Productive windbreak

[Andrew PearmanMember]

I am growing on quite an exposed site and the beds would benefit from a bit of shelter from the wind. I would like to use living and productive windbreaks if possible, and would prefer plants whose roots will not spread into neighbouring beds.
I trialled overwintered rye this season. It was good as a windbreak, but harboured slugs and also was impossible to weed!
Any ideas would be welcome.
Thanks

Andy

[charlesModerator]

 Hi Andy, interesting about rye, I agree about slugs!
If you want a winter windbreak you need something shrubby but root systems then spread into the growing space. One exception is Jerusalem artichoke whose stalks stand all winter. They do feed a fair way and suck out a lot of mositure but are productive, if you can eat them! (wind of the other kind). If your plot is large enough to sacrifice a strip, they could help, plant anytime before April.

[Andrew PearmanMember]

Thanks for that suggestion Charles. Jerusalem artichokes sound ideal and it seems that they would provide shelter almost year round. I am selling veg so they could be a good extra winter crop as well.

Andy

[Rocket ScienceMember]

Hi Andrew, I did try the artichoke windbreak on previous garden which was very exposed. The very nature of artichokes mean they can reach 3m in height. Without very good support they will be blown over or snapped in half as happened to mine. Harvest in winter and your windbreak is gone just in time for feb and march winds battering new sowings and plantings. Grow mine now in a small corner aginst a high fence and they still get damaged! Its not the most attractive option but i would consider some decent stock posts with wind break netting instead, which would be permanent. You could espallier train apples against it.

[Andrew PearmanMember]

Thanks for that Rocket scientist, more to think about.

[Andrew PearmanMember]

Just thought I’d update on my windbreak.
I decided to go for some willow, planted last winter. I used a mix of varieties ordered from Mammoth Willow (their biomass mix, as 1ft cuttings). It has lived up to its billing on their website, most trees 8-10 ft by the end of their first season, and lots of sideshoots. It looks like it will be effective during summer and autumn, although will need some regular coppicing! I’ve also managed to extend windbreak this winter with some prunings.

[ashleighParticipant]

Great. We have just taken on a site which has a windbreak of 6-8ish year old biomass willow. It’s pretty effective now in winter keeping the worst of the gales off. We might try and top some of the trees to bring in more light. We have taken thousands of cuttings to create a similar windbreak at our other site.

I did wish that some of it was basket willow as we may have been able to sell that, whereas biomass willow is so brittle it can’t be woven at all. But some of the bigger trunks should make decent firewood for us(as biomass willow is of course bred for burning; whereas other willows burn too quickly). And we could potentially sell the cuttings to people who want to plant hedges, once we’re confident that they will sprout.

If you want a more varied hedge you could plant other hedge trees in the lee of the willow. We bought a fruiting hedge mix from Scotplants Direct and added to it with unwanted saplings from friends’ gardens and home grown fruit seedlings grown from pips.

[bluebellParticipant]

If you cant root willow you will not root anything! The brittle willow is like that because it is designed to self propagate by having bits break off.
An alternative that may have a market would be dog wood. The coloured stems make very beautiful baskets.

Also traditional hedgerow will help support biodiversity and provide hips, crab apples, haws etc for jellies and wines. So long as you steer clear of black thorn which can be rather invasive.

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