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Title: In pictures: how to lay hedges for GLAS
Laying is one option that farmers have to rejuvenate their current hedge. William Conlon talks to Catherine Keena from Teagasc about best practices for laying hedges
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Laying is one option that farmers have to rejuvenate their current hedge. William Conlon talks to Catherine Keena from Teagasc about best practices for laying hedges
Lay the hedge up the slopeLaying hedges can be quite a difficult skill to master. Eoin Donnelly from the Hedge Laying Association of Ireland describes the best practice when laying a hedge.
Lay the hedge up the slope
Laying hedges can be quite a difficult skill to master. Eoin Donnelly from the Hedge Laying Association of Ireland describes the best practice when laying a hedge.
“The first thing that farmers should be aware of is that if the hedge is on a slope, to always lay the hedge up the slope. Ensure to make the cut on the downward side of the hedge as this maintains a good angle in the hedge. It is also vital to keep the cuts very low to the ground.”
One of the most important aspects for farmers to be aware of is that, unlike coppicing, laying cannot be carried out with the use of heavy machinery.
Lay slightly off the line
Eoin recommends that the hedge should be laid slightly back off the line of the cut, to allow sunlight to get in. If you have stems that don’t want to bend into the line of the hedge, you can make small cuts and bend them back into line.
These cuts will also allow new shoots to develop which will ultimately lead to a thicker hedge developing.
If you have ivy on the stems, even though it is a lot of work, you need to get that ivy off to prevent it shading out the other stems, according to Eoin.
Hand tools
“The main mistakes that farmers make is using a machine. You have got to make the cuts (with tools) and you have got to make them low,” said Eoin.
“If you start pushing over root plates with a machine and breaking stems then you will kill the hedge. It has got to be clean cuts. Hedges are tough things and they will survive – it’s patience and practice really to get the technique right.”
A small chainsaw is recommended as it will offer better manoeuvrability.
Tools that Eoin recommends to lay a hedge include a small axe, a small chainsaw, and a billhook. The first step is to remove the undergrowth with the billhook.
Next you will have to remove some material from the hedge. This could be up to 60% of the hedge, according to Eoin.
“An enormous amount of material has to come out of a hedge. We’re not taking any stems out of the hedge because we need all of these but we are thinning it all out and taking off side branches for example.”
Make the cut
If the tree in the hedge is not too thick it may be possible to use only the axe to lay it.
However if it is too thick then it is advised to make the cut with the chainsaw and use the axe to finish it off. A handsaw can also be used.
The cut is made almost 80% through the tree.
The tree cannot be completely cut. “The cut is made almost 80% through the trunk, a little bit more than three quarters of the way through.
You have the bark, the sap wood, the heartwood, you have to go through all of this on one side and then through to the sapwood on the other side.
Ensure to make the cut long, don’t make a short cut. This gives you a good strong flexible hinge to work with,” Eoin said.
Secure the hedge
Because the hedge is only being held by a hinge, if it is on a windy site the hedge can be rocked about and can become weak.
A pin, such as a branch of a tree, which is cut from the hedge and has a turn on it, can be used to hold the hedge down. The pin is hit down into the hedge with the trees getting caught in the crook of the pin.
Another option is to weave the tops of the hedge to hold it all together.
“The biggest mistake that farmers make when laying a hedge is using a machine, you have got to make the cuts (with tools) and you have got to make them low,” Eoin said.
Catherine Keena, Teagasc countryside management specialist highlighted the requirement to leave individual mature trees within the hedgerow as well as leaving younger trees. “These provide flowers for bees, haws and perching posts for birds.”
One of the most important things when you lay a hedge is protection. You need to have a fence either side of the hedge.
The hedge is a stock-proof barrier but you have to protect it for a few years to let the shoots come up and let it grow.
Adviser comment
Catherine stresses that diggers or excavators are not allowed when laying hedges to push over hedges and DAFM inspectors are checking that hedgerows have been cut with hand tools or chainsaw before laying over by hand.
GLAS specifications
Infilling must be carried out if gaps are present in the hedgerow that will not be filled by re-growth from the laid hedgerow.
Grass and other competing vegetation must be controlled in the hedge.
The location and length of the hedge must be identified on the GLAS maps.
Deadlines: GLAS I 28 February 2017, GLAS II 30 November 2017, GLAS III 30 November 2018.
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