Dry Hedges – The Eco-friendly Alternative to a Bonfire
James Benn
Do you love garden bonfires or loathe them? Or fear them, as asthma sufferers do? Even a life-long pyromaniac now feels guilty about the traditional end-of-season method of dealing with those woody cuttings that are too bulky to compost, knowing the nuisance caused by the smoke and the contribution to the climate crisis.
And why burn when there is an excellent alternative use for those prunings? Dry Hedging (also called Dead Hedging) has been around for millennia, but now coming back to attention as a brilliant way of both capturing carbon and helping wildlife.
Dry hedges are branches and twigs woven to form a barrier. As it rots down, the nutrients are recycled back into the earth below, and carbon captured rather than released into the atmosphere when burnt.
They are made simply by weaving woody cuttings from shrubs and trees between vertical stakes. The stakes are usually sturdier branches cut from trees / shrubs making the dead hedge. It’s a good idea to create the hedge very near to where your cuttings are taken so you can top up the shrinking prunings each year.
These hedges are free, robust, easy to make and provide privacy, windbreak, and structure to a garden. They provide a natural habitat for birds, insects, reptiles, mammals and amphibians.
You can get more information from a host of excellent articles and videos on the Web. Here are some tasters:
Resources
https://rainwaterrunoff.com/permaculture-the-dry-hedge-also-called-dead-hedge-or-benjes-hedge/
https://www.rhs.org.uk/wildlife/dead-wood-compost-heap-habitats
https://cropforlife.com/dead-hedge/
James Benn
Do you love garden bonfires or loathe them? Or fear them, as asthma sufferers do? Even a life-long pyromaniac now feels guilty about the traditional end-of-season method of dealing with those woody cuttings that are too bulky to compost, knowing the nuisance caused by the smoke and the contribution to the climate crisis.
And why burn when there is an excellent alternative use for those prunings? Dry Hedging (also called Dead Hedging) has been around for millennia, but now coming back to attention as a brilliant way of both capturing carbon and helping wildlife.
Dry hedges are branches and twigs woven to form a barrier. As it rots down, the nutrients are recycled back into the earth below, and carbon captured rather than released into the atmosphere when burnt.
They are made simply by weaving woody cuttings from shrubs and trees between vertical stakes. The stakes are usually sturdier branches cut from trees / shrubs making the dead hedge. It’s a good idea to create the hedge very near to where your cuttings are taken so you can top up the shrinking prunings each year.
These hedges are free, robust, easy to make and provide privacy, windbreak, and structure to a garden. They provide a natural habitat for birds, insects, reptiles, mammals and amphibians.
You can get more information from a host of excellent articles and videos on the Web. Here are some tasters:
Resources
https://rainwaterrunoff.com/permaculture-the-dry-hedge-also-called-dead-hedge-or-benjes-hedge/
https://www.rhs.org.uk/wildlife/dead-wood-compost-heap-habitats
https://cropforlife.com/dead-hedge/