Christmas Tree plantation in the wilderness
by Angus, 5 September, 2013, 3 comments
Wilderness wood, in East Sussex, has its own Christmas tree plantation of about 5,000 trees. The enterprise sells about 500 trees each year for between £20 and £30 each so it's a helpful source of income for the business. Although the soil is difficult, the trees, once established, do very well on a south-facing slope, and are protected against rabbits, deer and disease. At least flooding and drought are not a risk in these wet, sloping woodlands.
Chris Yarrow, who set up the plantation, laments the state of the peaty soil complaining that it "has very little goodness in it and needs constant draining." He'd prefer a greensand soil but is pleased, at least, that it isn't on heavy clay: "the good growth you see here is the result of 30 year' hard work" he explains. Read more...
