GAWMLESS END
Description
History
The Sheep
Farm Activities
- D.I.Y. hurdles
Trees
- Unusual tree and shrub species grown
- Unusual fruit grown
- The Importance of BEES for fruit
ROSSENDALE VALLEY
Britannia Coconutters
Local Wildlife
Plantlife
Local Walking
LINKS
Uses for Trees
Many trees have uses which were once commonplace but have been largely forgotten, such as ropemaking from species such as lime. Others have uses which are becoming ever more applicable in the modern world, such as biomass production from willow species. This is a fascinating subject, and at Gawmless End we are growing many different varieties out of interest, to see which do best and might therefore have a place in the modern version of hillfarming.
Edible Uses
There are many trees and shrubs which produce fruit or nuts, or products such as oil from these, which are delicious raw or when processed, eg. for jam. Some trees produce edible saps, others edible leaves. Still others can be managed as useful forage crops for livestock.We have several varieties of apple, pear, plum and cherry growing on, and a productive range of red- white- and blackcurrants, gooseberries and hybrid and other berries. Berry shrubs seem to do exceptionally well here with minimal attention, apart from the nurturing of any plant which provides nectar or pollen around their flowering time (in order to attract and encourage bees to pollinate the berry bushes). Different sorts of nut trees, including pine nuts and edible acorn varieties, are also present - see our unusual trees pages.
Other Uses
- Trees can be grown as a crop in themselves, for timber, biomass, or
basketry. Many trees and shrubs were formerly important for uses such as
ropemaking or in medicinal preparations.
- Trees and shrubs can represent a valuable soil stabilizing or
windbreak resource, enabling adjacent crops, including grass and other
fodder crops, to grow better.
- Some trees fix nitrogen in the soil, which directly benefits
adjoining crops, or enrich it by taking up scarce minerals and other
nutrients from deep in the soil, where more shallow-rooted plants cannot
reach them, and making them available through its leaves when they fall
in autumn. Where particular soils are known to be poor in particular
minerals, judicious planting of particular accumulator species of trees
and shrubs can help redress this vital balance (indeed, in a Forest
Garden setting, tree species and numbers are carefully chosen to obviate
entirely any need for application of specific soil additives).
- In careful plantings the benefit to surrounding soils is greater than any disadvantage such as shading by mature trees. Livestock benefits from both the improved shelter, and from improved forage quality and quantity.