You simply can't win...
- Thread starter TheTallGuy
- Start date
In theory, IF the article is correct, a single line of plantings is useless but there are very good reasons to guard new saplings although they do need removing and disposing of when they’ve done their job.
As for hedge laying, Great ... where’s the money coming from to pay the men?
As for hedge laying, Great ... where’s the money coming from to pay the men?
It winds me up .
The general public forget why hedges were pulled out in the first place .
To feed a starving nation .
It’s too easy to criticise when your bellies are full .
I could go on and on about this.
When housing estates are going up , major road construction taking place and HS2 all ripping out hedge rows and woodland, the general public does not even bat a eyelid over it .
Then when we try and plant a new hedge we get criticised about it .
The general public forget why hedges were pulled out in the first place .
To feed a starving nation .
It’s too easy to criticise when your bellies are full .
I could go on and on about this.
When housing estates are going up , major road construction taking place and HS2 all ripping out hedge rows and woodland, the general public does not even bat a eyelid over it .
Then when we try and plant a new hedge we get criticised about it .
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
If you straddle the hedge with a big 360 Digger, and drive along it, using the bucket to deflect the hedge under, it will lay it nicely
Rod Dumbreck
Member
I am sure that the Guardian would reject any piece that didn't wind up at least one sector of the community, and indeed I felt wound up within a few lines of reading. The reality is that those of us who, adopting best practice, following guidlines, and in my case claiming some financial assistance for the
effort, were obliged to use plastic guards, were doing our best to make hedges. I don't know how many yards of hedge this guy has made, but until he shows us an example of his effort, I think we can treat his ramblings like any other shovel full of sh!t, throw it on the big pile hoping it will turn into something better.
effort, were obliged to use plastic guards, were doing our best to make hedges. I don't know how many yards of hedge this guy has made, but until he shows us an example of his effort, I think we can treat his ramblings like any other shovel full of sh!t, throw it on the big pile hoping it will turn into something better.
TheTallGuy
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Unfortunately, whilst I generally agree - there's too many folks who will believe the hyperbole and spread it on...
Tubbylew
Member
- Location
- Herefordshire
I think he's bang on tbh, i've never been that sold on tree guards, and there has been plenty of financial help for laying and coppicing. Hedges need nurturing and managment like any other crop, not just flailing into submission. I'm off to find my tin hat....
- Location
- Out in the Sticks
- Location
- West Wales
TheTallGuy
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Try growing anything around here without guards & see how long it lasts! Yes, hedgerows need nurturing but expecting a full mature hedge in a few years isn't realistic - it takes decades for these things.
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
You've got the wrong end of the stick-it's not why hedges were pulled out, it's why and who put them there in the first place!
Hedges were planted by farmers to contain their stock! Hedges are about as "natural" as stone barns, drainage ditches and 3 bed semis.
There is no such thing as a natural hedge.
I actually suspect that when a farmer built a hedge for the first time all his neighbours complained about his "modern farming methods" blocking their views!!
But with digger at £40hr, the man staking and binding behind it doesn't get much time to roll a fag.
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
I have just planted a hedge from the Woodland Trust, and they insisted on me using tree guards (although the hedges I have planted without help I have not used tree guards and they are fine), so he doesn't mention that Charities insist on guards being used. And, any grant work has to be double staggered planting with a max of 75% of one species, so I think the article was really just a "winge fest" against farmers for some reason or other.
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
someone on another thread here 3 or 4 months ago, shared a great guide to hedge maintenance, really good.
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
I think you are right, all the "peasants" who were displaced from the communal grazing land/community owned arable fields would have been very upset to be thrown off their heritage, as it was enclosed with hedges
Tubbylew
Member
- Location
- Herefordshire
They have their place for sure, but they can be taken off when the hedge is established, interestingly I've been shown some being trialed by a local forester, made from sheeps wool, supposedly biodegradable, about time too.
- Location
- Essex
Ok so he doesn't like tree guards. I agree they're unsightly but they definitely help establishment. Bit of a stupid article really because he's criticising tree planting.
I suppose they can't mention the countryside in the Grauniad without farmer bashing.
A nice retirement project for him collecting up the plastic in a few years' time if he feels that strongly.
I suppose they can't mention the countryside in the Grauniad without farmer bashing.
A nice retirement project for him collecting up the plastic in a few years' time if he feels that strongly.
Tubbylew
Member
- Location
- Herefordshire
+1, one of the mums at the local school has it, I've come to the conclusion that I'll never understand some folk.
I know where you're coming from .
But when an article starts with farmers pull out hedges for big machinery without explaining why, ( farmers are the bad boys again ) it's sets the precedent for the rest of the article, seemingly we grubbed them out just for our big machines and not the desperate need for food at that time. I agree that new hedging isn't the perfect replacement for what was naturally growing in these areas, but it is a good start to encourage the birds and wildlife, who in turn introduce seeds over time to fill in the hedging and in time a diverse variety of hedging and native plants returns.