Split Chestnut/Hazel Palings

alfharris8

Does anyone use this for surrounding their vegetable gardens?
If so have you found it practical and with a reasonable lifespan (appreciate it is at the cheaper end of fencing costs).
Thank you. 

bertrand-mabel

Not for our veg areas but we did put some up while the hornbeam hedge was growing now over 30 years ago. It was removed about 3 years ago as it was rotting out. It was placed above the ground to stop the wood getting into contact and this did allow it to last a long time. Chestnut is great but also it can be very heavy but we found it to be useful for so many years...it did what we wanted to provide support for the new hedge and then we just left it until...it rotted. A good return but then this was so many decades ago.

alfharris8

@bertrand-mabel - thank you for the reply. I think the palings look nice in photographs although aware they would not be very rabbit/rodent proof so would probably require some kind of reinforced inner skin. 

nick615

alfharris8  From personal experience, I used pvc covered wire border fencing but, and here's the rub, I got so hacked off trying to remove weeds/grass etc. from the bottom of it, that I eventually bent the lower few inches up so that I could strim underneath.  Life was much easier and I didn't see an influx of pests.  Same principle could be applied to chestnut?

alfharris8

@nick615 - that would annoy me too so thanks for that advice. 
All these things you have to think about.