permaculture

[Marsha Hanzi <hanzibra@svn.com.br>]

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• From: "Tom Kimmerer" <tkimmer@pop.uky.edu>
• To: <FranksFarm@aol.com>
• Cc: "Marsha Hanzi" <hanzibra@svn.com.br>
• Subject: RE: Living Fences
• Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 12:16:01 -0400

My cousin, Marsha Hanzi, forwarded your message from her home in Brazil back
here to central Kentucky, a rather circuitous route, but perhaps we can help
you.

Historically, two species have been used for living fences in the Bluegrass:
black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Osage-orange, Maclura pomifera.
Neither is native to the Bluegrass, but both were introduced by Native
Americans and by the earliest settlers. Both have the virtues of rapid
growth, ability to form living fences and thorniness to inhibit livestock
from bulling through.

Of the two, Osage-orange proved itself superior to early settlers. There
were probably Osage-orange here when Col. Henderson and Daniel Boone first
arrived, though this is uncertain. What is certain is that by the time
there was widespread livestock cultivation in the Bluegrass, Osage-orange
was the most importance fence tree. The result can be seen today: there is
hardly an old hedgerow in central Kentucky that is not thick with
Osage-orange.

Osage-orange grows well from cuttings, and can be planted on fairly close
spacing, about 3 ft. They can be trained to intertwine, or left to their
own devices.

Black locust is not as good a species. It is a prolific root sprouter and
tends to take over pastures. With the recent heavy infestations of locust
leaf miners, the growth rate of the trees seems to be slowing down.

Note that neither of these is a nurse tree, as described in your email.
Nurse trees would depend on the crop you are trying to grow.

If you would like more information, check the Osage-orange and black locust
pages on the TreeWeb (address below; go to the species page), or contact me
directly.

Best regards,

Tom Kimmerer
Forest Biologist
University of Kentucky
105 TP Cooper Bldg
Lexington KY 40546
Visit the TreeWeb at: http://quercus.uky.edu/treeweb/default.htm
tkimmer@pop.uky.edu



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
> [mailto:owner-permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu]On Behalf Of
> FranksFarm@aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, June 27, 1998 8:02 AM
> To: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
> Subject: Re:Living Fences
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Eric Storm wrote about the value of Living Fences...
>
> Ok, sounds good to me:)Can someone recommend fast growing,
> suitable trees or
> shrubs suitable for living fences in temperate zones ...central
> Kentucky in my
> case.
>
> I've seen lots of such in tropical countries where the trees are
> often used to
> shade coffee, other nursed crops then cut back as the nurse crop matures.
>
> Any ideas on what " nursed crops" can be grown well under such
> conditions here
> ?
>
> Thanks. frank
>
>
>



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