Day: 4 March 2019

We are facilitating village and town communities to grow, maintain and use their own materials; and in the process learn the relevant essential skills. We are beginning with setting up a community willow bed in Bishopston, Gower.

Weaving  has been with us from the beginning, early stone age man had already mastered weaving plant fibres to make nets , cloth and carrying baskets. Need is the mother of invention and the technology continued to evolve into fish traps, animal traps, armour, hats, bee hives,, hurdles and wattle and daub for shelter. The list goes on. Materials used are diverse and depends on the regional plants growing local to the maker. In the UK soft materials such as Rush are used as well as harder materials such as willows (the Salix family). The techniques have evolved over centuries to make  containers which are biodegradable . In manufacture or disposal no harmful bi products remain in the environment. This is the hallmark of a sustainable fibre, modern materials have their uses but also their cost.

We need to re-invent the use of biodegradable containers and  re-invigorate the craft industry which sustains it.

Think Global, Start local

The professional and country style basket making tradition existed together. In the rural districts most farm heads had their own withy bed; a patch of basketry willow which was cut every year for use on the farm. The farm workers would spend a window of time in the calendar year to make the baskets needed for the coming year. The skills were passed on between workers as and when necessary. You do not need to be a professional basket maker to make baskets for yourself and your local community. With basic skills, useful baskets can be made, used and sold. This is about utility not perfection.

The willow craft community is an attempt to build this tradition back up and base it in a wider community like a village or small town. First we need to learn to grow the materials, and secondly community members need to learn a basic set of skills and baskets which can be learnt and passed on. Baskets which are relevant and useful to our lives today and those which help to change the way we live our everyday lives. Changes we need to make so that we can live with nature and not against it.

Let’s bring back our local indigenous baskets! Baskets used in food growing, serving food and transporting food.

An example of a planting on Mansel Green.

There is a lot of Bracken and some Bramble in the area of Mansel Green; where we need to plant the trees and convert it to parkland. It is intended to mow the space between the trees with scythes which over time will get rid of both Bracken and Bramble until the shade from the trees suppresses what is left. The grasses should then form the ground cover making a park with trees and grazing.

There are 450 trees to be planted. The core of the park will be Oak and Beech with a block of Hornbeam for pollarding on the North side.

The first thing to do is to remove any Brambles if there are any; including the root ball in the ground for at least 1 metre around the place where the tree is to be planted. This can be done with a Mattock or Spade to loosen the root which can then be pulled up. The whole Bramble can be dragged away and folded up ready for burning. If the Bramble has to be cut off first, leave a stem long enough to give a handle. Care must be taken to avoid the thorns, suitable gloves are required. These must cover the wrists, such as welding gloves.

 

Once the Bramble roots have been removed, we go on to remove the Bracken in an area of about 1m across. This is where the tree is to be planted and the area should be cut around with a

spade to the depth of the spade. Then using a border fork the ground should be forked over to remove the Bracken rhizome.

 

Bracken Rhizome

Now the tree can be fetched and planted. Get the soil ready first and dig out a spade full of soil to make the hole for the tree to be put into. When fetching the tree, be very careful not to damage the roots or allow them to dry out. Put the tree straight into the hole at the right height with the roots spread out and push soil around the tree until it is supported. Using both hands press the soil down firmly adding more soil as needed.

Trees planted (note here there are two oaks in the same hole, most holes only have one tree)

Wood can be added around the hole to give some material for fungal activity to work on. Then a bamboo stake and rabbit guard are put on (see main photo at top of this guide). Put the stake up wind of the tree, at Mansel Green the prevailing wind is from the South West. So put the cane South West of the tree about 6 or 7cm away taking care to avoid the roots underneath. Then cut the rabbit guard down if necessary so that some of the tree with a few buds is sticking out the top. Make one loose tie to the tree with twine and one tie to the guard.

If some mulch is available e.g. rotted Bracken it can be spread 5cm deep over the hole to suppress weeds and make removal of weeds easier.

Finally place some brash around the planting to deter grazing animals. Be careful when using Willow tops; don’t push the ends into the soil as they may take root and grow which we don’t want. The brash can be moved to one side when the area is to be mowed by scything and then returned until the tree is beyond harm from potential grazing animals.

Mulch added to keep weeds down.

 

Brash around to deter grazing