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Not all wood is created equal when it comes to wattle fencing. You want a wood that will stand up to age and weather without becoming too brittle. If you only need your cheap garden fence to stand up for the growing season, you can pretty much use whatever you want. Once you’re done with the temporary fencing, dismantle it and toss it into your hugelkultur beds. To learn about building a hugelkultur garden, please visit this link from Joybilee Farm. Use a mallet to tap your uprights into the wooden panels. Make sure you maintain an even spacing, and while the weaving is smooth and even.
They were very common in Europe during the Medieval and Tudor periods, and many examples of this type of building still stand today. Using your line as a guide, measure and mark every 8 inches, starting on the left end. Use a small post auger to make a hole in the soil at every marker, around 8 inches deep. This very common method of woven fence construction has been a traditional English craft for centuries. Assembly: The various sections are placed in the right position on a special brake and the heads are trapped firmly on to the rails. The braces are placed in position fixed with nails. The nail heads are flattened so that they lie completely flat against the gate hurdle.It is advantageous to treat your fence with a wood preservative at least once a year. This will improve its life span and protect it against the elements. I use either linseed oil or turpentine oil, both of which are easy to paint on, and available at your local garden store. Other Wattle Ideas Photo credit: Sussex Gates For gardeners, these fences are also especially useful in keeping the wildlife from stealing your garden's precious produce. Wattle fences are a traditional English barrier that is both functional and very pleasing to the eyes. We have some more fence ideas if you want to explore other concepts, too. The construction of wattles starts with the uprights, whether they are set into a frame or placed into the ground. Starting at the bottom, flexible willow shoots, called withies, are woven in and out of the uprights (staves). In addition to designing gardens, Elizabeth also works in a consultancy capacity, offering ongoing support and training for gardeners and growers around the globe. She has created booklets and aided in the design of Food Kits to help gardeners to cool and warm climates to grow their own food, for example. She is undertaking ongoing work for NGO Somalia Dryland Solutions and a number of other non governmental organisations, and works as an environmental consultant for several sustainable companies.
These need to be hammered into the soil, about a foot (12 inches) deep if you’re making a static fence. If you’re making a moveable fence panel, then you need to use a wooden jig the same length as your finished panel. I like the look of fruit wood, especially apple and plum, so I used my orchard prunings for the top of this fence so that they were visible. The leaves are still on in this picture, but it’s customary to strip the weavers so they’re bare. One of my idle dreams is to set up a coppice wood forest on my property so I always have trellis and wattle wood available. Hardwoods
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A well-built wattle fence can last for a long time. No matter how large or small a fence you create, you can rest assured that it will continue to do its job for many years to come. The house’s walls are made of wattle and daub, while the garden fencing is pure wattle. The difference between the two is that the “daub” fills in all the gaps in woven branches to create a solid wall. A community garden I volunteered at had a living arch of willow that they’d designed entirely on accident. That is, they thought the willow was completely dead but after a year of the arch being in place, they noticed it had sprouted leaves in spots. Now they have to prune their very much alive willow arch every year. Hazel or Other Nut Wood
Knowing how to build a wattle fence is a small hurdle between you and a beautiful and natural DIY barrier whenever you'd like it to be. Remember, if you’re using willow and it dries out a bit, submerge it in water and let it soak overnight. Thin Branches Why not have a look at the wide range of woven structures available and see if you can create some for yourself?
Truly handmade - a design perfected and unchanged in a thousand years
Hard wood is a good choice for the sales. Beware if you use willow as stakes as your fence just might take root and come alive, it will turn out strong, but you would need to trim it each year. Continuous weave wattle fence (bark side facing us) by Green Man Woodcraft. More projects, and their descriptions, can be found at greenmanwoodcrafts.co.uk. Weald And Downland Living Museum Sometimes things will go wonky and you need to re-adjust weavers. You may even break one! No worries, just keep weaving – behind and in front, behind and in front. If you discover a branch just isn’t working, pull it out.
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