Year 4 at Shorne Wood Country Park (Kent County Council) rhododendron control. With one more winter period of removal to complete, things are looking good. Brewers Wood was year one clearance and I was starting to wonder whether we'd ever get on top of regrowth, but this weeks' follow up has been a revelation. There is now very little regrowth from remnant stumps and no signs of seedling regen. Birch, sweet chestnut, ash and oak seedlings abound as well as vigourous ground cover like bramble and bracken.
The woodland rides have been opened up and the entire woodland floor is much lighter with large flushes of bluebell. By year seven all five clerance areas should be rhodi free!
The organic grazing compartment cannot be sprayed and so a five tonne 360 is being used to grub out remnant stumps around the stands of birch and wind blown chestnuts; victims of the 1987 storm.
