what to plant for coppice?

[corylus]

Must ancient woodland in England had a bank and ditch to stop deer

 

I thought woodbanks were dividing lines, Parish boundaries, compartment markers etc. They would have to be a fair size and maintained to stop deer. Can you expand?

[difflock]

Pertinent or not , we planted some woodland under a grant scheme, our biggest threat was from Hares, as the neighbours earlier planting had been very badly affected. And a small area that I had privately planted earlier had also been eaten by Hares.

I did not stake or mulch or spray round the newly planted trees:blushing: however I noted that probably due to the high grass cover the Hares did not attack/eat the latest planting, almost certainly because they could not get visibility for safety. So back to that old Forester suggestion.

The slips or whips were sufficiently high to not be choked by the grass , plus until they got established the grass actually sheltered them, imho only of course.

I like to think I invented the concept of benign neglect.

[MikeTM150]

i like the idea of a bank and hedges but that won't be cheap either but it'll look a damn sight prettier than a wire fence system!!

 

Hope you can get some pics up for us to see!!

[muldonach]

Must ancient woodland in England had a bank and ditch to stop deer and theft of the coppice product. I don't know about Scotland? It was in the cutters contract to repair the bank and ditch and lay the hedge or use brash hedges if necessary. We didn't have muntjac then but this was enough to stop red,roe and fallow.

 

Where i have got the hedge and bank working its enough to stop them, whilst muntjac are shot. It's hard enough to type let alone download photo's but i'll give it a go when i'm next over there!!

 

Ok fair enough but should it not read ditch, bank and hedge with the purpose of the ditch and bank being to stop the deer getting a decent footing and/or run-up to clear the hedge?

 

Roe in my experience will readily go through or under a smaller gap than you would believe possible, and trying to establish a new hedge on a new bank will first of all need - a fence to protect the tasty young plants - not just from deer either - both sheep and cattle are fond of hawthorn.

 

Cheers

mac

[Crazy Cutter]

Right as soon as can i'll post some pictures.

 

To continue i found a 360 to be fairly cheap compared to fencing, i used spirals on the trees within the planting and accepted until i could get the hedges up and running there would be browsing. The grant supplies a payment every year so i use that money to plant the hedge on the bank using spirals again but as its on the bank the deer seem to leave it alone. I have fenced some of the bank with 7 strands of high-tensile and wide spaced posts where i knew there was deer access. My labour for fencing i supply free offset against firewood out of other farm woods.

Anyway its just an idea its working for me.

 

Sources to look up on bank and ditches are:

Ancient woodland by Oliver Rackham

Traditional Woodland Crafts Ray Tabor

Woodlands BTCV

[Crazy Cutter]

Must ancient woodland in England had a bank and ditch to stop deer

 

I thought woodbanks were dividing lines, Parish boundaries, compartment markers etc. They would have to be a fair size and maintained to stop deer. Can you expand?

 

No pollards were the dividing lines. Woodbanks went round the outside and stopped deer and people from getting in! We might need that soon unless shale gas is our saviour!

[MikeTM150]

No pollards were the dividing lines. Woodbanks went round the outside and stopped deer and people from getting in! We might need that soon unless shale gas is our saviour!

 

isn't that where they use tnt to vent the gas aquifers, which in america led to a town being poisoned by they're water supply being contaminated by shale gas extraction? Not that i have a problem if its the right town......

 

Am interested in this ditch hedge theory sounds like something to experiment with!