Bracken Management - 101.5

Welcome Back to Bracken Management on Horseshoe Pass

1 Update on the state of the Bracken in 1st week of May 2018

Having just completed my first pass on the state of the new bracken fronds I am very happy to say that, after just 90 mins, all visible fronds have been cut down. Due to the lack of any litter I did not need to dress in any specific way, just long trousers and knee high working boots.

Around 100 fronds were removed during this first pass. The majority of the fronds were 100 mm and below but there were a few much longer fronds that had grown over the last few days as the weather had dampened and warmed up. The tallest front was approx 300 mm.

For ease of reference I will define the areas concerned. Our land includes approx 1 acre of land designated as SSSI. For this reason I will not be touching that area for the time being as several permissions are required.

There are 3 areas of land, 2 of which are divided by a footpath. I will call them Top Quarry Area, Bottom Road Area and Pill Box Area.

Top Quarry Area

All bracken litter was removed at the end of last September and, during today's activites approx 30-40 fronds were removed. This involved the use of a cutting tool, which cuts clean through the soft fronds and the debris was left on the ground

2 Factors to consider when removing bracken litter - lessons learnt

The main key point learnt was that if the bracken is cut after the stems have hardened, ie with a strimmer or bush cutter, then this litter should be removed as part of the cutting process. There was considerable effort required to go back onto the land, with the consequent poor footing, to remove the litter before Winter so as to reduce it's protective effect. I am hopeful that this effort was not in vain as this years Winter was particularly cold and hard frosts were in evidence.

3 What's next!

I have decided to continue cutting the fronds at a 2-3 day interval so as to reduce the risk of injury to myself. This is, I believe, the biggest current threat to progress with this project. I understand from my wife that "I am not getting any younger". Point taken. As I previously, just a few years ago, ran several marathons, I will pace myself.