Weeding the Web

Dead Hedge and Leaf Fence - composting wood and leaves

Autumn being the time for tidying and trimming, many gardens will soon be generating a lot of woody prunings and dead leaves.

Most garden trimmings should go in the compost, but thick branches and some leaves take forever to break down. Leaves are best composted separately to make leaf mould, and you can put some branches through a chipper but, if they’re a little too thick for that, and a bonfire is out of the question, then it looks as if all you’ve got left is a trip to the dump.

But how about a dead hedge? These days, much emphasis is placed on dead hedges as wildlife havens and for conservation. The Roseberry House Project in Dulwich Park has one, made up from trees cleared to make an educational allotment. And on Thursday 15th September, in Whitehouse Woods, Lea Valley and Waltham BCTV will be cutting down holly and making a dead hedge to act as a barrier around an area of regeneration.

Bonfires and petrol : a fiery combination

It’s not bonfire season at the moment but, having found this clip, I couldn’t sit on it till autumn. Next time you’re tempted to light the bonfire with petrol, I'll bet this leaps to mind. As the comment on Boomclips says, I suppose he was lucky he didn’t get his head blown off!

Stupid videos

More ways to build a bonfire

Following on from last week's bonfire-building advice, here's a video of the Scoutmaster's Never Fail Method. After all, what's the difference between a campfire and a bonfire? Nothing, except the reason for building it. Oh,and you don't have to be so neat with a bonfire.

Meanwhile, Survival Outdoor Skills is obviously not a site aimed at people who are just ambling outside to burn the blighted potato haulms. However, if you yearn for some fancy fire-lighting gadgets or need to know how to burn really big logs efficiently, then it explains the Star Layout, complete with cute Action Man photos.

If you do have logs you don't want,however, why not offer them on Freecycle?

How to build a bonfire

Bonfires arouse strong feelings. I feel strongly that they are a Good Thing. There are those, many of whom write to local papers, who feel that they are Bad.

This is why my pyrotechnic expeditions to the bottom of the garden happen after dark. Recently, I heard muffled movement next door. Was my neighbour taking disapproving notes? Not at all. Twin columns of flame shot from our respective incinerators. Seems I’m not the only furtive fire-setter in my neck of the woods.

And speaking of wood, before carelessly tossing a match on to the heap, are you sure you have the best design for the job? Yes, bonfire building is quite a science.