GrasstoMilk wrote: » You'll be waiting for a scheme like that imo They all say they care about the hedges abd the trees but no one can tell us what value they have to the environment or what carbon they sequester It's a joke
memorystick wrote: » Slightly off track but is there more dead ash this year than last year? I’ve a few with no leaves at top and saw a good few bare ones across the nation this week
893bet wrote: » I mean this in the nicest way but suspect I may come across as dick. If you father is retired and you are “looking after things” then wasting time and money going in there with track machines cutting the hedges ain’t looking after much IMO. It strikes me you are doing it as it looks like it might need doing as you see nicely cut hedges around the place. It’s not really going to increase the rent or anything is it? Is the tenant complaining? If there are big trees leave them. If one falls on the wire the tenant will soon get it off it and clear it as it will be in his way and his cattle may escape. Also he may have the land entered into a scheme (e.g Reap) which means the hedges need to be allowed grow “wilder” so that he gets his payment. Cliffs. Look after something else!
lukin wrote: » That's not the reason I want to do it. You can't just leave trees grow and grow, eventually they get so heavy at the top they keel over, landing on the fence wire and then the cattle break out . I am surprised to see people here saying "Ah sure let them grow away, what harm are they doing". It strikes me as a typical Irish "yerra it'll be grand" attitude.
Dinzee Conlee wrote: » If you cut the ivy from them, they shouldn’t keel over for a long long time. And if they do, it would most likely be in a storm, which would most likely be in winter, when most likely the cattle would be in... I don’t think it’s the sheep, it’ll be grand’ attitude... (although maybe it is a little with me too) But maybe as well you need to see trees as a resource, for shade and shelter for animals. They don’t need to be trimmed back all the time...
jaymla627 wrote: » Very few ash trees locally not riddled with dieback, even trees with leaves have it here when you cut them up
wrangler wrote: » there's plenty of trees around without letting mine get in a mess.
delldelivery wrote: » I believe you'll find theres not "plenty of trees around".
lukin wrote: » I need to cut them because eventually they will fall over on the fence wire. The photo attached is from last November. That one has got bigger since. You can see what I mean about the field getting too wet for machinery to travel on. I need someone with a kind of tree shearing machine. I am not well-versed in farming practices so this is all new to me. Btw I am as environmentally aware as anyone, I certainly don't want to disturb birds nests.
lukin wrote: » My father has his land leased, he is retired with a good few years. I look after things for him now and I have a bit of a problem. The hedges around some of the fields were never trimmed back and now they have grown so much that they are more like trees than hedges. I walked a few of the fields there this evening and I was shocked how large they have become. In one place a tree in the ditch had fallen and I had to cut it and remove it. I can see a few more that will keel over soon. The electric fencing wire is not being interfered with by the trees because last summer I cut the branches of the hedge that were growing at that level. But the ones overhead are the problem now, I would get them cut by someone during the summer except I can't because the person we have the land leased to has cattle on it. He moves them around from field to field. He also cuts silage from some of the fields. I could ask him could he not graze the fields that have the overgrown ditches but I don't really want to do that as I don't want to make waves. The only alternative is to get those trees cut in the winter time when the leasee has the cattle taken off the land but the fields in question would be wet and machinery could not travel on them. They would actually be hard enough to walk on in some places. It's not boggy land but every field get wet after torrential rain. Another issue is that the trees that are cut down will have to be moved somewhere and believe me there will be a lot of stuff to move. Whoever does it would need a tractor and a large trailer. All the cutting and transporting of what has been cut would take ages. As regards the cutting of the trees themselves it is a job for a chainsaw and ladder (possibly even a platform hoist). I am kind of worried about it, it's a massive job and would take ages to do. Financially I can afford it but it's the timing is the problem. Has anyone here had this problem before? I suppose you all have your hedges trimmed back every year so you don't have this issue.
Chisler2 wrote: » Your concern is that the trees will fall. Without viewing your hedgerow there is no way I can know if your fears are realistic. If you "garland off" the ivy from an easy-to-reach section of the trunk (just a couple of feet will suffice) the ivy above the cut dies off as it is separated from its roots and nurture. Native deciduous trees in old hedgerow are very hardy and long-lived and they die slowly and with dignity. In the interim they shelter your fields and stock, drain the land (you will have an even wetter field if you take them out!!!) and provide food and habitat to bird and wildlife which help keep down pest-depredation. Our old hedges are a gift to the farmer. Unfortunately we are losing them fast.
lukin wrote: » It's not a matter of aesthetics that I want them cut. Trees/branches that are drooping like that will eventually fall over. I'd prefer that not to happen, it could be like that for weeks and I wouldn't know about it. They are trimmed at the bottom because that is where the fence wire is and I cut the branches there. The mulcher seems to be the way to go. Although some of the branches are fairly thick, I hope that machine will be able to mulch them. I'd really need to get whoever is doing it to come and take a look first I thought the level of growth was fairly bad in that pic I posted but there are worse ones on that particular hedge. A few who replies didn't think it was that bad. I'd hate to see their hedges so.
893bet wrote: » You came looking for advice and don’t like the majority it off it and now are all all indignant.
tellmeabit wrote: » Would ye have knocked these..
paddysdream wrote: » Would have to disagree with what seems to be the majority consensus on here and say that I would be of the opinion that the portion of hedge in your photo really needs trimming back . Suppose it depends on where you are coming from but having reclaimed a goodly portion of the land here over the years hate to see it getting overgrown . Overhanging branches in that photo would entail keeping a tractor 15/20ft away from the hedge .
