We did this years ago with the first field nearest the house, to separate off the footpath from the field and make things more private. We kept thinking about doing this with the second field as well, but it was during lockdown and seeing how few people kept their dogs on leads and could control them that made us decide that this was the right thing to do.
time kept slipping on this year though and it kept being really wet. I had planned to put the fence up, with the help of my dad and the post knocker, but with it getting close to spring and a lot of trees that needed to go into the ground it was time to just bite the bullet and get the professionals in. My friends Alex and Chris (along with Jamie) came with all the right gear and experience and got the two runs of 100m and a pair of gates hung in a day! They've done such a tidy job of it I can't help but smile when I look at it.
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| A lot of trees to plant |
I didn't do much other than keep them fed and hopefully happy. They worked well all day and it was great to see it up. The field already seems so much more private now.
That just left me a lot of trees to plant!
Part of my idea for this hedge is to copy what the farmers used to do around where I grew up. I grew up near Tenbury Wells and there so many hedges would have damson trees dotted amongst them. Last summer I had found a supplier would had dmasons on an old fashioned rootstock, a Brompton, that would mean the trees would grow up above the hedge line.
These were the trees I planted first. I spaced them 7m apart. 12 trees in total and of 9 different varieties, most damsons but some bullaces and one plum.
Once these were in I marked 1m spacings and selected randomly 5 hedging plants from a choice of hawthorn, blackthorn, hornbeam, hazel and spindle and started to plant them.
It seemed daunting at first but the actual tree planting wasn't too bad, it was the fitting of the tree guards that nearly killed me!
But by the end of Saturday 500 or so trees were planted, staked and protected! Just hope they establish well now!
I'm really looking forward to how this grows over the next few years and how fruitful it will be!
what a great job! it does look good already! i can see a lot of plums in your future. i made damson jam last year and it held us through the winter. we just finished the last jar. i make mine on the tart side and my husband mixes it with his oatmeal.
ReplyDeleteI love damson jam, best in cakes as well! We still have a few jars left but I made quite few different jams last year.
DeleteThat looks very impressive Kev (he says, eyeing the fencing with envy)!
ReplyDeleteIt's completely changed the feel of the field. I'm so pleased.
DeleteWhat a great job.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteThe beauty of a job well done! I have admired the English hedgerows ever since reading Elsbeth Huxley's books and also the history of WWII about the food the English harvested from their hedgerows. Love to see people keeping tradition and those hedgerows alive.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot on our little 5 acre patch here, I love seeing what we can forage. The children have a keen eye for some plants!
DeleteEasy to see how wet your ground is where the tractor ran over it. We farmed alluvial gravels and seldom ever experienced mud like that. I loved fencing. We perhaps should have, but never established 'hedgerows'. We had tree lines to break up the wind across the plain, but our forebears had introduced gorse to grow fences with and the awful stuff went completely out of control in our climate, so we were constantly battling the much hated stuff. Gorse in the fleece downgraded the value of the wool clip.
ReplyDeleteI was reading they would burn faggots of gorse and harvest it for that reason - sounds a horrible job!
DeleteOur fields are always a bit wet in the winter but this one has been particularly bad!
Grand job. Wondered why you had a double fence with a gap inbetween, thought it was to keep the dog walkers confined!
ReplyDeleteThat was like my original conclusion, too, before I saw the rest of the photos. I thought perhaps you were required to provide access to walkers!
DeleteThey have 12ft the one side - I allowed enough to get a tractor down for maintenance.
DeleteVery hard work, but wonderful work done, it's going to look fantastic and great for wildlife.
ReplyDeleteYes, should do wonders for wildlife!
DeleteThat fencing is wonderful. No doubt your hard work will pay off very soon.
ReplyDeleteIt already has as the field feels like a completely different place already!
DeleteVery nice double oxer. Love the idea of the Damsons.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping they're be beautiful in the spring with their blossom and fruitful in the autumn.
DeleteCould you explain why you have your hedgerow fenced in on both sides? Planting 500 trees was a formidable task.I am thinking about the fruits to come and the shelter for wildlife that this will provide. It's a wonderful gift for future generations.
ReplyDeleteFenced both sides to prevent stock from eating it. When I was planting I was thinking how it's such a small amount of short term pain for very long term gain. Can't wait to see how this grows.
DeleteOnce the trees are established and growing well, do you take the fencing down? Or does it stay?
ReplyDeleteIn theory you could, once it was laid/pleached but I won't be. Provides a better barrier like this.
DeleteHow incredibly satisfying, lovely job done!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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