rspb hedge campaign

[primmiemoo]

Bocages to le lot ov 'ee

Bocage - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[primmiemoo]

Sorry to show my ignorance but could explain what is meant/management to “steep” a hedge. It is not a term I have heard before.

Steeping is known in the depths of darkest Cornwall, surely?

 

[BrianV]

They all vary don't they. Lot of the banks have fallen out over time , grant will cover a good rebuild with a digger,there are some really good operators ,as nobody does it by hand these days ,like idid for a year or 2 after leaving school, just gaps really though.
need to be on a scheme to get the grant anyway, although they will pay for stock fence as well( im not keen on their wooden gate requirement tho.
a flail trimmer especially a modern high power one will never let a hedge get away. Ive trimmed them all here since 1987 with a not heavy weight flail ,as i put it on a smaller tractor than they generally use these days,as i can nip around without too much deep mess with a dual on if wetter.
we started using a contractor with flail(twose 276) in 1979 which took over from dad with his mid mounted Colwell knive bar trimmer .
theres a mix of types/heights here with taller hedges allowed near the buildings/lambing /small stock fields particularly east west ,its not rocket science but it better with a bit of interest thought towards the subject imo.

No need to smack them all to heck

View attachment 1000310

Biggest difference in growth is type of ground, dry well drained ground doesn't grow no like on heavier ground ,and the shrub./tree type growing there reflect this, just requires a bit differentiation instead of generalisations

Now that's how a hedge should look, except with Scotties you need a stock fence as well thats grown into the hedge

 

[jondear]

And Hares

I think we still have to many Foxes!

 

[egbert]

Your hedges must not grow much?
If we leave hedges around here after 3-4 years they are nearly to thick to flail, and your 10 acre field will only be 9 and a half!
All hedges are different and around York these needs cutting annually, if left they are 30ft tall and wide in no time

read again...leave to grow, then 'steep' - or lay

 

[melted welly]

RSPB: thousands of miles of wildlife-rich hedgerows at risk from farming changes

Healthy, well-managed hedgerows are key for species such as yellowhammers and hedgehogs, conservation charity says.

www.standard.co.uk

looks like the rspb is going to start campaigning to convert bps cross compliance rules into legislation.

so much for opting out of elms and being able to do what you think is best.

not a suprise though.

If they’re so keen, they’d be better off coming up with a cooperative scheme whereby they use their considerable wealth to assist with funding some planting and management.

But no, better to try and score political points.

 

[Daddy Pig]

You are obviously not a farmer, hedges that are flailed with two years growth look far far worse than hedges that are trimmed each year, by delaying the date trimming can be done the hedges do not have time to regrow before winter sets in, if we were again able to start to trim in late July the hedges would green up before growth stopped.
All these stupid rules have exactly the opposite outcome than is intended.

So you think its a good idea to flail hedges while birds are still nesting ?

 

[BrianV]

So you think its a good idea to flail hedges while birds are still nesting ?

Come the end of July early August very few birds are still nesting in well maintained hedges, pigeons & doves nesting late only nest in very overgrown hedges

 

[An Gof]

it's what 'appened afore they fangled 'edgetrimmers cum along buy

You Deb’n boys only ‘av the “poverty spec” hedge
You just throw up an earth bank an call it a hedge. You’m too tight to do ‘un proper an stone face it

 

[Daddy Pig]

Come the end of July early August very few birds are still nesting in well maintained hedges, pigeons & doves nesting late only nest in very overgrown hedges

maybe I'm too much if a softie nowadays but I wouldn't be happy flailing a hedge in July knowing that I was only killing a few birds.

 

[MRT]

25,000 jobs created by planting hedges? surely the vast majority of farmers would plant them themselves?

Does it say paid jobs? I am out of love with hedges. Planted and laid at my own expense now if I trim them I'm a monster, if I don't and they fall in the road I'm potentially liable... wont be long and burning the trimings and fall to keep warm will be illegal.. all makes me a bit anti.

 

[BrianV]

maybe I'm too much if a softie nowadays but I wouldn't be happy flailing a hedge in July knowing that I was only killing a few birds.

A303080 - Bird Breeding Season Dates in Scotland.pdf
Earlier in the rest of the UK, people sometimes live in a make belief world where facts & fiction get distorted!

 

[ARW]

read again...leave to grow, then 'steep' - or lay

Yes I read that, the problem we have here is we hedgecut one farm that’s just shy of 1000 acres with an average field size of 11 acres, and they nearly all fields have hedges and drainage ditches, there’s hundreds of miles of drainage dykes around us and if they aren’t flailed they grow full of blackthorn and stop general maintenance of drains, these were dug by our forefathers to drain the land to grow a crop, hedges were planted as fences for stock and to hold Sandy soil banks from dropping in the dykes.
As I said if these strong blackthorn hedges are left to grow the dykes are full, fences grow out and over and they get to strong for a flail

 

[BrianV]

You Deb’n boys only ‘av the “poverty spec” hedge
You just throw up an earth bank an call it a hedge. You’m too tight to do ‘un proper an stone face it

We poor buggers can't afford the stone!

 

[organicguy]

I couldn't comment whether I would pass your test....I spent about half of my work-time on in house agri-operations.
Currently grazing 230 odd head of bovines, 350 ewes plus followers, and 20 equines, over about 2000 acres.
I'll admit i have pretty much zero hedges on the main farm (1500 acres of granite walls)
But 'off land' includes lots of hedges, some 'flailed to death', some less so. Some on roughly every other year.

I've laid overgrown hedge into stockproof condition (and my stock includes some who'd really test it),
but concede that the time commitment is crippling, and still gives rise to the question 'what next?'
Flail for 5-10 years, then start the cycle again?
In recent decades, I've been double fencing to keep them from being eaten out/trashed, but the cost of that is pretty sharp.
Personally, I'm at an imp arse.
My boy is wanting to learn to steep hedge, and I'm likely going to fund his efforts when he's off a mind.

Looking around local lowlands, some farmers are slowly grinding their hedges to nothing but a bramble covered linear bank, devoid of anything much wildlife wise.
And while I'm no twitcher or bug hunter, on due consideration, I find the idea of flailing every stick of hedge to nothing while the fruit is still uneaten pretty offensive.
It is surely that attitude that leads to our continued demonisation. And quite deservedly.

I posted as we need to find a way forward, and I consider it's going to be taken out of our hands if we're not careful.

The reason we are asked to trim hedges biennially is that most hedge plants only produce flowers and fruit on last years growth so if all this years growth is cut off there will be no seeds for birds to eat over the winter.
I hate not cutting every year because it is difficult to leave a hedge tidy when cutting two year old growth but I have just stopped cutting our 2nd year growth hedges because as I cut along them clouds of fieldfares and redwings are flying out in front of me. No point in growing bird food if we don't give them the chance to eat it.
Hope it's dry in Feb.
we are using grants to lay 15 year old growth to restart the cycle, its a good job laying is my passion!

 

[Ffermer Bach]

The reason we are asked to trim hedges biennially is that most hedge plants only produce flowers and fruit on last years growth so if all this years growth is cut off there will be no seeds for birds to eat over the winter.
I hate not cutting every year because it is difficult to leave a hedge tidy when cutting two year old growth but I have just stopped cutting our 2nd year growth hedges because as I cut along them clouds of fieldfares and redwings are flying out in front of me. No point in growing bird food if we don't give them the chance to eat it.
Hope it's dry in Feb.
we are using grants to lay 15 year old growth to restart the cycle, its a good job laying is my passion!View attachment 1000311

that looks a cracking job

 

[egbert]

You Deb’n boys only ‘av the “poverty spec” hedge
You just throw up an earth bank an call it a hedge. You’m too tight to do ‘un proper an stone face it

no trimming needed here.....and it sure keeps me poverty stricken too!

 

[An Gof]

View attachment 1000357
View attachment 1000358

no trimming needed here.....and it sure keeps me poverty stricken too!

Real tidy job

 

[Bury the Trash]

Bocages to le lot ov 'ee

Bocage - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

'bocage' sounds like 'a nice hot bowl of ' would be just right for a head cold suffering boy excused from school for the day watching Trumpton, ( or Chigley ) Tales of the river bank and the clangers if hes lucky

 

[primmiemoo]

'bocage' sounds like 'a nice hot bowl of ' would be just right for a head cold suffering boy excused from school for the day watching Trumpton, ( or Chigley ) Tales of the river bank and the clangers if hes lucky

Surely you're on garlic and onion soup? Lob in an ex layer as it cooks. Splendid!
You'll be on a good horse leaping dthicky master hedges made by @organicguy and @egbert before you know it.