The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Womble on February 26, 2017, 05:32:46 pm
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There's a wee burn that runs alongside our smallholding. Usually it's only a trickle, but sometimes water escapes from an adjacent Scottish Water culvert, and things get quite a bit more interesting!
Last year, the burn flooded quite badly and under-cut our field and fence-line. So, during the summer, we installed some gabiens to hopefully stop it from getting any worse. It's a good job we did. Here's what it looked like this morning:
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/Gabien1.jpg)
And again this afternoon!:
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/Gabien2.jpg)
We had originally covered the stones with soil in the hope that grass would grow through and hold everything together. Unfortunately this, and most of the small stones has been washed out. However, we can re-do it in the spring. Any ideas on something we can plant that will have the desired binding effect? I'm thinking nettles and couch grass!! ;D
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Lots of work using willow along riverbanks to bind the soil, would that be any good?
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Rushes :innocent:
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Definitely more than a trickle at the moment.
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That's not a wee burn, that's a river!!
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You should have seen the rivers yesterday then! :raining: :raining: :raining:
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I found this on Amazon. It might be just what you need and only £6.99.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegetation-Civil-Landscape-Engineering-BACHE/dp/0246115076 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegetation-Civil-Landscape-Engineering-BACHE/dp/0246115076)
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Thank you Dartmoor Liz! I have just seen this thread and your suggestion is timely for an issue I am thinking through and will need to address.
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Good stuff, Ghdp - could you let me know what the book says about planting on top of gabians please? ;D
Our farmer neighbour was greatly amused when we first built them. He leaned out of his tractor window, and in a fake Welsh accent asked; "so how does it feel to have the only gabians in the valley?" :roflanim:
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Eeh - you could go white water rafting down that.
Gabions look great - just in the right place.
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Will certainly let you know anyrhing helpful about planting up the Gabians Womble.
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The flow is looking a bit more normal today, and it looks as though they survived with just minor damage and settling of the stones. More importantly, we didn't lose our fence and half the field!
Hopefully if I top them up with a mixture of smaller rocks and soil, and then plant something with roots that will bind it all together, we should be all good :thumbsup: .
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/gabien3.jpg)
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/gabien4.jpg)
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Willow!
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I'm a bit worried that willow might get out of hand quite quickly (I really need something that's going to be low or preferably no maintenance). What looking after would willow need then?
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Alder would require less work, can cope with wet condions and establishes quickly.
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WE grow willow as a crop for our goats (and I dare saying that the sheep would love it too, but it is too much work to cut for them as well as the goats), and our first batch of trees is now 10 yo and we have taken chunks off for firewood (not ideal wrt to heat output, but cheap and homegrown, will need a couple of years for drying). I am just suggesting it as it grows fast in damp places. We cut back every other winter or so.
But yes, alder grows fast as well (ours are all self sown) and would be equally good in your situation.
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Willow spiling is a traditional way of stabilising river banks so I reckon that would be your best bet
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Hmmm, the fence line is our boundary, so the river bank doesn't actually belong to us. I'm sure willow would work, but still a bit concerned that it would take over very quickly, and then become yet another thing to maintain :-\ . Any thoughts?
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Our fields border a stream that drains the whole valley, so it can turn from something 60cm wide and 15cm deep to 5m wide and 3m deep after a day's heavy rainfall. The only thing that slows it down is that the stream meanders. I see yours is pretty straight. Is it possible to cut an alternative stream bed for it and put in some bends?
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Hmmm, the fence line is our boundary, so the river bank doesn't actually belong to us. I'm sure willow would work, but still a bit concerned that it would take over very quickly, and then become yet another thing to maintain :-\ . Any thoughts?
I've got willow along the wee wall at the front - three years old now. Needs cutting once a year, twice if you have the energy, great for the wood burner. Come and see it sometime.
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I see yours is pretty straight. Is it possible to cut an alternative stream bed for it and put in some bends?
Ha ha - that's the railway line in Stirling! :roflanim: