40yards by 250yards. It's open to flat fields on the north east and south.  wind from the north or south.

It's in mid west France. Minus 15 at times but not often. Winter is short - nov-march.
I made a compost toilet, so soon it will have lots of nutrients for trees.
I'm too disabled to do much gardening.
I could get some landscaping done if it's a one-off

I can plant trees. A couple a day. And watch them grow.
And frankly with this politics- what else should anyone do with their lives anyway?

This year and last year, I built a tiny rocket stove mass heater with a bell mass. It's my baby. It won't ever be greedy but it will need feeding. Around 25% of a regular 5kw wood stove.  I'll need an armfull of sticks a day.

I need soft wood for fast rocket-stove burning- not too hard
I must chop fine sticks- of an inch thick
Or, short (1  foot) twigs from coppiced growth.

(We have tonnes of perfect thickness bamboo already but it doesn't burn well. Even when it's dry. It's too hard. Boooo. Sssss. Pah.)

I have hazel, walnut, oak, alder, sweet chestnut, peach, plum and the trees with small plums - forget the names - but very profuse & several varieties. Figs - they've multiplied on their own they like it here. We have apples that seem to have stopped growing and a couple of slow growing cherries
Some crazy French spiky tree that has leaves like ash & grows very quick and straight. And some hedging with large shiny oval leaves. Oh and a bit of elder, Holly and a couple of tall planes. Oh and a eucalyptus. And willow.
Alder grows close by. Lots of blackthorn.
I can take cuttings of most common things locally.

I'll check out the names of the hedge and the spikey tree tomorrow

Can I successfully grow enough hazel, say, to feed my stove by myself?
Or should I source a better option? Should I add varieties to what I have? Or are there a few I have already that should be multiplied?

Should I even be planning just trees?

Hi Jo. All the woods you mention are good fuels. Hazel and alder rods are good, because they tend to be long and straight. This means (for a J-tube especially) that all you need to do is cut them to a good length. Coppice willow is also good this way and very easy to establish...just stick dormant branches into the ground. Eucalyptus is nice because it has lots of volatile oils in the bark that help get a fire started.

I'm surprised that you're having trouble burning bamboo. It's my go-to kindling for starting my little RMH. Is it not dried out all the way? Can you split it in half to speed up the drying? The telltale sign of wet bamboo in a fire is the explosion of the segments when they get pressurised by steam.

Back in the old days, to make a quick, hot fire for cooking, the old duffers used Alder. In Maine, this is a small shrub, seldom getting over a few inches thick, but burns REALLY hot. The old duffers called it "biscuit wood", because it was often used to make biscuits in old wood burning kitchen ranges.

cant go wrong with osage orange if it grows where your at.

this chart is good guide, it is a btu rate chart for mant different trees

http://worldforestindustries.com/forest-biofuel/firewood/firewood-btu-ratings/

I have seen plenty of willows growing in the deposited sand next to the river here. Alder seems to prefer a bit more clay. (The willow does not appear to like the clay soil here.) Also some thorny shrubs/trees with some kind of small black fruit… but they are probably quite hard on any tool to cut them.

I can't add anything helpful to the discussion.
You said it perfectly:

jo blick wrote:

I can plant trees. A couple a day. And watch them grow.
And frankly with this politics- what else should anyone do with their lives anyway?

Phil Stevens wrote:Hi Jo. ...
I'm surprised that you're having trouble burning bamboo. It's my go-to kindling for starting my little RMH. Is it not dried out all the way? Can you split it in half to speed up the drying? The telltale sign of wet bamboo in a fire is the explosion of the segments when they get pressurised by steam.

Hello Phil thanks so much
And thanks for all of your great answers such a lot of great advice and this!!
Yes! My bamboo it's  spitting so is not dried yet - oh my you made my day

I have SOOO much bamboo. I'm going to find hubby he hates the stuff he will be so pleased we can live on it😍

Sebastian Köln wrote:I have seen plenty of willows growing in the deposited sand next to the river here. Alder seems to prefer a bit more clay. (The willow does not appear to like the clay soil here.) Also some thorny shrubs/trees with some kind of small black fruit… but they are probably quite hard on any tool to cut them.

Hello Sebastian are you nearby?