Birch Found!

My first Secure Source of Birch was discovered today on the Bimbley back Road, back from Bid'e.

I took the country road back home from Bideford (Biddie-f'd), as suggested and found many trees, but most importantly; a large seemingly endless supply of Birch and Willow.

This road had been completely unknown to me, until today.  Instead twisting around high up, coastal moorland, like the main road (A39) dose, this one climbs gently up a little valley.  It must be very old, and yet it neatly by-passes each village en route.

Along this roads lower stages, which were tidal, for quite a way along the beginning of this road; I found masses of Spindle, growing from suckers, at the side of the road, and in many place.  I quickly gathered some and bungeed them to the back of the bike, along with a few monster Hazels and two varieties of Dog Rose.  

I didn't have any tools with me, such as my spade, as I wasn't expecting to be collecting trees, but the soft peaty-clay soil here meant they lifted easily from the ground, with little damage to the roots.

A few other little stops like this; brought me Elder and lots more Hazels, but no main sequence (big) trees of any kind useful.  Much of the road was comprised of beautiful and seemingly ancient Oak and Birch woods, but parking was a real problem.  I am going to have to study a map and come back here again.

As the little road climbs out of it's little valley; it passes through a few mature conifer plantations, around a reservoir and up to the edge of the plateau.  I parked the bike in this little car park and just had a look down the little foot path.

The path was raised up on a verge, running through Larch plantations.  The verge its self was smothered by countless Willow and Birch infant trees.  They had clearly been repeatedly cut back and were not wanted in their current location and would not be allowed to grow there.  So that meant, to me; that it was OK to relocate them.

This site was a very good find.  Now what I really need to quickly find are similar supplies of Oak and Alder.

Back at the Planting Site

Draining bits of this swamp is quite hard work and diverting water and slippery clay can lead to me becoming very dirty.  I want there to be habitats suitable for as many native trees as possible, to create colonies of these trees on this plateau of bland undulating farm land, where so many of our large native trees are strangely scarce or absent.

I am digging a main drainage channel, through the top end of the marsh, leading into a twisty pond-ditchy thing and then beyond, the beautiful flooded wetland, which I am hoping the land owner will want me to leave untouched, but for the odd clumps of swamp trees, around it's margins.

I want my ditches to suck out all the access water, from most areas in the upper section and next to the Horsey field, as this will be the area most likely visited by people.  Some of the land is raised up with the soil, clay and turf; removed with the construction of this aqua-infrastructure.  These bits will be dryer still and will hopefully accommodate Oaks and Hawthorns.

Many fenced off Gorsey ditches exist around this site and will give me much space to establish many trees.  having landowner permission is a new experience as well.  That is why I am able to actually do a bit of landscaping as well and this in turn gives me the opportunity to learn about the soil structure here and how this soil works.  For example; if I dug a hole in a swamp on Dartmoor it would fill up pretty quickly with water.  here it can take two days.  The particles in the clay are minute and heavily compacted.  Most water here flows over the top of the soil and gives this land it's unique slippery squelchy quality.

There is not much time left to collect trees this year, so I must make haste with this and any elated projects.  I am optomisti however, since I have just agreed to buy a car from a mate and very very soon; I will have a Car