Lessons from Planting Hedgerows at Frith Farm

In continuation of our Summer Farm Tour series, we are joined today by Daniel Mays of Frith Farm in Maine to talk about how they manage their hedgrows between plots.
In this video, Daniel Mays discusses how he would suggest planting hedgerows and what lessons he's learned. We also get to see inside of his tunnels and little of what he's learned there too!
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[@satchelack]

Side note on the video: great use of drone footage. Most drone shots, you think, “Drone shot!” But here, I’m looking at tiny tractors moving mulch, assessing relative sizes of the plots, the curve of the road, the depth of the forest. And that’s just the B-roll! Wonderful episodes!

[@user-vh2ey1yl1p]

It's incredible how healthy and abundant these crops look. Fantastic farm

[@FarmerJustin83]

We need these kinds of organizations here in central Indiana. Seriously. I need more than just books and videos.

[@amakiridikoru8393]

Definitely love the concept of hedge rows. Adds a lot of beauty and diversity if done right and definitely takes out the an industrial look to farming.

[@Flowergurl2000]

Yes,hedgerows! So needed and can be weaponized to fight pests.

[@Deltasunfarm]

Amazing work to all and thanks Jesse always look forward to videos. Wonderful

[@songweaver6076]

WOW! What a GORGEOUS FARM!!! ZOMG!!!!

[@aileensmith3062]

A great continuation of a great summer series, Thank You!

[@cajunmilkcows6491]

We use hedgerows and living fences for our farm, too. We maintain paddocks and orchard grazing with living fences.

[@andrearuelke1738]

how long did it take to set up the living fences for the paddocks? Is it daily rotational grazing or just the acres' worth of pasture?

[@cajunmilkcows6491]

@@andrearuelke1738 I use smaller solar electric fences for daily paddock rotation within the larger pastures. It takes 2 years to grow a living fence.

[@threeriversforge1997]

Love hedges, but the one thing I don't see happening in America too much is the actually pleaching and weaving of the hedges like has been done in Europe for millennia. The ancient tradition of laying a hedge actually helps keep it a little more compact and rejuvenates the woody species that are in the row. Of course, you have to select for trees and shrubs that will survive the pleaching process, but it's worth it. As our European cousins show, a well-laid hedge can live for a thousand years, and they sure don't wont for critters flittering about in them!

[@divingduck9]

pleaching?? not well know over here...

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@divingduck9 It's a weird thing, for sure. Our ancestors have been laying hedges for generations, but the practice stopped quick in America for some reason. Maybe the species available just don't take well to being pleached and laid over? I really don't know. Still, it's something worth looking into because it makes the hedge healthier and more compact while also increasing its complexity as a wildlife habitat.

[@jvin248]

Keeping the hedge rows shorter/smaller is a good idea. Large hedge rows end up with the same problems that happen at the perimeter fence rows (overhead shots show a forest surrounding the property) where the trees shade out nearby garden rows plus the roots are in the garden rows competing. Talk to a corn/soybean farmer about how their yields drop off closer to the tree lines. Most of the benefits of pollinators can be achieved with bands of pollinator friendly annuals. I ran a ring of cover crops around the perimeter (in that low yield fence row band) this year and will continue that plan.

[@threeriversforge1997]

I think half the problem is that in the US folks don't "lay the hedge" like was done throughout Europe for centuries. What is often called a hedgerow is, to my mind, more accurately called a brush strip because it's literally just left to go wild and gets as little maintenance as possible. By selecting the right species, the hedge plantings can be pleached and laid over, thickening the growth up and making a wall that's impervious to even military tanks running through. You never know when you'll have to stop an armored assault, so better to prepare early. Right?!? 😁

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@Ni-dk7ni Where's the fun in that?

[@claudinedecarlisle8647]

Another informative and entertaing video. Thank you. I love seeing your cat.

[@meralkarasulu4191]

Thanks!

[@notillgrowers]

Amazing! Thank you!

[@charliefoxtrot6017]

@notillgrowers we have friend who is a flower grower. He prunes his hydrangeas with the tractor and slasher set high. So last year we used a chainsaw for our 40-50 bushes. For herbaceous perennials I use a hedge trimmer and grass rake. For hedge rows you could use an adjustable angled hedge trimmer on an extension pole to speed it up.

[@jonathanbigger4199]

Let Jane know her voice is so sweet soft sounding I really enjoy lesson on Amazon

[@pajamawilliams9847]

Another book that goes into the idea of hedgerows (and succession for hedgerows) within the garden is "the Permaculture Market Garden" by Zach Loeks. Recommended.

[@glassbackdiy3949]

Lovely film, cheers. Is 'hedge laying' a thing in the US?

[@chrisshepherd8708]

Morning Head Nerd

[@17091ira0072]

I always wondered at the cost of those greenhouse styles.

[@richardmoustache]

It's going up every day.....

[@toldt]

Would love to see info on the polycarbonate used for the tunnels and the names of the crops/companion plantings grown with tomatoes and cucumbers. Please add this in the video description!

[@richardmoustache]

Rimol now sells a "kit", so that's the no brainer option. I switched to Nolt's. While they don;t have a "kit" they have all the same materials, and some on there can walk you through how many of what you need.

[@Deltasunfarm]

Bro like how do these farms like this always look soo immaculate? Is it the thing where they just get everybody to clean before people film? Im just really curious. I could never keep it so clean. Maybe notill offers more time for these kind of things..

[@richardmoustache]

The secret is in fact, being no till.

[@user-yg1zj5dz9f]

ive been trying to get prunus spinoza cuttings.unsuccessfully so far

[@jenniferfisher1743]

Thanks for great content! Do you have any experience with the invasive jumping worms? I have discovered them in my garden(Massachusetts) and notices my beds are less productive. I wanted to try drenching the soil with a mix of dry mustard and water to bring them to the surface and then manually extract them. Do you know if the mustard mix will make the soil inhospitable to microbes/plants or kill what is already growing there?

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

Just leave them there. If they're present that just means they're more efficient at decomposing and moving organic matter. All animals and fungi principally have this function.

[@notillgrowers]

Thanks for the super thanks! We are getting some content together on jumping worms, but my understanding is that for gardens they are less of a concern than in forests. Not much you can do about them that I'm aware of other than maintaining habitat for the many things that eat and control worms. But again, more content from researchers soon!

[@manolopapas]

Hello farmer Jesse

[@yanapetiet4581]

great video! im actually thinking about hedgrows a lot at the moment, and how to maintain. our community garden in city has a huge vole problem, voles have started to live in our hedge row, but now they eat our crops. any tips to make the hedge row less attractive for todents to live in?

[@KDOGGER11]

Perhaps looking at completing the circle with predators? Rocks for snakes, a stray cat or two, and/or owl boxes.

[@yanapetiet4581]

@@KDOGGER11 yes, I've been thinking about this. Problem is a little bit that were in the middle of the city, so there is less wildlife around in that sense. I am taking my dogs to the property often m, and they are hunting but have never caught anything. One of the other members brings her cat sometimes, so I was thinking I could ask her to do that more often. But all of these things are temporary. The predators come home with us, and like I said they haven't caught yet 😅 so I was wondering what I can do plant or maintenance wise

[@threeriversforge1997]

If you're going to be there for an hour or three, you might try setting some vole traps. They aren't the kind of thing you want to leave around when you're not on site, but do work to kill the little beasties. Another thing I'd recommend is to treat the hedgerows like they have done throughout Europe for centuries. In the US, we tend to plant a line of scrub and call it a hedgerow, but in England and such, they pleach and interweave the plantings. This not only rejuvenates the older shrubs, but increases the complexity of the habitat so more and more wildlife will show up. For example, without a tall "hedge tree", you won't get big raptors that'll hunt your voles. However, if the hedgerow is pleached and thickened up at the base, you will get more snakes and other stuff that eats voles. There are a lot of great videos here on KZbin about the tradition of laying a hedge and how the hedging process creates new and different types of habitat as it ages from freshly laid to overgrown. It's a fascinating subject, really, and goes to show just how big a component hedges are to the ecosystem.

[@roo-dog3484]

Hey Farmer Jesse, Why are you always calling us nerds? 😂

[@microsoilenhancersinspirey5750]

Are you in kentucky?

[@billastell3753]

It's sad to see, where I live, farms are pulling out hedge rows and the old rock fences to make bigger fields. It is destroying the biodiversity. I would like my planet to leave room for life that isn't all about profit.

[@TheNewMediaoftheDawn]

I wonder how blueberry shrubs would do as hedgerows, win win🎉🫐🫐🫐

[@claudinedecarlisle8647]

Thanks!

[@billastell3753]

It's sad to see, where I live, farms are pulling out hedge rows and the old rock fences to make bigger fields. It is destroying the biodiversity. I would like my planet to leave room for life that isn't all about profit.