Our First Month on the Land: Light, Water and a Lot of Woodchip
We’d imagined our first month would be about herbs. It turned out to be about trees, water and a very large pile of woodchip.
Before a single herb could go in the ground, we needed to understand the land we’d taken on: where the light falls, where the water goes, and what the stream needs from us. We wrote about why the stream, woodland and willow copse matter so much to us in an earlier post. This is what happened when we started doing something about it.
Opening up nine acres of woodland
The woodland was where we started. Or rather, where we tried to start. It was so overgrown that we couldn’t even get into it.
So we brought in tree specialists to clear a way through. Watching nine acres of woodland gradually open up was magic: places we’d only ever seen from the edge were suddenly there to walk into, with light reaching the woodland floor.
Much of the work focused on the willow. Managing it back gives the broadleaf trees more light and room to grow, so the woodland can develop a richer mix of trees over the years ahead.
The team worked carefully, though. Opening up the woodland was never about clearing it. They left plenty of habitat in place for the wildlife already living there, and that balance between opening up and holding back will guide how we look after the woodland from here.
Along the stream, the answer was nearly always to leave it. Those bankside trees keep the water cool on hot days, and with summers getting hotter, that shade is worth more every year.
Where we did open things up, the woodland already feels different. There are brighter patches on the floor now, and new spaces we can plant to bring more variety into the woodland over the coming seasons.
Pollarding the willow
One of the jobs we’ve kept for ourselves is pollarding some of the willow. Cutting willow back to the trunk at head height encourages a fresh flush of growth, keeps the trees healthy and, in time, gives us a renewable supply of material for mulch. It’s slow, satisfying work, and a good way to get to know the trees one by one.
Wrestling with brambles
The other job we took on ourselves was the brambles. In the damper parts of the farm, where we’re clearing space for wildlife and pollinator-friendly planting well away from our organic beds, they’d grown into huge, tangled thickets. Clearing them meant days of wrestling with thorny stems, then digging out the roots one stubborn crown at a time, so they don’t simply grow straight back.
Everything we cut has gone into habitat piles. Stacked brambles and branches can shelter wildlife for years: hedgehogs, frogs, toads and newts use them to hibernate, wrens, robins and dunnocks nest in them, and beetles, other insects and fungi make their homes inside. Here in the damp corners of the farm, they should be especially welcome to amphibians.
The woodchip mountain
Woodland work leaves a lot of branches behind, and every bit of it stays on the farm. It all went through the chipper, and we now have a woodchip pile that’s become something of a landmark.
That pile is the beginning of our compost. Over the coming months it’ll break down into rich organic matter, then go back onto the land to feed the beds where our herbs will grow. The branches we cut in month one will, in time, become the soil our first herbs grow in.
We like that nothing leaves the farm, it just changes shape.
Digging in clay
Then came the digging. We worked with pond and swale specialists to design and create two habitat ponds, and watching a digger cut into North Devon clay quickly showed us why we’d left this one to the experts.
The ponds are for wildlife first: somewhere for frogs and newts to breed, for dragonflies and damselflies, for birds to drink and for bats to feed over on summer evenings. We’ve left the edges to develop naturally, so plants and wildlife can find them in their own time. We’ll be watching closely to see who arrives first.
Slowing the water down
The same specialists helped us plan and create swales alongside the ponds: shallow channels that follow the contour of the land, level across the slope rather than down it. Getting the levels right is everything with a swale, so their expertise mattered here.
Our clay doesn’t soak up water quickly. In heavy rain, it simply runs downhill, taking soil with it. The swales catch that water, slow it down and hold it in the land for longer, so more of it stays where it’s useful. Over the winter, we’ll see how they cope with a proper North Devon downpour, and learn where we need to adjust.
Why this came first
It might seem strange to spend the first month on a herb farm without planting a single herb. But everything we want to grow depends on getting light, water and soil right first. Month one was about laying those foundations, and listening to the land before asking anything of it.
What’s next?
Next up, planting the newly opened spaces in the woodland, starting the compost, and marking out the tree rows and raised beds for our first herbs. We’ll share it all here as it happens.
Month one in brief
Brought in tree specialists to open up nine acres of overgrown woodland, keeping habitat for wildlife and shade over the stream
Created new areas for planting to increase biodiversity
Pollarded some of our willow and cleared brambles ourselves, stacking the cuttings into habitat piles
Chipped woodland material to start a circular compost system
Created two habitat ponds
Created swales to slow and hold rainwater on our clay soil
Frequently asked questions
How much woodland is there at Five Bees Farm?
Around nine acres. Before our first month, it was so overgrown we couldn’t get into it.
Why manage a woodland rather than leave it alone?
A woodland left completely untouched can become so dense that very little light reaches the floor. Careful management opens up space for ground plants, wildflowers and young trees, creating a more varied woodland with more places for wildlife to live. In our woodland, managing the willow also gives the broadleaf trees more light to grow.
Why did you bring in specialists?
Woodland, pond and swale work all involve decisions that are hard to undo. Specialists helped us decide which trees to keep, where to let in light, and how to shape the ponds and swales to suit our land, so the work was done safely and with wildlife in mind.
How did you protect wildlife during the woodland work?
The team left plenty of habitat in place rather than clearing the woodland. Keeping that habitat was as important as opening up new space, and it will continue to shape how we manage the woodland.
When is the best time to manage woodland in the UK?
Woodland work is usually done in autumn and winter, outside the main bird nesting season, which runs from roughly March to August.
Why keep shade over the stream?
Bankside trees keep the water cool in summer. Cooler water holds more oxygen, which matters for life in the stream, and that shade becomes more important as summers get hotter.
What is willow pollarding?
Pollarding means cutting a tree back to its trunk at around head height, so it sends out a fresh crop of new shoots. It keeps willows healthy and productive, and the cut material can be reused on the farm. It differs from coppicing, where trees are cut back close to ground level.
What is a swale?
A swale is a shallow channel dug along the contour of the land. It catches rainwater running downhill, slows it down and holds it in the landscape for longer, reducing run-off and erosion.
Do swales work on clay soil?
Yes, though they work differently. Clay doesn’t absorb water quickly, so on our land swales are mainly about slowing water down, reducing erosion and guiding it to where it’s useful, such as our ponds.
What wildlife do habitat ponds support?
Ponds can provide breeding sites for frogs, toads and newts, homes for aquatic insects such as dragonflies and damselflies, and drinking and feeding areas for birds and bats.
Why leave cut brambles in piles?
Piles of cut brambles and branches, sometimes called habitat or brash piles, are valuable wildlife habitat. Hedgehogs and amphibians such as frogs, toads and newts use them to hibernate. Wrens, robins, dunnocks and song thrushes nest in them, and beetles, other insects and fungi live inside. Left undisturbed, a pile can provide habitat for many years.
Why dig out bramble roots?
Brambles regrow vigorously from their roots, so cutting the stems alone only clears an area for a short time. Digging out the root crowns gives the cleared ground a chance to be planted with wildlife and pollinator-friendly plants.
What will you do with the woodchip?
Compost it. Once it’s broken down, it goes back onto the land to feed the soil where our herbs will grow, creating a circular system with nothing leaving the farm as waste.
Why didn’t you plant herbs in the first month?
Everything we want to grow depends on light, water and soil. Getting those foundations right first means our herbs will be planted into a landscape that’s already working. See the herbs we’ll be growing.