Pit Wood History part 111

 Pit Wood History Part 3.

The only planting at Pit Wood during  the planting season 2011/12 was the replacement of some trees that had failed in the triangular wood with seedlings of native trees from the woods and the garden, Ash, Sycamore, Birch and Oak.

The 2012/13 season saw the planting of the rectangular field the other side of the Alder shelter belt and ditch that separate the Triangular and Rectangular fields. The original plan was to have two rows of conifers on the East edge then rows of Robinia, Sweet chestnut  and Ash repeated across the field before a row of Alder and Aspen next to the shelter belt were the field approached the ditch. All the main tree species coppice and a sort of short rotation forestry for biomass, wood fuel, was the  aim. The possibility of growing the trees to timber size remained an option, as all are potential timber trees.

July 2012 A hay crop was taken off the field and lines were sprayed before planting began. There are canes marking where the weedkiller was applied.

Plans were thrown into disarray by the arrival of Chalara and a moratorium on the planting of ash. The small area that was to become the Tulip Wood had large Red Oak and Sycamore. It was decided  to plant these to species instead of Ash as alternate rows. The Sycamores could come as transplanted regen and off set the cost of the Red Oaks. 

Two rows of conifers were planted on the open East side of the field. The outside one of Scots Pine the other of Norway Spruce. These were planted with the intention of leaving them as a shelter belt for when coppicing started. 

The Planted field July 2013. The two near rows are the conifers in black plastic mesh guards. The other trees are in spirals. 

There was a further complication. I went down on Christmas Eve 2012 after planting had started and noticed that the water in the ditch was flowing the wrong way. On Boxing day the triangular field was under a couple of feet of water. The triangular field was under at least a foot of water, and some must have been under much more at some time. The ditch side of the rectangular field was flooded. The log foot bridge between the two fields had floated away. Logs which had been stacked in the top corner of the rectangular field were scattered in a ring across the field. A decision was made to increase the area planted with Aspen and Alder. The centre of the Triangular field remained sodden for several weeks. Some of the Eucalypts and Robinia were moved from there into the Rectangular field and were later replaced.