Clearing the market garden field fence-line.

Today we have finished one of our biggest winter jobs, clearing the fence-line of the market garden field, having begun back in October. By the end of the year the edges of the field are a mass of brambles, nettles, ivy, tall grasses, and alexanders, swamping the three lines of young willows we've planted over the past two winters, and the rabbit fence too. Our rabbit fence doesn't keep them out anyway, but brambles growing up and over it acting as rabbit-ladders just help them on their way. Having spent weeks hacking our way around the 400m of fence and willow, we can now access the fence to repair and strengthen it, and have given the willows a helping hand in their struggle to establish. We also have better access to the compost demonstration site and cattle trough. Our next job is to coppice the willows and plant their whips in the next field up, to start growing a wind-break further up the farm.

Janet and Simon clearing around willows and rabbit fence.