800 meters of hedges for the Mignault plain

Damien de Theux, a farmer specializing in field crops, is not new to this; for many years now, he has been developing alternative crops: planting a hazelnut grove, a multi-layered hedge, a miscanthus strip, raptor perches, … He has also converted part of his land to organic farming.

An “agroecological land consolidation”

Currently, Damien is considering the transformation of the existing land parcels in Mignault (Le Roeulx municipality). His wish is to reorganize the parcels, in order to reduce their size, to diversify the landscape, and to welcome crop auxiliaries. All while maintaining a practical organization adapted to his machinery.

800 meters of hedges for the Mignault plain
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A double-row, multi-layered hedge

As a first step towards this goal, Damien, with the support of PlantC, wanted to plant a double-row hedge of 778 meters. Every 8 meters, a future standard tree was planted. These are sessile oaks and wild service trees. All integrated into a shrub matrix composed of hawthorn, alder buckthorn, spindle, currant, etc. No fewer than 8 native species.

A distinctive feature of this hedge is that most of the species have a relatively moderate vertical growth.

In about fifteen years, the standard trees should visibly layer this hedge, contributing to a beautiful visual structure of this plain landscape.