When we moved here I always planned to plant up woodland, I picked the top field now called Kara's field as that is she was laid to rest. The top field is very open and the wind gusts down it, planting trees will help create a natural wind break, filtering the wind and giving some protection also with fast growing trees we will be able to coppice and use the wood as fuel.
Kev from An English Homestead put me on to a company that supplies Willow, first I planted a Willow hedge, The hedge is coming on well
about 3ft tall it was planted through membrane with a good layer of Alpaca manure
The willow that's growing for coppicing is not doing so well
its about half the size of hedging willow
the problem with the coppicing willow is it hasn't been kept weed free
yesterday was spent clearing the weeds around the young trees and this week I will give them a good mulch of Alpaca manure hopefully that will give them a boost
The Sugar Maple trees are doing well
My little Giant Redwoods that I grew from seed are also coming on fine
A Sycamore I grew from seed
An Oak tree I grew from seed
This is a self set oak tree I found in the field I cleared the grass from around it
Here is another they are only a few inches tall
This is a field Maple I bought at Wilko reduced in the background is Kara's grave
A Rowan tree also bought reduced.
The little woodland is coming on and this Autumn I will be planting a lot more trees.
Last Friday I had the pleasure of going to Bovey Belle's, Pam came along to, we had a lovely morning chatting and exploring Bovey's house and garden.
I made an effort and baked some muffins with the wild strawberries and blueberries I had picked
Bovey showed me a really interesting book and when I got home I was straight on to Amazon and ordered it
The one I got was the latest edition it is such an interesting book with lots in it that I haven't come across in other books.
It was really nice to meet up with them both and have a proper chinwag and I hope we can all meet up again soon. :-)
In answer to my previous post on Aquaponics Dani asked what I used as a bedding material, I have used clay pebbles I had some left over from my last play with Aquaponics, you can use gravel just give it a good wash, lettuce will do well they like the wet conditions.
Any future questions on posts I will answer on my following post its easier than going back through posts for me, I do read all comments and appreciate them :-)
Any future questions on posts I will answer on my following post its easier than going back through posts for me, I do read all comments and appreciate them :-)
I think we should have an annual meeting of bloggers held in different parts if the country. I would love to meet fellow bloggers.
ReplyDeleteI love growing trees from self sown seedlings, all have done well except the oaks which didn't like being put in pots to grow before being planted out. There are 4 walnut seedlings in various places that I want to pot up and try and keep them to take with us if or when we move although that won't work if we are having a gap year in a caravan!
ReplyDeleteI can add to your little forest if you like Dawn, as we have some foot high Oak trees we grew from acorns. We have planted a few about the place, but still have some leftovers.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the book - I don't think there was a single thing that she left out!
Your scrummy cakes soon went down the hatch and I must go out and forage for the berries to make another batch.
I have been able to get out in the garden over the weekend, and have been hard at work clearing the Undergrowth and Overgrowth! and potting on Cucumbers and Tomatoes which have been sulking in too-small pots for far too long. If only Keith was a gardener . . . However, the Eco-Nettles (!) are still growing out of the pond edge . . .
I would love you to add to my little woodland :-)
DeleteMy willow is the same, not much growth, even on the stuff I put through weed mating, but then I've not weeded them at all (a running theme at my place) or watered them. The stuff I put in last year is doing much better now and is ahead of the grass. In fact that might be tomorrows update now I think of it!
ReplyDeleteThink of those oaks in a few hundred years, a pretty good legacy.
ReplyDeleteYou've done so well in tree seedlings and reduced bargain buys, that must have saved so much money. How lovely to have enough land to be able to plant your own trees, and you'll have the satisfaction of seeing them grow.
ReplyDeleteI have a self seeded oak in the front garden, lord knows where it came from but it's exciting to see it grow. That's such a lovely thing to do, grow your own woodland x
ReplyDeleteI do so like reading about your progress. Such a busy life you lead. We have huge oak trees all around us and some young ones too. We have watched the small ones grow into quite big ones in the ten years we have been here. This year especially, with all the rain, they have had a growth spurt. We tried to increase the evergreen population and planted hundreds of seedlings but not many survived, the deer like to eat them when they are young and if they do grow then they use them to rub their antlers on. We do have a large stand of huge pine trees at the front of our property though so there mustn't have been the deer population when they were planted. Good luck with all your trees.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh - would love to plant a woodland here, but with our water scarcity I daren't.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the pebbles - mebbe I'll have a go with hydroponically growing lettuce this year... :)
There's something special about planting trees isn't there, especially ones grown from seed. Knowing they will be here for generations after us and will just get more and more beautiful is just inspiring.
ReplyDelete