Hedges are one of the most important features in our landscape. When healthy and thriving – burst with food resource, offer shelter and protection and are a crucial part of our history and heritage. 

We at Wensum Farmers are making a commitment to rejuvenate sections of hedges in desperate need of new base growth. With two favourite techniques: conservation laying (by hand) and mechanical laying (with the help of a digger) we have been working through the driving February rain across three Wensum Farmer sites. 

Hedleys – our expert hedge layer cuts each hedge stem with a long downward slice and then its guided over to lay down. Stakes knocked into the ground support the freshly laid brash and young tree species are pruned and tided as he works. 

Mechanical laying is similar to conservation, the chainsaw makes the stem cut but the 5 tonne digger does the heavy work of guiding the brash over. 

Everyone has an opinion on ‘what a hedge should look like’ or ‘what makes a A* hedge’ meaning hedges are the perfect platform for a group meeting. At our group event last week, no amount of rain could stop us talking hedge laying! And brilliantly, there was enthusiasm for both techniques (mechanical and conservation laying). A majority vote show of hands at the end of the meeting proved that more farmers want to do more to rejuvenate our Wensum hedges.