Planting a biofuel as a privacy hedge

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • hoosierdoc

    Freed prisoner
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Apr 27, 2011
    25,987
    149
    Galt's Gulch
    Maple River Farms

    I just bought 600 rhizomes of this to grow into a privacy hedge around the land we bought. It can grow up to 13' tall and it used as a biofuel in England. Don, the guy who runs the farm, said their goal is energy independence at their farm in the next few years. They will burn the cane from this to heat a greenhouse, their buildings, and their driveway so as to not shovel snow in winter.

    Hopefully in a few years I'll have lots of this stuff to give away when I cut it down in the spring. Anyone else looking into Miscanthus X Giganteus?
     

    Hexlobular

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Apr 16, 2014
    290
    18
    SWI
    Sounds like a cool idea. Don't know how much land you have, or if you mow or bush-hog it, but rather than chopping down the first year's growth, maybe you can dump grass clippings or hay on them to help with the Indiana winters.
     

    hoosierdoc

    Freed prisoner
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Apr 27, 2011
    25,987
    149
    Galt's Gulch
    I hope to have about 400' of this growing. They say the first year will grow about 3-4'. The recommendation is to leave them up until spring and then cut them back. They also recommend running a rototiller along the edge if you don't want it spreading out much. It will spread six inches every year. This farm is in Michigan so I'm guessing it'll take the cold just fine. I plan to use the cane to make a little tiki hut roof in the future whenever we finally dig a pool. I'm also hoping I can bale the cane and use as instant fire starters for our bonfire.
     

    femurphy77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Mar 5, 2009
    20,268
    113
    S.E. of disorder
    Interesting concept, does it go wild after a few years and then become a nightmare to maintain? We have about 1000' of fenceline that we'd love to have some natural privacy for.
     

    hoosierdoc

    Freed prisoner
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Apr 27, 2011
    25,987
    149
    Galt's Gulch
    It won't spread via seed but it it will expand from the roots. The leaves get messy when they fall I've read. The shoots can be used for animal feed though and it can produce 12 tons per acre. The guy I bought from is intending to watch prices and sell for animal feed or use for fuel depending on which makes more sense in a given season.

    I suspect it will be a lot of work to cut it down each year. I'm planning a chainsaw but may get a power trimmer instead depending how it is. I can give you a few rhizomes when they get here if you want to test plant it.
     

    femurphy77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Mar 5, 2009
    20,268
    113
    S.E. of disorder
    It won't spread via seed but it it will expand from the roots. The leaves get messy when they fall I've read. The shoots can be used for animal feed though and it can produce 12 tons per acre. The guy I bought from is intending to watch prices and sell for animal feed or use for fuel depending on which makes more sense in a given season.

    I suspect it will be a lot of work to cut it down each year. I'm planning a chainsaw but may get a power trimmer instead depending how it is. I can give you a few rhizomes when they get here if you want to test plant it.

    I think we'll pass HD, we're trying to get our place as low maintenance as possible and although it has some interesting features it sounds like it's going to require more input than we want.
     

    Zoub

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    May 8, 2008
    5,220
    48
    Northern Edge, WI
    If you have never spent a full day or days cutting down canes do yourself a favor, plan on using a bush hog. The stuff spreads like any other member of its family. If you don't contain it with physical barriers, I would plan on going around the perimeter a couple times a year with a serious tiller. What makes it a renewable resource also makes it one hell of an invasive plant.

    if you change your mind, it will take a couple years to eradicate it.
     

    hoosierdoc

    Freed prisoner
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Apr 27, 2011
    25,987
    149
    Galt's Gulch
    I know I'll have to till the edges, but I'll probably hire that out to a young strong person. Plenty of Center Grove football players looking for some $$ :) I can probably hire out the "harvesting" as well. I wanted something that would be a solid wall in a few years and maintain a lot of privacy through the winter. I realize it could totally suck to remove but you know me, cannonball into something and deal with the consequences.
     

    Twangbanger

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Oct 9, 2010
    7,062
    113
    I've planted Miscanthus Giganteus, Arundo Donax, and other grasses and hardy bamboos on my property, and let me tell you, you need to listen to the people above and make sure you're serious about this. This stuff really spreads and becomes woody over time, and if it's a privacy hedge, I'd keep it a ways back from the property line, so as not to leave you with a neighbor problem if the "strong kids with tillers" approach doesn't work. Giganteus is very, very woody under the soil and almost un-diggable when established, without a backhoe. Even if it's still soft enough for you to till around, remember that the pieces of rhizome the tiller leaves under the soil will re-establish themselves as new plants just as readily as those original rhizome pieces you're buying now. Like any grass of this type, the center portion will become woody and stop producing in time, leaving only the outer perimeter as the "moving frontier" of live material (which is probably heading right where you're trying to keep it out of).

    Don't underestimate the job of cutting it down, either. If you have no use for it & it's safe to do so, you may want to just burn it. I burn for regular annual maintenance, and resort to "complete kill" application on new green material in places where I want it gone. An electric trimmer will only cut it with some difficulty, and you don't want to do 400' of that. What you're buying is probably the best type of plant in the grass family for this type of use, but it's still by no means a low-maintenance thing over time, when compared to things like evergreen trees.
     
    Last edited:

    smokingman

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Nov 11, 2008
    9,273
    149
    Indiana
    We went with berry bushes.Blueberry,Raspberry,and thimbleberry.If I was still in Indiana I would probably not have gone the berry route though.Great in the summer,but next to nothing in the winter.Up here though winter itself is the privacy barrier.If you have never had thimbleberries you do not know what you are missing!Think giant sweet tart raspberries.
     

    ghuns

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    9,308
    113
    Osage orange can be planted to form a hedge row. Before wire fencing, it was used to keep hogs and cattle fenced in. Probably not so much for privacy, but NOBODY is going through it once it's established.
     

    ViperJock

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Feb 28, 2011
    3,811
    48
    Fort Wayne-ish
    Interesting ideas. Thanks for sharing. I'm trying to create a 200-300yds of privacy hedge. Using trees takes forever and the emerald vitae can get $$ over that distance. I thought about putting up some prison fence but I'm concerned the deer will get caught on the barbed wire...
     

    ghuns

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    9,308
    113
    I thought about putting up some prison fence but I'm concerned the deer will get caught on the barbed wire...

    Go third-world barbed wire. A concrete wall with glass bottles broken off on top. Concrete must be much cheaper in the developing world than it is here.:dunno:
     

    hoosierdoc

    Freed prisoner
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Apr 27, 2011
    25,987
    149
    Galt's Gulch
    Go third-world barbed wire. A concrete wall with glass bottles broken off on top. Concrete must be much cheaper in the developing world than it is here.:dunno:

    I love seeing those. Many places in Caribbean have them.

    i appreciate the advice on how difficult these are to remove. I think we're still going to plow ahead. I set them back 10' from the property line and 15' from the road. Hopefully that will be enough. Buring is always an option.

    Maybe I'll be looking for an excavator operator in a few years :):
     

    spencer rifle

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    66   0   0
    Apr 15, 2011
    6,544
    149
    Scrounging brass
    That grass is interesting.
    We went with Jerusalem artichokes as a food source and hedgerow.
    They take two years to fill in an area but after that they provide plenty of tubers to eat and transplant into other areas.
    They need to go into the ground in October.

    Jerusalem artichoke has feed and biofuel potential for Alberta | Alberta Farmer Express

    Jerusalem artichokes LOL. We made the mistake of planting them in our garden, and now we can't get rid of them. Not much like potatoes (definitely an acquired taste) but can be used like them. Certainly get tall enough for privacy in the summer, lots of tough stems for burning, and flowers like a small sunflower. Difficult to kill off, subject to mildew depending on weather.
     

    jbell_64

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Sep 11, 2011
    355
    18
    Mitchell
    Miscanthus species are known invasives...
    Especially Miscanthus sinensis. There are acres and acres of it taking off all over southern Indiana.
     
    Top Bottom