Until a few decades ago, our landscape was full of hedgerows that divided cultivated fields. They were often a dividing line between one property and another, but that’s not all: the hedge has many ecological functions that contribute to the success of our harvests.
The use of hedges around the orchard or the cultivated field is a practice that has fallen into disuse, on the one hand to facilitate the action of mechanical means, on the other hand to control the fauna and microfauna of our field. However, those who want to do organic farming should know that these are not the real benefits.
The biodiversity of the growing environment is very important to create a healthy and stable ecosystem, less prone to disease and pest infestation, the hedge is very important in this regard.
Normally, a good hedge is made up of shrubby or arboreal-arboreal species that have the characteristic of being “rustic” plants, that is, resistant to very hot or very low temperatures and able to withstand cuts well. . Evergreen plants are preferred, but can also be deciduous.
Covering the entire perimeter of a field with a hedge can be a considerable cost, especially if one intends to transplant already large shrubs purchased from the nursery. As we will see, the natural hedge is an alternative that reduces costs and work.
Contents
Improvement of a garden hedge
As already mentioned, the hedge has an important ecological function by allowing the biodiversity of the environment, but it also has other important merits, it is not a simple delimitation or a fence.
- Windbreak action and improvement of the microclimate . Thanks to the branches of the bushes, the mechanical action of the wind is limited, a little shade is created for the plants adjacent to the hedge, and if we arrange the plants in the right way, this can help. Obviously, the smaller the cultivated area, the more influential the presence of the hedge will be.
- Protection against external agents . In some situations, the hedge can intercept pollutants moving in the wind.
- erosion protection (especially for sloping ground). The roots of the bushes have a great capacity to stabilize the soil, especially at the bottom of the slope, they will have an effective action against erosion.
- biodiversity reserve . How many times have we said that diversity is a great resource for our cultures and guarantees the stability of the system. In this, the hedge is an extremely positive factor: it is an environment that is home to many living beings of all kinds: useful insects, spiders, but also reptiles and birds that nest there. It can also attract pollinators with its flowers.
- Production . We can also think of a hedge that also has a production capacity and can bear fruit. For example, brambles that produce blackberries, elderberries, currants, blueberries, hazelnuts. Or we can think of aromatic hedges, as in the case of bay leaf, rosemary and lavender.
Make a natural hedge
Making a hedge by buying plants from a nursery can be expensive, but you can also get all the benefits of a hedge for free simply by letting nature take its course and establishing a natural hedge. Natural hedges are made up of plants that have grown spontaneously in that particular place. Just be careful not to cut the perimeter of our garden or cultivated field and observe the behavior of the vegetation.
The first step will be tall grass . Species already present will begin to grow throughout the season, especially grasses. If grasses are present too persistently, they can smell the surface and smother other plants. In this case, when it is fall, we could rake the perimeter of the tall grass to remove the dry grass.