Hedge Laying

[Gregsie]

Hiya all,

 

I'm thinking about doing a Hedge Laying course.

 

Just wondering if there is much of a demand for hedgelaying and how much you can charge and how much experience you need before you could start to offer it professionally.

 

all the best

 

Paul

[Stephen Blair]

i know nothing about hedge laying but i would love someone to explain it to me. i know what they do i just dont know why, i think it is more of a south of the border thing.

i have never seen it done up here.

 

to me you get a perfectly horrible jaggy hedge, thin it out, cut it back tie it in knots and get yourself a perfectly jagy hedge.

 

but there must be a better reason than that.

[andy goddard]

hi paul ive been looking into doing the hedge laying course myself, its a 3 day course £160. there is different variations in prices as there are in styles,an average price is around £10 a meter where im from theres the breconshire,the monmouthshire styles,ive had quite a few farmers (landowners) asking me if i can do it ,so im putting my daughter and brother through the course ,its another trade to fall back on when work goes a bit slack i hope this has helped you cheers andy...

[Arob]

i know nothing about hedge laying but i would love someone to explain it to me. i know what they do i just dont know why, i think it is more of a south of the border thing.

i have never seen it done up here.

 

to me you get a perfectly horrible jaggy hedge, thin it out, cut it back tie it in knots and get yourself a perfectly jagy hedge.

 

but there must be a better reason than that.

 

As the hedge plants develop from shrubs to trees lower branches get shaded out and if left the hedge will become gappy at the bottom and your sheep and lambs will get out. By laying it you close the gaps and can encourage new and more vigourous growth at a lower height and keep your stock safe.

I think you knew that already tho.

[liamjordan]

i have done hedge laying with college, and its a good skill to learn, our tutor said he charges £10 - £15 a metre.

[Stephen Blair]

As the hedge plants develop from shrubs to trees lower branches get shaded out and if left the hedge will become gappy at the bottom and your sheep and lambs will get out. By laying it you close the gaps and can encourage new and more vigourous growth at a lower height and keep your stock safe.

I think you knew that already tho.

 

now you mention animals it makes sense, the only time i have seen it done is the apf.

[Graham]

I can teach you the basics in a day....the next 50 years is up to you:001_smile:

[Gregsie]

Thanks for the info everyone.

[Gnarlyoak]

Gregsie, Hedge Laying is a dying art but a useful skill that can be easily attained with a bit of practice. So you don't need years of experience to get started you just need to know the basics then get stuck in. A local course may be useful, as there are regional variations same as with dry stone walling. Then its practice practice practise until perfect, or at least until you are proficient.

 

Concur with other responses, you could expect £10-£15 per 10m. Once proficient you could reasonably do 10-20m /day.

 

Not sure what demand is like though these days, originally a living hedge was layed for marking out field boundaries and stock control, these days thats been taken over by barb wire and electric fences, then bob the land owner flails a standing hedge to within an inch of it life with his tractor. Job done in about an hour! Enviromentally and ecologically a hand layed hedge is immeasurably better for flora and fauna than the huge open tracts of sterile land we get these days. Hence the reason for the polpulation crash of birds and small mammals in the countryside these days.

 

BTCV have a really good book that is very useful. You can purchase from BTCV or view it online in a PDF format at http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/index/book/6

One thing to be aware of is that it is seasonal, the season usually being from Oct - Mar.

[Yorkshireman]

I learned hedge laying from my grandad who s now 94,

its not a complex thing to do but you'll have earned your dinner at the end of a day !!