Whips arriving

Mulch delivered last night and the whips arrive tomorrow.

Dire warnings from the farmer and designer. Under no circumstances leave the roots exposed overnight.

Instructions

The material should be planted in groups of 5 or 6 of the same species, the groups mixed randomly (use dice?). With the exception of the roses which should be mixed in singularly, but again I suggest in patches - pick the sunnier spots.

Plant 6 plants to the metre, in a staggered double row. The rows should be 25cm apart and the plants about 45cm apart in each row. There are 525 plants available so tighten for loosen the spacing to suit as the work progresses.

Plant in one of two ways:

(i) Cultivated strip planting
In a cultivated strip, approximately 60cm wide by 25cm deep. This ensures that
the roots of each plant are placed into the optimum cultivated conditions for good root development. A rotavator it would be ideal.

(ii) Slit planting
By cutting a slit in the ground and holding it open with a spade whilst the roots of the plant are carefully inserted and spread downwards.

A big tub of Blood, Fish and Bone or Growmore would be useful to sprinkle in as the planting progresses.

Mulch with waste hops once the hedge is laid.

Laying a 1,000 year old hedge

Ingredients:
25 x Cornus sanguinea 30/40cm
200 x Crataegus monogyna 30/40cm
25 x Euonymus europaeus 30/40cm
25 x Fagus sylvatica 30/40cm
25 x Malus sylvestris 30/40cm
50 x Prunus spinosa 30/40cm
25 x Rosa canina 60/80cm
25 x Rosa arvensis 40/60cm
25 x Salix caprea 60/80cm
25 x Sorbus aria 40/60cm
25 x Viburnum lantana 30/40cm
25 x Viburnum opulus 40/60cm
25 x Blackthorn

Rhamnus cathartica to be added 2010.

chalk (chôk)n.

1. A soft compact calcite, CaCO₃, with varying amounts of silica, quartz, feldspar, or other mineral impurities, generally gray-white or yellow-white and derived chiefly from fossil seashells.

This site is records a work in progress. Two years ago we moved into a new home created on a brown field site in the village of Newnham, Kent.