The roar of the blow torch and the sound of the bellows on the smoker, two distinct sounds I'm looking forward to. This will mean the season has begun!
With only one season under my belt, last year I found myself trying almost everything in my smoker, at times anything that came to hand, trying to determine, what's the best smoker fuel? But it was my mentor that had told me his little secret. Thinking back, his smoker was always smouldering away and ready for when it was needed. This great fuel is simply tight bundles of dried lavender cuttings.
Having spent far more than planned on the bees (something I have already done this year), there was no way I was paying for fuel for my smoker! But, there is plenty on offer from the suppliers. My choice of fuel was a dried out old Hawthorn trunk that I would chip chunks off and mix with wood shavings. If the smoker was running a little too hot I would simply roll up some green grass and place it in the top of the smoker. This works OK. There were times when it lasted all the way through inspections and others it didn't. One thing I soon realised was that when you needed smoke you didn't want the smoker to be not working!
Most people associate lavender with their grandparents. When it comes to bars of soap, lavender talc, or those material thingamabobs that are supposed to scent your pants drawer and I have to agree. But, if you are like me and have somehow managed to inhale quite a lot of smoke, the lavender aroma is a nice change and I'm sure I smell better by the end of the day!
Lavender has numerous other benefits on top of the aroma:
Lavender is supposed to be cut back each year makes it a perfectly sustainable fuel. It is cut with no damage to the plant, in fact it aids it growth the following year.
Everybody has lavender! We have lavender in out garden but this year our close friend and avid gardener cut and collected all of his for me. It was a great reminder to me to get ours cut too!
It burns really nicely.
Lavender creates a habitat, a pollinator friendly plant. In one of my future blogs I hope to give some hints and tips into other pollinator friendly environments that can be created at home.
The process is simple. Cut back your lavender at the correct time of the year, bundle it and hang it up to dry out. If you have a green house this can speed things up. I had a load dropped off to me, all of this I did my best to bundle while still green, but a few bags just got laid out on trays to dry and is then stored in boxes.
Once it has dried out simply stuff as much as you can into a short section of pipe (something that is near to the size of your smoker will do) and tie it up with a piece of hessian string. Do remember the string goes in as well so avoid plastic! I use a 3 inch in offcut of drainage pipe and stuff the stems in to makes it easier to tie up. This way you can get a nice tight bundle and cut to the required height. Don't throw any off cuts out as these can just be added to smoker loose.
You can then store these in a nice dry place ready for for when you need them, all of the off cuts you keep and can add into the smoker once you have placed the bundle in. A few small chunks of wood can aide in getting a longer burn time.
What is your fuel of choice?
Wood pellets
Cardboard
Hay
Wood shavings and wood
This little 'hack' may be too late for most people, unless you cut back in the spring. I'm not much of a gardener, but have been told you can cut back in the spring. It might be something to think of going forward, plus a little lavender in the garden is no bad thing for everyone.
