New Hedges
We have been planting many new native hedgerows here at Caradoc and will be planting more this winter. This year our ambition is to plant 1,200 m of new hedge. With 6 plants per m that’s 7,200 plants! We will also be planting 60 larger hedgerow trees, approximately 1 every 20 m.
Planned planting dates are as follows:
Friday the 3rd to Sunday the 12th of January 2025 ~ to kick of the New Year!
Thursday the 20th February 2025 ~ Volunteer day organised by the Wye Valley National Landscape
Friday the 21st to Sunday the 23rd February 2025 ~ Hoping to finish off this winter’s planting.
If you want to get involved then pop those dates in the diary and get in touch! Seasonal snacks and mulled drinks will be provided… BYO warm clothes, outdoor boots, waterproof trousers, gardening or work gloves, water (only mulled beverages provided…) and (if you have one) spade.
Maggie, James, Minx, Chloe and Alice wrapping up the 2023/4 season in style!
Robin, Dreda and Brigid
How do we decide where to plant new hedges?
In the past 3 years we have planted around 900 m of new hedgerow. Over the next three winters we are planning to plant 3,600 m. We use historic maps such as the 1840 tithe map above and the post war aerial photograph below to see where historic field boundaries were. Most of our new hedges are being reinstated along more or less along historic boundaries but in a way which works for bigger modern machinery.
We aim to plant hedges that will provide connectivity between existing habitat e.g. other hedges or woodland. That way they act as wildlife corridors around the farm.
Where possible hedges are planted across flow lines to help to prevent excess nutrient from reaching watercourses, help reduce flooding and reduce the impact of drought by enabling water to be slowly released during the summer. The hedge plants themselves are great at soaking up water but the soil beneath the hedge also acts as a really good sponge. If you dig a hole under a hedge the soil will likely have a completely different structure, smell and colour to that in the adjacent field. The red, yellow and turquoise areas of the map show high risk areas of the farm.
Why wool?
Mulching the hedge with sheep’s wool! Unfortunately wool has very little value at the moment. It costs almost more to shear the sheep than you get for selling the wool. Fortunately it makes a great mulch for a new hedge. It suppresses weeds which compete with the new hedge for nutrients and it helps to retain water during a drought. We managed to put some wool on this hedge in December and that section has grown far larger and looks far healthier than the rest. We didn’t get round to putting wool on the rest of the hedge until the summer but we still think it’s done a good job of protecting the soil from drying out.
Hedgerow management
We’ll be trying to implement a hedgerow management plan to make sure our new and existing hedges are as healthy as they can be. Healthy hedges are better habitats, store more carbon, clean more water and help to keep water in the landscape for longer which reduces flooding. The new hedges will be allowed to grow tall for about 10 years and will then be laid. Historically this is what made hedges livestock proof. In the meantime we’re protecting our hedges with fences to make sure our sheep and cattle don’t damage them. When they’re larger the animals will be able to “browse” the hedges will will compliment a balanced diet and provide them vitamins and minerals. The hedges will also provide shelter for them.
Some of the hedges on the farm are in need of rejuvenating and will be laid or coppiced in the next few years. Coppicing involves cutting the hedge right down to be base. It looks very brutal but when the stumps start producing new shoots they grow incredibly quickly and it will be no time at all before the hedge looks bushy again.
Massive thanks to the People’s Trust for Endangered Species for producing the diagram.
