Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Hedgerow

What is a hedgerow, anyway? Hedgerows differ from typical hedges; they include a variety of plants, rather than a single species that is usually pruned into an unnatural shape. Although you might not see them on farms in your area, they have been used by farmers in Europe for 5,000 years (according to a quick Google search). Hedgerows can act as fences and windbreaks, provide wildlife habitat, attract beneficial insects, prevent erosion, reduce noise, help hold water, and provide edibles such as berries or nuts. Wow, we should plant one, right?

We're hoping ours will also be an effective deer deterrant, most likely aided at first by a hot wire.

The area we are preparing for a hedgerow is about 80 feet long and 8 feet wide. For two rows of plants, placed 2-3 feet apart, we will need at least 50 plants. Plus we'll fill in with some smaller herb-type plants to make a third row. That's a lot of plants! What kind? Fortunately, we have all winter to figure that out.

The hedgerow area now has a layer of topsoil on top of the compost. Some people might say that seems backwards. It might be; we make no claim to knowing what we're doing.


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Location:N 5th Ave,Sequim,United States

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