Hawthorn/hedge transplant

[Exfarmer]

I hadn't thought things through properly when I first planted hedges here, just had a mixture of species. It was only after watching them grow, and realising that blackthorn suckers into the fields that I realised the error of my ways. I then planted a couple of hedges from the woodland trust, where originally they insisted in adding blackthorn to the mix. I would not get anything from the woodland trust now (in their more hedges scheme), as they insist on adding spirals and canes (even though they are not needed here). Last two hedged I planted were self funded and 90% quickthorn, with 10% other mixes.

blackthorn will sucker well which is a boon to filling gaps. Normally any suckers will be grazed off or trimmed up by any other farming operations when they are out in the field though

 

[Danllan]

blackthorn will sucker well which is a boon to filling gaps. Normally any suckers will be grazed off or trimmed up by any other farming operations when they are out in the field though

Yep, was going to write the same; and the few that don't are easily pulled up with a fair bit of root attached, and so are free fillers for gaps elsewhere - bloody hell, a farming win-win...

 

[primmiemoo]

Yep, forgot the lichen, beautiful - but we really only see that here when they grow to their standard size. Thinking on it, I guess the tallest blackthorn we have must be well under thirty feet...

We had lots of bullaces on the old place in Herts, in a good year the amount of fruit was astonishing. A few times we even had enough to make it worth using our big old cider press,

I remember doing several decent stacks of cheeses of bullace pulp, made some wonderful drink, but it was only the enthusiasm of youth that made picking up all the fruit worth it.

Most of the blackthorn here are above 600', pruned and sculpted by the prevailing wind. Lichens still colonise them. I don't think they grow much more than 15' in the valley where they're understorey to wettish woodland.

I don't know much about bullace, but from what an in-law says, the fruit are worth picking, but thorns from them are a hazard for sheep's feet. Thorns used to be used as pins and fastenings in the oldene dayes, apparently.

 

[Danllan]

I hadn't thought things through properly when I first planted hedges here, just had a mixture of species. It was only after watching them grow, and realising that blackthorn suckers into the fields that I realised the error of my ways. I then planted a couple of hedges from the woodland trust, where originally they insisted in adding blackthorn to the mix. I would not get anything from the woodland trust now (in their more hedges scheme), as they insist on adding spirals and canes (even though they are not needed here). Last two hedged I planted were self funded and 90% quickthorn, with 10% other mixes.

Just thinking on that first line... you probably did think things through properly for then, but simply didn't have the knowledge you now have of the ground and conditions.

I have a number of things I did here at first, and they were well thought out, but subsequent experience has demonstrated that there are better solutions. Doesn't mean I was wrong at the time with what I could see and knew, but would be wrong to leave as is now.

Most of the blackthorn here are above 600', pruned and sculpted by the prevailing wind. Lichens still colonise them. I don't think they grow much more than 15' in the valley where they're understorey to wettish woodland.

I don't know much about bullace, but from what an in-law says, the fruit are worth picking, but thorns from them are a hazard for sheep's feet. Thorns used to be used as pins and fastenings in the oldene dayes, apparently.

Ours are between 300 and 600 feet, by the river where there a couple of dense patches - so encouraging upward growth - we get them pretty high. Elsewhere the wind and the stock take care of them. We never had sheep in Herts - - only some down for tack usually every other year.Never had any problems with the cattle that I recall.

Not around us, but over the border in Bucks and Beds, bullaces and plums were grown in huge numbers, not for the fruit per se, at least not for eating it, but for dying fabrics... Lots of things like this and the pins are now forgotten. Although I think Jack Hargreaves wrote of the thorns being use to hold food together during cooking.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Just thinking on that first line... you probably did think things through properly for then, but simply didn't have the knowledge you now have of the ground and conditions.

I have a number of things I did here at first, and they were well thought out, but subsequent experience has demonstrated that there are better solutions. Doesn't mean I was wrong at the time with what I could see and knew, but would be wrong to leave as is now.


Ours are between 300 and 600 feet, by the river where there a couple of dense patches - so encouraging upward growth - we get them pretty high. Elsewhere the wind and the stock take care of them. We never had sheep in Herts - - only some down for tack usually every other year.Never had any problems with the cattle that I recall.

Not around us, but over the border in Bucks and Beds, bullaces and plums were grown in huge numbers, not for the fruit per se, at least not for eating it, but for dying fabrics... Lots of things like this and the pins are now forgotten. Although I think Jack Hargreaves wrote of the thorns being use to hold food together during cooking.

We had a lot of egg plums growing in Herefordshire, I think they were for jam originally