Is This the Most Useful Plant on EARTH?
Willow is such an incredibly useful plant, and in this video we explore the details of willow fencing, basket weaving, and ecological restoration using this glorius species!
COMMON QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
Where is this located?: The Willamette Valley of Western Oregon. Zone 8a. Rainfall ~42" per yr.
What varieties of willow do you recommend?: (From Kara)"In the video you see: Salix alba vitellina, Salix purpurea, Salix daphnoides, and Salix fragilis (various varieties of each). Streambank stabilization is done with native willows (Salix scouleriana and Salix lasiandra in western Oregon). But also, people should look at www.willowworld.org/ for specific uses of willows. There really is more to learn than can be communicated in this one video!"
Sorry, we didn't know Willow is considered invasive in Australia!
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COMMON QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Where is this located?: The Willamette Valley of Western Oregon. Zone 8a. Rainfall ~42" per yr. What varieties of willow do you recommend?: (From Kara)"In the video you see: Salix alba vitellina, Salix purpurea, Salix daphnoides, and Salix fragilis (various varieties of each). Streambank stabilization is done with native willows (Salix scouleriana and Salix lasiandra in western Oregon). But also, people should look at www.willowworld.org/ for specific uses of willows. There really is more to learn than can be communicated in this one video!" Sorry, we didn't know Willow is considered invasive in Australia!
Southeastern Indiana...about an hour northwest of Cincinnati Ohio
A great deal of plants and animals are destructive when put in the wrong place. Always leave that as something to explore when recommending the use of living things. Your state agricultural center can usually answer such questions tho even they may make mistakes. Use caution when using foreign species.
a most important video _ Wow! I learned a thousand things!
There was some ideology I didn't agree with. Regardless, this was a fascinating and useful look at what can be done with willows! Thank you! I look at bamboo in a similar fashion actually.
Thanks for this FAQ ❤
I think maybe she overestimates my need for baskets but the living fence idea is cool af.
every pot that is used for planting or washing food even things like boxes can be replaced
You're just underestimating 😊
@@usher_jh Something plastic is better at like airtight containers but yeah baskets can do a lot of jobs
Sounds like she doesn’t want to be part of the system. But that carbon neutralizing bit is nothing but new world order system. We are the carbon they want to get rid of.
I agree with you, but I would definitely buy some baskets from her.
Speaking of ecological restoration, be sure to plant a native willow species that isn't invasive to your area!
I hear you, but with plants on the move (Read the Treeline , Rawlins to vet that ) who are humans to know?
Any species suggestions for Southern New England (zone 6b?)
@@rcb6ocs414just grab one from your favorite local shade tree, or wetland. Willows are all over.
Yes .willow are now banned in South Africa because they're too thirsty...along with European pines
@@swhaht6807a good place to start it making sure the tree comes from your continent. European settlers brought thier trees with them when they settled and in ex-colonies like Canada and the US ornamental willows like weeping willows are invasive species.
This was standard practice for so long in Europe. Boundaries between farms were all sorts of species that were useful. So many animals and insects lived there as well. It's fantastic to recreate these useful areas on farms. In England they are called hedgerows.
That's usually more related to space usage, at least here in Portugal. We had laws in place which required fields to be used for wheat, so we started growing vines on the edges, and it stuck until nowadays.
We still practice this planting and coppicing (well, it's pollarding to be precise) in northern Italy for firewood.
In germany, we still do „flurbereinigung“ (cleanage of land). Its done because there are more subventions for higher land usage, or because farmers cant keep up with commercial production and necessity prices (such as the seeds which are mostly non-sustainable and thus have to be bought anew every year. And they‘re really not cheap.) That practically means there are almost no hedges or little spots of plants that arent either for food or a monoculture. In my area, there is a farmer though, who still keeps hedges in between fields. Funny thing is, with those hedges, he actually makes an average of 15% mor products per hectar of land, while keeping native plants and wildlife a little refugee. Ecological or bio- farming is a really good thing if you think about it, many farmers across the world had success with it (id recommend the film „Good Food Bad Food“ for information (if you dont mind some language aspects and concentrate on the given facts)). Anyways, we personally have a living fence at the backside of our garden, and the birds are really nice, not to mention that we get a good marmalade from the roses that are sprinkled in between.
@courtykat are they a monoculture? A hedge is normally just 1 type of plant in a long row. A hedgerow is normally many different types of hedge plants species in a row.
@@courtykat it’s also common to allow growth around wire fence lines. Here in Arkansas a fenced boundary is often overgrown with various trees and bushes creating a hedgerow look but of course there is still old rusty barbed wire there
This is great as long as it is properly maintained. Don't ever plant willows in water or on a bank, it will spread a carpet of roots through your pond which will send up new trees. It will turn water into a swamp. Willows are thirsty. Been pulling willows and their root carpet out of our pond for 4 years now. It just keeps coming back.
Bro, this lady worships the willow. She will come up with a way to make it a positive..
I've actually been looking to make a swamp.
@@RevengeofGothzilla look into making a bog instead
There are willows everywhere where I live almost all of them are next to lakes and the lakes are happy but it likely depends on how large the body of water is. When we where kids we would weave a few of the hanging branches together. And we would swing on them over the water. I love them they are one of my favourite trees
@caradanellemcclintock8178 There are many different willows. Big willows like weeping willows will not grow into the water many smaller varieties will.
As a willow grower, folks have to understand the care and maintenance a living willow fence requires. A low maintenance fence is going to be a better choice for the majority of people. But if you are ready to tackle a living willlw fence, you will never regret it.
Does it require much effort if you don't care for how it looks? (Say around a pasture in stead of barbed wire fencing)
Everything takes maintenance but for your purposes if not looking for the lattice country decorative aspect (after putting in the first, hardest 2-4 years) you can let it just branch out all over and create a solid wall hedgerow of sorts. If it becomes too wide or high (eating up to much floor space) you can cut it back severely every few years. A naturalized green wall is so much more unobtrusive and a good deterrent boundary wall. To me it's much more fulfilling working with nature and it's/our health than against it. Sustainability puts less stress on everything. Landfill of unnecessary man made product waste is worst.
What salix sp. would you recommend for a lattice/diamond pattern fence? Would lutea be suitable?
We don't have that kind of plant here in our country, can you tell me the full name of this plant, i've searched willow in to google but but it's not the one from the video, I want to buy some cuttings, can you help me??? Thank you and merry Christmas
That living fence is so cool….but imagine it takes quite some time, and a lot of work, to reach its full glory.
The water consumption of willows might be problematic for most people. As will the tendency of willow roots to invade water pipes. DONT try this near any plumbed structures or valued water storage.
We had two weeping Willow trees that did invade our water pipes. There are many different species though
In the Arizona desert, we use ocotillo here. The growth is significantly slower, and we can't weave it like willow, but it's another living fence, and it's beautiful after the rain
Stay far away from septic systems!
Yeah I noticed there was plentiful rainfall in her area. I like the basket idea as we're expecting increasing shortages over time and possible problematic power. outrages. Then again baskets may prove a good idea. I live in FL and baskets can be made from pine needles, tho much smaller.
I was considering willow, and my yard tends to hold on to water, especially close to my house. Do you think it would be useful in getting rid of that excess moisture? I know my grandmother once had a willow, her house is next to mine, but im not sure why she got rid of it.
Here in the philippines we have this tree...Moringa oleifera is a plant that is often called the Drumstick tree, the miracle tree, the ben oil tree, the horseradish tree, or simply “Malunggay” here in the Philippines. It has been traditionally used as human food and alternative medicine worldwide. It also will sprout from any branch you shove into the ground. It is a super food also.
I'd love to be able to grow moringa, for all the reasons you said.
Do you know if Moringa can be planted/waved like these diamond fences in the video? I was wondering about tropical alternatives, and I hear a lot about Moringa around here, but not for fences
Moringa is also used as a supplement to help breastfeeding women (and animals apparently) make more milk. :)
@@luablau I planted Moringa to feed farm animals like chicken, goat, horse. Its an alternative to places where rain little. Its not good for diamond fence
Moringa will freeze and die right?
I do this and for the longest time my neighbors thought it was dumb because I was making more work for myself. Now i sell them fire wood and baskets. I also was asked by three of my neighborhoods if i would help them make a living fence. So hopefully others in my area will do the same.
Proved em wrong 😉
@@Earthto_AyoI mean he has to cut firewood and help make more living fences so not really lol. It might not have been dumb but he definitely has more work for himself.
@@BANANA42k yeah he has more work for himself but I mean he proved em wrong because they thought it was dumb. But really what he’s doing is resourceful and they buy wood and baskets from him now.
This is really cool, but you need to focus on selecting native species for ecological reasons, and palatable varieties if you want to use them for forage. I did my MS thesis on willow defensive chemistry, and even goats won't touch many willow species because of their high phenolic glycoside content. If you taste them, they are quite acrid and will cause digestive malaise in mammals if consumed in quantity. Consult your local state or federal fish and wildlife agencies or university to get help, they will likely be stoked to help and may have resources available on collecting local native willows for different purposes.
Well... Yeah but no
Yep. I grow mulberry trees for forage for goats they grow fast and they also root easily and make a great fruit also.
I was wondering if there would be any mention of native species. Videos like this often miss that point, which is incredibly important. Need to be mindful of not creating an invasive species in the area.
How do you find out about Native Species or palatable varieties. I called local ag representative for my state of NC - they had no information.
@@kkc9502 Agricultural scientists are unlikely to know a lot about willows outside of biomass production. You're looking for ecologists with wildlife nutrition and forage ecology knowledge. They are frequently working in research universities or wildlife management agencies. I've done all of my research and professional work in the Taiga where willows are the most important winter forage for moose and some caribou populations, so this kind of knowledge may be locally more common.
I use a living fence, but I do so with annual flowers such as giant Cosmos, Calendula, etc. Willow trees have long, invasive roots and can take over very quickly. They would take a massive amount of time to maintain and if you can't make that sort of impact, they can quickly get out of control. Plus, there's that root structure that can invade throughout your garden and make it difficult to get through the root mass to plant. Willow's also take a massive amount of water and nutrients. In places of a lot of water, that's great, but not so great in dry areas. The roots of Willow will search for water and can extend massive amounts of space to get to it. It's a matter of making a living fence that will benefit the person, place, and time of the situation. White willow can be used to make medicine. We just need to make sure of what our purposes and benefits are before getting into something that may not be sustainable or beneficial for you or your purpose.
Yes. The balanced view of pros and cons. I think not every type of willow is as eager to spread though. The ones that grow in my garden have stayed within their clump.
But she said in the video the willow was easy to maintain and a metal fence is going to degrade? The type of ppl like shown in the video lead very niche lifestyles where they take on some big project like this because they somehow have the land, the time to commit, & the resources needed. Then someone makes a "dreamer" type documentary about how we should all live that way and they glaze over all the downsides & realities in order to celebrate the idealized concept. I mean this person is literally a willow enthusiast and from the drone footage it looks like their willow fence is not actually functional at keeping predators out of livestock areas etc.
@@MarkTrades__ we have metal fence for over 40 years and it is still just fine no rust only need it to replace the pillas becose the were wooden and we put stainels steal ones. (sorry for my bad eng)
@@Alepoudiitsa appreciate you sharing! A good example of the other side of the videos comments.
@@MarkTrades__ like you say it takes time and the older you get the more paifull it will be to maiten that, i have a garden and i love it but i hate when it is time to tild the land and put the watering system(we get hot hot summers).
I noticed the fence was tied together with a cloth string. I started using long strands of dried grass as twine for all sorts of purposes around the garden like tying up crops to supports for trellising. The dried grass is surprisingly pliant and durable and will hold throughout the season without having to worry about it breaking. You can easily collect an endless supply to have on hand for projects. Best part is it's biodegradable and you don't have to worry about collecting all the string from your plants before tossing them into the compost pit at the end of the season.
I use cotton twine for the same reason - easily available and biodegradable. People think it's not strong enough or won't last long enough, but I've never had a problem. And I don't have tons of plastic wondering around my landscape! If I need it to be more durable.... I just saturate it with pine tar like our ancestors did and the stuff lasts lasts for ages. Tarred marline, as they called it back in the day, is probably the handiest thing for any small homestead, and easy to make yourself if you have a ball of cotton/jute/hemp twine.
or use cotton thread & let it decompose as well. Any natural fiber thread or yarn/twine will do.
I live in Idaho. My neighbors have already said I can prune their trees coming through and over our bordering fence. Their trees are fast growing willow. This fencing idea is going to happen around my front yard to which some people walking by think its okay to let their dogs pee on our herbs. This will be a very cheap and renewable solution to many problems. As always, thanks for sharing, Andrew!
I live in WA and I hear you! Also, if copiced - why not use it to feed goats and sheep??? Love that idea!
I have to add one more thing here...Osage Orange cuttings make a great hedge/fence in the same way but have these long long thorns! Which is great for invaders - dogs, cats - goats- people!
@@bonniehatcher8198 : Eh, medium thorns. For long thorns you're better off with honey locust.
Willow is Britain's bamboo. It's SO versatile and adaptive. I remember seeing a big willow tree had been torn down by severe wind up at a local Country Park. It wasn't causing any threat to public safety so it was left there as a kind of wildlife habitat. A couple of weeks passed, and I noticed that vertical shoots were popping up from the fallen horizontal trunk. It was still alive, Cool AF! 😄😊
Cool as a pool with a willow on the shore of the school of life (nature).
I worked in conservation projects on the Darebin Creek, Melbourne ( Australia). We removed tons of invasive willow, only to come back the folowwing few weeks to find our helpful mates on the chipping crew had kindly mulched over the area we cleared with the chipped willow......we had tens of thousands of growing willow cuttings to pull out.😂
@@taleandclawrock2606 "I worked in conservation projects on the Darebin Creek, Melbourne ( Australia). We removed tons of invasive willow, only to come back the folowwing few weeks to find our helpful mates on the chipping crew had kindly mulched over the area we cleared with the chipped willow......we had tens of thousands of growing willow cuttings to pull out.😂" All the wonderful things you make with Willow and you just mulched it all, what a bunch of wasters, LOL! 😆😅👉
That willow tree: "STILL ALIVE!... 😁👍 🫡"
How fast does willow grow compared to bamboo?
I know someone who weaved living willow into a spiral cone with entryway that is used for an outdoor shower. It's so beautiful!
I would love to see that!
Upload!
Someone in Oregon, I'm sure.
I see a 9 year old video to the Right, in suggestions, titled: Bonnie Gale - Living Willow Structures. Also see my longer comment (7 comments below) under: @uspockdad6429 Wow! I never knew how diverse in uses Willow was. This was an enlightening video. The video maker is a C.C. Lie beLiever (as is most of humanity, repeating the lies) repeated 100s of times per year for the past 25 + years, by the msm / edu chemical tech war industry. All their science is fake-control science that works against nature (us). Nature is our true science.
@@RoySATX I clicked over to the video I mentioned above and when I came back here, bc I meant to like your comment.. When clicked back into the video it only showed my comment below the main comment: (frbrables). Happens all the time on YT. I knew (refreshing the page) will show all the comments again. Then I liked your comment. True, true about O. Hopefully they will stay real and know real from fake.
If I’m ever able to buy a house, I want to do a living fence around my yard. It’s so beautiful. I can listen to Huntermoon’s explanation of life all day. A brilliant and inspirational human.
Same! And free basket making supplies are awesome!
Just don’t do it anywhere near your house. Willow roots will do anything to get to water and will absolutely get into your pipes or septic system. So just make sure it’s far away from the house.
Make sure you don't have septic tank or drain field....
I started my weaved willow fence 2 years ago to make a separate area for my kids to play in and have their sandbox and stuff. I cut of the tops in the beginning and weaved branches horizontally on top. It's amazing how sturdy it was straight from the beginning. I trim it 3 times a Year with a hedge trimmer. And feed the horses the fresh shoots that just keep coming. Make sure to have enough space between your hedge and your pathways.✌️ Ps. You can even hold big chickens r geese behind it 🤙
awesome, i was thinking how cool if i could use this idea for some of my fowl!
Is it possible to keep the lowest 1,5 meters as clean and naked as shown in thumbnail or does the natural fence immediately grow to all sides?
@user-gs5wm2tq8u It grows to all sides. Just keep trimming the new shoots at the bottom as close as you can to the trunk a couple of times. Eventually they'll give up.
I have 40 year old willows, we call them "knotwilg" because the part where you cut the year old branches grows big and irregular over time. Their inside is completely rotted away, only the bark and a few layers inside are alive. But bugs, mice, birds, all kinds of wildlife live inside them. They are the reason we bought our little piece of land, and we love them very much.
It sounds lovely.
Thanks for your job to make permaculture easy to understand and to share, we need to globalize it now!! Greetings from Argentina!!
I can't agree with you more! I wish I could go live in Argentina. There is so much I would like to learn.
Thank you. Totally agree
No, we don't need to globalize it now. What we need to do is to make permaculture-like solutions practical and most importantly economic for farmers around the world to implement. So far only very few concepts have stood the test of time. Awareness of something that is not practical will not change much.
@@lorrainegatanianhits8331 that view of permaculture is really narrow to me. The "practical solutions" are a hole discipline, that you might want to connect with agroforestry, or voisin silvopastural practices. Why is it that you cannot erase the economic part of the equation? That's the big problem, we can't keep on relying into a capitalist society, capitalism brought us here and if we let it, is going to destroy the only planet we have to live. Permaculture is a set of interlaced practices that solves most of human basic needs without harming the environment, making productive human labour a thing that doesn't take resources from nature in a depredatory way, but produce in harmony with nature, in a simbiotic way. Your need for rentability to the farmer is narrow because the "farmer" is also a social construct, anybody can, and must be applying this knowledge. Unless this practice globalize, and oil and car industries continue business as usual, we're doomed. That's a reality. Forgive me my English I'm not native.
More greetings from Argentina!
I’m loving the living fence idea
I grew up with a giant willow tree on my parent’s land and I’ve seen it go through tornadoes, getting struck by lightning, getting flooded and getting split in half. Through all of that the tree still stands stronger than ever. It’s incredible how resilient willows are and they’re so good the environment
Willow bark also makes great medicine (aspirin) and you can use the young growth to make a great root hormone (just cut the young branches and leave them in water for 3 days). Thank you for sharing.
Willow bark benefits rooting of other plants, almost like rooting hormone, but not carcinogenic. I love these trees.
Wowwhite willow acts as aspirin so this makes sense
Yup, acetylsalicylic acid,@@galactikbutterfly willow provided the drug, except willow bark extract is safe on the intestines!
But don't they kinda rob other plants of water?
Never noticed that, @@lindsaygoodwin3140 , their root ball is very fine, seems to hold water. All plants transpire, it's how plants do.
@@lindsaygoodwin3140Water streams in Europe and North America naturally have willows on their banks. It's just a matter of planting a native species to the region
the weeping willow is literally my favorite tree!
I love this so much!! I want to do this!! I'm 68 years old, so I hope I have enough time left to see this working on my property.
My grandfather built several of these over the years. I wish my grandmother hadn't convinced him to move into an assisted living facility, because then she sold the family homestead. On average, it took 5 years for the fence to really shine, and 7 years for the branches to graft sufficiently for us grandkids to safely climb the fence or the living willow ladders. With enough rain, they grow a good 6' to 8' each year, and the thin growths need to be trimmed back (great for baskets) so the main/core gets thicker.
Love the fence and everything about Willow. I'm so glad that there are knowledgable people like this woman tending the earth!
This is a possible reason why it's SO hard to find evidence of many many civilisations that we have no idea about. This beautiful way of living is indetectable in the archeological record! Hopefully, we are too! Love you.
She's such a genuine, deep feeling person. I'm grateful she shared her expertise but most of all her care and passion for our earth. Such beautiful ways we can slowly come to understand how to live appropriately on our home planet.
agreed!!
She's a commie weirdo.
My grandparents used willow for everything! Fences, baskets, to tie branches of trees, wind-repairing walls, as substitute to rope. Incredible tree and 100% local, environmentally friendly and bio-degradable!
I wonder how willow is if used for paper.
I wonder if you're old enough to remember wicker furniture?
Environmentally friendly? That really depends on what part of the world you live in. In Australia and New Zealand it is an environmental and ecological disaster.
@@Frombie_01 in 95+ % of the world surface (where it most matters for solving current problems) it is environmentally friendly. Please don't be a contrarian.
@@lambdasun4520 No individual is all knowing, this is what discussions and debates are for. They make their case, you make yours.
I love willows but I must caution planting too close to your home. The roots can mess with your foundation. Love the fence idea!
I think this problem will be more than just homes.. willows need A LOT A of water and the roots will also compete with other species over time. It's really cool, but I doubt it's very applicable most places.
that goes for any tree or bush really
@@notsam498wouldn't the fence eventually choke itself out also? There's so many competing trees side by side
So interesting and wonderful to learn about willows uses in these different ways! in New Zealand however Willows are invasive plants and have to be removed from river plains and the wider environment.
I enjoyed learning about live fencing. I did not understand Copus culture(CC), so i looked it up. After searching for some time i realized Copus is spelled incorrectly, Coppice is the ability for trees/shrubs to regenerate after harsh pruning. The miss spelling could be a result of Closed Captions phonetic spelling.
Thank you! I was very confused trying to google this term.
Coppicing and pollarding are two ways of pruning that can keep your trees growing for a very long time. Well worth investigating.
I can see the ecologic and the economic usefulness of Willow in communities now. Thank you !
Who care about economics the "science" of destroying life ?
reviving ancient knowledge for the modern generation
Wonderful. No narcissistic agenda or self-glorifying show-off for revenue. Just ordinary people sharing something they have learned from nature...
Brilliant! A British book i perused in the 90s has a comment that baskets are a sign of a culture valuing permaculture ! My mom took basket mahjong classes in the 60s, and i had one session with local folks from the Siletz tribe where we stripped hazel wands and boiled spruce 'feeder' roots to prepare them for weaving baskets in a West Coast traditional style. I made little wattle fence for my garden using shots cut from my volunteer hazel (i used branches I'd let cure for the uprights, to prevent them from sprouting amongst my veggies!
This is how it used to be. Local craftsmen making goods for local customers, using local materials. And as a result, you got regional variations that gave flavor to the culture as a whole. One couldn't help but appreciate the local woods when they knew that their baskets, chairs, buckets, barrels, gates, fences, spoons and bowls all came from the local woods.
oooohhhh...ok, this is quite thought provoking, im glad I saw this comment! I began a wattle fence last year (didnt get far) using filbert and some maple (~ish, not sure which kind) id pruned from the property, as stakes around one of my herb planting areas. It happens to be in the vicinity of where Ive thought I'd perhaps like to see a small tree or 2, and thought Id rehome in the area, this pair of water birch volunteers that joined us a couple years ago in one of my planter pots. BUT.... Perhaps, using for the stakes, the green and unseasoned filbert (hazel) like I had started, that it could in fact sprout, bringing fruition to two (of the many) ideas, that have been growing in my mind for some time now... [[the punny, yet delightfully fitting words arising throughout this collection of thoughts is beyond amusing to me right now!]] Those ideas being, A. a tree to that particular area as a view block to unsightly areas and neighboring property in the, not too awfully distant, background AND B. the wattle Id like to see separate my herb planting area.... oh how Im so glad to have stumbled on this video and subsequent comments this morning!
It would be nice if there was a list of salix species that are native so that you make sure you are using the right ones. Some willows are very invasive and actually damage riparian areas... so gotta be sure about the "right plant, right place" strategy.
Your local university's forestry extension can tell you that.
I’m happy that she’s happy 😊
I didn't expect this to make me cry lol that was really beautiful, thanks for posting!
This plant is a lot like the mythical Hydra you cut off a head and it grows back two and fights back twice as hard.
Incredible work, so beautiful and inspirational. Liked and shared. I have been cultivating Salix Hakuro nishiki for two decades. I have this massive wall in my backyard like a mushroom shape more than 20 feet tall. Unfortunately the deer have recently learned the use of chainsaws and have been cutting through. They say Nature is an evolutionary battle. Excellent work. You gave me a lot of new ideas. Thank you! Merry Christmas! Godspeed. 🌟
/chuckle at the deer running my husqvarna
There is a vid about how to grow one's orchard (apple trees) on YT. -The first thing to plant is the FENCE. This elderly guy explains that deer dislike jumping over fences when they can't see where they land ... green, bushy fencing fence them off ... (but a 2 m fence is NO problem for them !)
@@helgardhossain9038 This is so true. I have full herds of White tail deer in Pennsylvania. I call them goblins. You're so correct about the fence consideration. If you install the fence first, then an added bit of perpendicular fence along the top and then plant a hedge row, most deer won't give it a test. It is really something to see deer jump clear over a 6 foot fence like it was 1 foot tall. Hahah! Thanks for the good advice, my friend. Happy Deering.
I’m a conservative so probably not your usual viewer but I love and have ALWAYS loved this stuff - great info - I’ve always thought there would be some way to make a living fence - now you showed me : ) and also always wanted ways to feed animals that was sustainable and didn’t require outside dependence like this.
You'd be surprised at how diverse my audience is...
@@amillison thats a good thing and great to hear : )
Willow made me recall other water trees and plants. How we have droughts nowadays, and how these trees helped with creating a gradual inbetween draughts and floods.
4:50 I've always been worried about that! 'm so glad she addresses these concerns I would never want to end up killing my plants
Really enjoy your mini-doc style. It’s never centered around you or any one personality. It’s always about, and primarily featuring, the subject experts or the nature itself. Keep up the awesome work. Very inspiring!
Glad you are appreciating the format
I love how she drives inspiration from willow for weathering the frequent cuts coming about in today's world. 🙏
OMG! I've been researching and brainstorming for the perfect fence for my yard, THIS IS IT! Thank you!!
God, I got goosebumps whe she said “when we cut trees with intention of them regrowing- with species that will regrow and benefit all life” so powerful.
I watched this video twice. I will start to grow willow next year. I especially like the living fence. This is such a great idea. Thank you for the inspiration 🙏🏼
Just so much info in every other word. I love how you speak and teach. blessings!!!!!
Brilliant! Inspirational. Makes me want baskets I didn’t know I needed.
What a permaculture sage! Keep teaching and talking! Great video!
I don't know if society will deindustrialize, but I'm happier working with growing things than for abstract social concepts. Been looking into hedgelaying.
I agree. Lots of negative vibes in the video, I thought. Better to focus on the positive and look for ways to bring back the Traditional Trades that folks turned their backs on so many years ago. A good willow fence is great, but a proper hedgerow will have multiple species that do things throughout the year, providing homes for animals as well as materials for the craftsmen. As she noted, people are part of nature. We just seem to have forgotten that as we rush for what's always "new".
Come visit Herefordshire in th uk. Lots and lots of centuries old hedges. although the costs of laying is High..the tractors just do the trimming.but long term they just revert to trees and need laying
@@peetsnort I loved watching those old WW2 films showing the troops having to use dynamite to blow holes in the ancient hedges. They'd been maintained so well, for so long, that even tanks couldn't plow through them!
I Dig this! The idea of building a living fence feels so good. Not only is it sustainable building, but with a net profit too, as it will always provide more than the initial investment. Permaculture is the only future for sustaining humanity, as all the artificial alternatives ultimately have front and back-end costs that reduce viability long term.
All of your posts have the best content ever! I am always learning something that matters.
finally a real quality video on willow/coppicing and living fencing. Some great growers out there but great to see quality filming that shows live work to grasp how to do it and also explain how awesome it is. Lets get planting and thanks Andrew and thanks kara
I love this concept of a living fence and so grateful that the implementation info and uses are in this video, thank you!
If absolutely nothing else imma use it in d&d
@@ConstantChaos1 I look at this kind of stuff for inspiration in my games too!
@sarahsmith840 I'm thinking these would be all over the place in elven lands and what not
My grandfather used to do a lot of work with them. Wow the fence idea is so genius and beautiful.
This is the coolest thing I've seen all day. The closest thing I can do to basket weaving is kitting but now I want to learn to work with willow
I wish i could give this 100 likes. Such an amazing concept. You have answered my question: how on earth will i be able to afford to fence my massive yard? Thank you infinitely.
My hometown was famous for centuries to making these kind of Baskets until about 60 years ago. Greatings from southwest Germany direct from the Rhine River.
Klingt gut. Wo war das? Freiburg?
Woof, that message about manifesting the cut willow hit me deep. I am currently engaged in recovery and looking forward to bringing joy to others.
Great video! I am growing willow in our land. I didn't know that it had more usefulness than I could imagine. Thank you for sharing ❤️
6minutes in and I'm already searching for local willow clippings for my own property. Great video, thank you so much for the information.
If you use it as feed you should know to mention that to any vets as willow bark contains asprin in general this will make your animals healthier as it improves circulation but at some points certian animals may need to be kept from it
@@ConstantChaos1 Thank you so much for telling me, I thought only one specific type of willow had the aspirin components or whatever its really called. I started down the rabbit hole of what types of willow are best for each purpose, then I took a left turn and got trapped searching basket weaving 🤦🏼♀️ my ADHA won that round. I only have chickens, 2 dogs and 1 cat. But I was wondering about that later in the evening if my husband and I could scrap the bark or something and make like a medicinal tea 🤷🏼♀️ but I'll need to do lots of research before ever trying anything like that. I have zero clue what I'm doing in that regards so we'd really need to do a lot of reading a studying first and I can even reach out to my doctor who also has a homestead and makes her own cough syrup (she has 2 well established elderberry trees) Any guidance or advise you could share would be deeply appreciated.
@Shadowlan2082 you want the green living bark so you can actually just take a vegetable peeler to a new sprig and use that, I think it sticks around in dead bark as well but honestly I don't know where my books are But yeah it's actually salicylic not quite asprin but it works much the same way I just chew the green bark whenever I need it but I'm rarely in a situation where I need it and don't have something stronger lol. It's been too long since I made medicine for someone else for me to feel comfortable advising, when I do for me I just let the institution cts guide me lol, not exactly responsible, but oh well, it makes it more of a religious experience as a pagan and that is worth it for me (but for the record I have worked in a Chem lab it's not just like random instincts I'm reasonably trained)
If you want both, a barbed wire fence which is green and provides ecological niches, grow a haw thorn. Birds love to build their nests in them as no cat will ever reach it.
Will that grow in the desert?
That was great! She is amazing 🤗 I could have listen to her for hours ☺️ willow trees are so beautiful
This awesome. I know willows and I'm happy to see people to be enthusiastic on the subject.
Nice video. Thanks. A side note: it's important not to plant willow near underground plumbing as its roots can work their way into the pipe connections.
that goes for any tree or bush
I creatively came up with this on my own in my many years of gardening. Though I knew I didn't discover it, I guess seeing this video proves the organic science and wider applications.
Your vlog is a refreshing change of pace. Always leaves me inspired.
Me gusta mucho la forma en que construyeste una cerca natural con plantas.
Reminds me of hedging we have here in the UK. These willow fences seem pretty cool and they have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, I imagine animals dont mind eating it away. Certain hedging techniques with thorny plants can act a lot like a barbed wire fence. Dont imagine even that could handle the crazy ability of goats to eat anything though haha
A great point, and again illustrating how there's no "one solution" like folks might want to believe. Willow for a lot of things, and hawthorne for a lot more. Throw in an oak or two, maybe a maple or dogwood or whatever else, and you have a complex system that works together.... Plus, the different woods are great for different things you need around the home!
All I can picture now is making one of these fences to create an enclosure in a clearing in the forest near a stream and letting it grow WILD and crazy, taller and full of leaves and shoots 20 feet high, making a natural windbreak for the ultimate campsite... Can you picture it? It's serene.
Then imagine it gets abandoned for 20 years and the only way to get in is from above, creating a hidden oasis!
Well seems this tree is bordering invasive in spreding. So your likely to create problems.
There are hundreds of species of willows; not all of them are trees. Find your local species to avoid ecological mishaps. @@1014p
These are the best kind of videos on KZhead. Super informative, dense, well edited, inspirational, actionable. Incredible this is free. Thank you!
it's sad that we are so conditioned to think everything should have a cost, isn't it? But I fully agree with you, this is truly the best kind of video on yt. I love how she explains things, I want to be able to teach like her.
WOW. This woman is incredibly interesting. I came here in my bumbling through English hedge laying and found a tree that's more sustainable for the country/state I live in. Definitely taking this information!
What an inspiring person! I love these videos ❤ it’s so great to see people like this out there 😊
I saw a tree stump laying on the side of the lake and it had drifted there some time ago and was re growing, a willow..I took a small cutting and brought it home, knowing how easy it is to re grow. I first found out years ago when I contracted to remove a willow tree from storm damage and brought it home for firewood and the logs started re growing in a pile so I planted one branch and had a nice tree bout 15 ft tall a few years later! NE Oklahoma!
Just gonna say, I'm not into newagey anything. I'm just very into the uniqueness of creation... this lady didn't sound newagey. Which I'm happy for because the stuff is always in your face.. This excited me as a new homesteader! B"H. He has made wonderful things for us and I'm glad we're getting back to our roots. We've lost so much in the few thousands years of recorded history.. I'm thankful for people like you and this group paving the way for us to learn our lost ways of living.
This video is everything! I love willows! I have a native (Dallas Tx area) willow tree growing in my front yard, from seed! it turns 4 years this year, and thanks to deep mulch and the aid of cowpeas, it is taller than my house and at least 25 feet wide.
This is incredible! I may just have to do this myself. I have a huge Willow on my property, likely planted in 1900 shortly after my house was built as a property boundary, and this would be an incredible way to keep that tree alive. Also, it is my understanding that some of the largest harvesters of trees, (in the North at least) are also some of the most prolific planters of trees since they want to keep a steady supply of their only product over the decades and centuries of their operation. They want to stay in business for as long as possible, and to do so, they ensure they have a sustainable model and one which is minimally depreciative to the environment. I think many lumber companies don't deforest for product, they plant forests where there aren't any, then harvest their crop. The BIG problem is the deforesting of our earths lungs, the Amazon Rainforest. What makes it worse, is that the Amazon deforestation isn't even done for building houses or productive things, it's decimated for junk crop-product like soy. LAME. The entire planet should be rallying around banning that. Deforesting the Amazon for crops should be limited, or even stopped and withdrawn from. It is so depressing that we're focusing on how to rename bathrooms to be less offensive, and fund wars, when the oldest, and MOST important natural-feature of our planet is being destroyed at speeds faster than most people are aware of. We should be funding the preservation or even the regrowth of the Amazon if we REALLY care about global warming. NOTHING removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the Amazon (it also makes incredible amounts of oxygen, which we sort of need to be alive). It is completely ironic to say you want to save the planet on a national level, then condemn the person who is doing the MOST to support that mission. The person who also has the intentions to FIX it, and the brains and money to actually accomplish it. You could argue that we are essentially supporting the destruction of The Amazon since we demand what they produce. We should be focusing on producing our own products "in-house" so we do not inadvertently overburden other more essential parts of our biosphere (not to mention make tons of jobs). Perhaps treating our earth as though it is one machine is not actually what is best for our it. Actions speak louder than words, or I guess legislation in this case.
Get em! Fix this place today worry bout mars tomorrow. Bless this mess! Worlds chaos be kind.
Trees are carbon neutral because they respire at night. It is algae that removes all the carbon from the atmosphere. Also carbon dioxide is necessary for life. We actually have a historically low concentration of CO2 currently in our atmosphere. In fact if it wasn’t for the Industrial Revolution and the burning of all the fossil fuels, there is a good chance the CO2 levels would have dropped below the threshold for supporting life on the planet, and literally every single living organism would be extinct. Not only that, but if there was a higher concentration of CO2 plants would grow faster and healthier, you would get better yields from crops, which would mean there would be less of a problem with malnourishment in developing countries, and food prices overall would be much cheaper for the entire globe. It would make organic replacements for plastics more economically viable which would help to reduce plastic waste. Also the planet being a degree or two warmer would actually increase the amount of arable land available. We know from historical records that it used to be possible to grow many crops much further north than it is currently possible to do so. This would also cut down on the need for more northern countries to import crops from warmer regions, which again would reduce the cost of those crops, and also mean that the countries that produce those crops for export could use the land to produce more useful crops for their own people. And finally more arable land in the northern hemisphere it would also mean there was no need to cut down rainforest in order to create new farmland.
This information is brought to you by one of the founding members of Greenpeace, who was removed from his role as one of the directors when he published his paper on the benefits of CO2.
Deforestation is government corruption(bribe) issue, nothing will change if everyone just wants to be the whistle blower the raise-awareness guy.
Who should police the Amazon rainforest for these poor farmers? Ever heard of the Tiaga? It is a forest that spreads completely around the northern hemisphere of the planet. If you want to police a forest for its planetary lung potential (which is actually much greater than the amazon) we should do it in our own backyard and let these people govern themselves. Lift them out of poverty and they won't need to burn the rainforest.
Greeting from Colorado. Solid content as always Andrew. I will definitely be incorporating willow fencing and apple fencing on my farm.
I've often thought about making a living fence. This video was perfectly timed! Thank you.
One of the most interesting and useful how-to's I've seen. This is a great solution not only for fencing, but also retaining walls. I'm dying to try this!
I've been experimenting with living willow fences for a few years. Seeing this was super helpful! Thank you
Back in the early 60s, I remember seeing fences like this. Most were overgrown, but the crosshatch could still be seen in poplar trees and willows, and in gardens, rises.
So informative in so many ways. I have a whole new respect and love for willow!
Willow is like the cousin of Kudzu! I will definitely start utilizing Willow on my property, it sounds wonderful to me! 🙏💖🌹😊 A diamond in the rough 💎
This is very inspiring work, great educational content. I had no idea willows were so versatile ,this is the face of a highly inspirational humanitarian at work. Kara and Andrew, thankyou so much for this information, it is greatly appreciated,I hope to implement such visionary sustainable concepts into my ecology projects in the future, so thankyou 💜❤💎💎🎖🎖
What a beautiful metaphor at the end about how we can be like a willow. I may just do that online course. I’ve always wanted to learn even more from you and your friends
Willow is one of the Bach Flower Remedies. It's great for those who have experienced trauma, a resilient plant that grows back stronger. It helps you not to wallow in self pity.
I used that for my cat who gave up fighting. Next day she was right back fighting. However I decided to buy a less expensive brand in a larger bottle, worked great. Found on Amazon.
Jeff Lawton says that willow makes high-quality biochar. Something to consider if you have enough baskets.It's so high quality that it's used for art charcoal.
Yea, willow sticks make for a very flexible tool for adjusting tonal range
In french we call that plant "osier" my grand grand father was a farmer and used to make basket out of it, big one and little for kid... I have a little one in my room, it's a memory of him...
People like you are what we need more in this world.
Agreed
this is a great idea! this is like a smaller method of english hedge rows. they take maintainence every year is the only draw back in contrast to that method, however these hedges are so much smaller and remind me of a living chain link fence. this method would be usable in a suburban farm location, whereas english hedge rows tend to be about 5 to 10 feet thick when propperly maintained and at full width/height before recut and managed every 10ish years.
Maintainence of those beautiful hedgerows requires an ancient art. It's a very impressive skill they pass down through generations. I was told the hedgerows were so thick and impenetrable even the Roman legions were impeded.
This video makes my heart very happy...Where I live, Osage Orange trees are crazy prolifically (and hatefully thorny) These two traits make it perfect for coppicing a living fence row that even hogs will not challenge...Pretty sure the wood is way too stiff for basketry, however. Osage orange fence post can last a Lonnggg time
That osage is great for tool handles, bows, and other things around the homestead. Every wood has it's purpose, so plant some willow with the osage to create a hedgerow that's got the best of both worlds! 😁
Oh my, she is just wonderful! Thank you for sharing this knowledge and fir everything thong else you have done to get this far with what you are doing... amazing! ❤❤❤
Willow is widely used in sports , bat's made out of willow hav many advantages & its fibrous structure does not crack like other wood .
We have willows at my mothers place and it was always so cool to be able to cut off sticks to play with as a kid and have them all regrown next year. There we dont have a living fence, but a lot of the willow cuttings (some of them growing right next to it) and other small leftover branches go into a deadwood hedge, which also provides a lot of biodiversity and habitat. Now I actually kind of wanna grow my own willow (fence) at home
Wholehartedly INSPIRED. 🌿 I never knew a single plant could entertain, educate, and inspire the future of our homestead in 11 minutes. Truly grateful for Kara’s lifetime of work with willow and everything that went into multiplying her message through this video. 🙏🏼
Insane ! I definitively want to test that on my future farm, thanks for sharing !
willow loves water and is extremely invasive of water sources like lawns, pipes (irrigation and drinking water inlet) and sewage. Once it is planted it is almost impossible to get rid of and will spread like bamboo.
Plant it in the right place, then!
If you take most of the roots out with any tree, you're unlikely to see it re-grow. Bamboo is also fairly easy to remove in smaller amounts, I moved a bamboo tree last year, no re-grew in the old spot. I find ivy far harder to get rid of, it digs into stone walls, in cracks and can re-grow from a relatively small root.
“The problem is the solution” - Bill Mollison. And furthermore A solution can become a problem too. I Seen a few bamboo plants fill in half acre in 10 years. Good luck digging all those roots. Right plant right place. Clumping bamboo is easier to manage if you dont have natural boundaries like a road or river. Seen the bamboo roots get under 2 ft deep trench too. Yet bamboo is so usefull.
@@jacobbrizammito7187 Getting rid of bamboo is easy, you cut everything down ones, than mow the area regular, plants need sunlight without they starve.
Unlike bamboo, willow doesn't spread as easily through the roots.