The first step is to gather the materials at the right time of the year. The bark must be harvested in the late spring/early summer to avoid damaging the tree. The outer bark separates easily from the inner bark at this time. It is the inner bark that transport all of the nutrients and water to the tree. Later in the summer the inner bark will stick to the outer and it will kill the tree if the bark is removed then. I am fortunate to have several acres at my disposal that are going to be cleared in the future.
Once harvested, the bark can be used immediately or stored for later use. Since the harvest period can be short. I process and dry most of my bark to use later. In the photo above the bark on the left is shown as it comes from the tree. On the right is bark once it is cut and clamped.
Since bark will ripple and curl if it dries unattended to, the first step is to cut it into usable pieces. The places where little branches have been will form bumpy spots on the bark and distort it so that will not lay flat. Also, any areas where insects or woodpeckers have damaged it must be cut out as they will not look good when the basket is made. The inside should be as blemish-free as possible. It is then cut into squares or rectangles, stacked and clamped or weighted so that it will stay flat and not curl.
No comments:
Post a Comment