Selfsufficientish.com

Hi,

Please can I pick brains?

I have spent the weekend digging a trench for my lovely edible native hedge, which should be arriving any day now yay!

It is to go around our perimeter, one edge of which borders a field used for agricultural purposes, which I don't doubt includes spraying of noxious herbicides from time to time. There is a cereal crop in there now.

I don't want my poor hedge being clobbered, especially when it is juvenile and may not stand it - or would it ever stand it?

Do you think a windbreak screen (planning to use anyway as it will prevent the saplings being blasted by the prevailing wind) of about 4 foot behind the hedge line attached to the fence would provide enough of a barrier against the herbicide?

It's a bit of a risk. There are one or two hornbeams surviving on the hedge line.

It really depends on what herbicides are being used. A few are volatile and subject to vapour drift rather than droplet drift so a physical barrier is less effective (thankfully these are being phased out for just this reason). Physical barriers help reduce droplet contact but can't be relied on to eliminate it. Drift can be managed by a competent operator combining correct weather conditions, equipment producing larger droplets (nozzle size and pressure) and use of carriers such as vegetable oils (heavier droplets & less evaporation) Drift management is a requirement in most "western" countries.

Suggest, if possible you also talk to the owner and see of something can be worked out to reduce the risk - they may not even be aware that they are likely to have an effect on you.

Thanks Weedo - I have the farmers number and will give him a call (have to anyway to discuss taking down a tree) but apparently he is not very amenable to the general public. Case in point - he has ploughed right up to our fence line and there is no buffer zone - he also cut the hedges just as they were laiden with berries for the birds, the fecker.

Hopefully he is a big nozzle man - will try to find out.

There's legislation about how close they can come to borders - I don't know how well enforced it is though.

I think if he gets arsey you may need to get the EA involved. Unfortunately that won't do relations with the farmer any good but it might score a few brownie points with the neighbours who may also be suffering from his actions.
Might be worth asking around - group action might be more effective if he's upsetting lots of folk.

I work in these situations a lot - even on a regional scale. I will say that I have rarely found people that are not amendable to working together once they come to understand each others position, limitations etc. and remove misconceptions and presumptions (eg that each is the others enemy).