spandit

Not sure why I didn't select rowan - it was an option. I've asked them if they'll substitute but might be too late to change order now. Not sure whether to try to treat the soil with ash or lime where I plant the whitebeam or just see whether it copes...

Easy to say, not so easy to organise. I'm going to hire a self propelled mower and give that a go. The brambles aren't that thick at the moment so if I can get it up into the field, it shouldn't be a problem. Bit worried that some of the species I've ordered won't tolerate our soil - should have tested it before but a neighbour tells me it's acidic, which rules out the whitebeam and field maple. Tempted to increase the alder and aspen numbers instead. It's a pity they don't offer robinia or poplar as they grow fast and burn well (especially the former)

Hang them, I'll plant them anyway.

Helicopter ploughing sounds like fun

As mentioned in another thread, I'm looking at planting some blackthorn hedging but various people have brought up the fact that it will send out suckers. This isn't a problem on my side of the fence but would the neighbours the other side have any legal right to complain? It's about 50 yards from their house and against a fairly rough piece of grass but we're not on the best of terms Should I bury a barrier into the ground to stop them suckering?

I would have thought the top has already died so by cutting it off, you're not harming anything - if willow is anywhere near as potent as I'm led to believe, then it will just resprout. I got bored with pruning my neighbour's willow tree so cut it to a small stump with the chainsaw. In one year the shoots were up to 4m long and an inch thick! I've planted a few hundred cuttings on my land as it's good for weaving (osier)

When it spreads further than 15m I'll start worrying - I'll be too drunk on sloe gin by then to care anyway. Out of interest, can one dig the suckers up and plant them elsewhere? If I plant them the other side of a ditch then it becomes next door's problem

That's how you buy willow for planting Bundle of Ten Cuttings of each of 17 Varieties - Yorkshire Willow Online Shop What would I need a PTO for? I'd just hover upside down to keep the grass in check...

I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket in case a particular species fails. I can plant more next year but I wanted a varied landscape. The blackthorn will be concentrated around the hedgerows for security and sloes I think at close (30cm, double row) spacing, it's not going to go far. Has to out compete the rushes and brambles first! The oak and beech will be planted away from much of the scrub species (although I thought hazel etc. was an understorey plant? It's not registered. I'm told that it might be possible to register but for the amount we stand to gain, I don't think it's worth the money but might be wrong. As I understand it, to get the SFP we would have needed to register the land years ago

Of course, I'll be taking regular photos. The grant scheme is essentially a 60% discount. For the 1,500 trees, plus stakes & tubes I'm paying about £1,000 which isn't too bad. The terms and conditions aren't too onerous either - they're happy for me to coppice when trees large enough. I'm dreading 1/4 of your task! I'm hoping they'll give me some satisfaction in 3 years - the willow can be harvested for weaving in one year so that will keep me busy until the other stuff gets a bit bigger

I'll tell you but you'll need to come and help plant!

It's so wet that getting machinery up to clear the bracken/bramble is not easy at the moment. Got a farmer coming round this morning to look at it. Don't know what planned landing is - do you mean an open area where the trees can be felled into?

Didn't realise cobnuts were distinct from hazelnuts - will look into that. Not sure if walnut was an option on the species list - is it warm enough to grow successfully here?

I did a rough calculation that an acre of willow planted at 50cm spacings, each producing 10 2m whips a year, when cut into 25cm whips and sold for 50p each (which seems remarkable to me but that's cheap compared to what some places want for them) you are grossing £640,000 a year.... on one acre! We have about 10... but I'll have to leave some of it unplanted as otherwise where would I land the helicopters?

Hello, I've recently bought an old farm with about 11 acres in 2 paddocks. Apart from some great trees around the edges (and some not so great!) there is no woodland to speak of (one of the hedges is about 5 metres thick in places). Anyway, after some discussion with the Woodland Trust, I was approved for a grant under the MOREwoods scheme (https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/help-and-support/) and eventually settled on an order of 1500 trees, of 14 native species. We're on sand here but there is a spring in the paddock where I'm doing most of the planting so it's pretty boggy all year round (someone told me once that you can get days in the UK when it doesn't rain ). I'm going for the following: Alder (350) Hazel (200) Beech (125) Hawthorn (125) Oak (125) Sweet chestnut (0 - had originally asked for some but they're out of stock!) Wild cherry (125) Field maple (100) Aspen (50) Blackthorn (50) Crab apple (50) Hornbeam (75) Spindle (50) Whitebeam (50) Scots pine (25) I'm hoping to create some pockets of woodland, mainly around the edges, that will support wildlife (including game cover), provide colour, soak up some water and eventually provide me with a few logs from the faster growing species. In addition to the trees I'm paying for, I've also planted a few hundred willows of different species, with the view of doing some weaving. I might also be planting some ash (which they won't provide due to the dieback) and some sycamore (which isn't apparently native, even though sweet chestnut, which was introduced by the Romans, is...). I'd also like pear because of the blossom and fondness for damp ground. Deliberately avoided birch because they rot so readily and we have plenty around the place so I'd imagine they'll self seed. Most of the species I've selected have counterparts established nearby. Robinia wasn't an option but having read up about on here, I think I'll look into it. Planning on planting the alder at 6' spacings but with a few other species mixed in on the wetter parts. The shrubs and thorns will go along the boundaries or fill gaps in existing hedgerows and I'll dot the odd standard here and there at 3m spacings or thereabouts for the grandchildren to worry about! They recommend spraying with glyphosate but I didn't want to, partly because of the cost but partly because all the water that runs off our land goes directly into a neighbour's lake. I've bought a load of weed matting which is going to be a pain to install but should hopefully give the trees a decent head start! Should I worry about brambles encroaching or will they help to protect the trees (in addition to the tubes/spirals)? I'm sort of dreading it as I know it will look pretty awful for a few years and it's an expensive way of providing firewood but more woodland has got to be a good thing and I'm very jealous of another neighbour's woodland next door.