I must admit I’d never heard of dead hedges until newsletter reader Mike Saynor sent me a link to a video of his on the subject. Literally days later, I was listening to GQT, and they had a piece on dead hedges. Spooky!
Just one of the brash wood piles I’ve got to deal with.
Mike is a member of the Holt Copse Conservation Volunteers. They maintain Holt Copse, which is a small area of semi-natural ancient woodland situated to the north-west of Wokingham in Berkshire. Holt Copse is a popular amenity for local residents and a valuable haven for flora and fauna in a predominately urban landscape.
Now we’ve planted a lot of trees and bushes on the land around us, which means we have a lot of brash wood to deal with. My intention was to pick up a second-hand chipper at a local farm sale, as my garden scale shredder just isn’t up to this volume of work. Strangely there were lots coming up and going for a song – until I decided to get one, then none.
My next thought was a bonfire. That would certainly get rid of the brash, turning it into wood ash. But, apart from adding minerals, wood ash doesn’t do anything for soil structure and humus. Very much a back-up plan.
This dead hedge concept seems to tick all my boxes. It tidies things up, converting the brash wood into something useful for wild life and, in time, improving the soil. If I’m honest, best of all, it’s a lot less work than feeding a chipper or a bonfire.
Dead hedging,re- enforcing the bottom of hedges has long been used to stop escapees like lambs. Around Carsington water Severn trent water has made dead hedges as path borders. The reservoir is 25 years old now,they are excellent wildlife havens so win win really