Bullaven Farm: Delivering a Complex Moorland Planting Scheme Against the Clock

A Mixed Planting Scheme Across the Farm

The planting was split into four main areas.

The woodland infill involved planting 1,200 native trees into existing woodland areas. This type of planting is about strengthening what is already there, filling gaps, improving future canopy structure and helping the woodland become more varied over time.

The low-density wood pasture covered a much wider area, with 405 trees planted using cactus guards. This was a very different style of planting. Rather than creating closed woodland, the aim was to establish individual trees across grazed or open ground, allowing the farm to keep its open moorland character while adding long-term parkland-style tree cover, shelter and habitat value.

The largest element was the hedgerow buffer and shelterbelt planting, with 3,842 plants installed. This part of the scheme will help create stronger habitat corridors across the farm, giving birds, bats, insects and small mammals better cover and movement routes. It should also provide shelter in some of the more exposed parts of the site, which is important on a farm sitting so close to the edge of Dartmoor.

The orchard was smaller in scale, but still an important part of the scheme. We planted 18 orchard trees and installed individual chestnut post and rail guards around each one. The orchard brings a different kind of value to the farm, with flowering and fruiting trees that will benefit pollinators, birds and the wider landscape as they mature.

Species across the scheme included oak, sessile oak, alder, aspen, crab apple, hawthorn, hazel, rowan, field maple, dog rose, dogwood, guelder rose, spindle, small-leaved lime and others. The orchard included a mix of fruit and nut trees.

Access, Weather and Logistics

The biggest challenge on this job was access.

The farm is steep, rocky and exposed, with rough moorland ground and difficult weather. We had strong wind, heavy rain, underlying granite, encroaching vegetation and a serious amount of ticks to contend with throughout the project.

We used our ATV Gator to move people, trees, stakes, tubes, guards, mulch mats, tools and fencing materials from a base barn at the bottom of the farm up to the different planting areas. Without it, the job would have taken far longer and put a lot more strain on the team.

The materials had also been delivered to a neighbouring site before we arrived, which created an immediate logistical problem. That was outside our scope and not caused by us, but it still had to be worked around. With help from the Woodland Trust, the issue was resolved and the materials were brought back to the correct place so the project could keep moving.

That was the theme of the job in many ways. There were several details that had either been missed or changed late on, and we had to keep solving them without letting the programme slip.

Tree Protection and Planting Detail

Most of the trees were planted with 1.2m tubes, stakes and mulch mats because of the high deer pressure on and around the farm.

The low-density wood pasture trees were planted with cactus guards, which suited the purpose of that part of the scheme. These trees were more exposed and more widely spaced, so the protection needed to give them a better chance of establishing in open ground.

The planting itself was fairly straightforward in principle, but hard in practice. Every part of the site felt different. Some areas had thick vegetation, some had shallow soils over granite, some were more exposed to the weather, and some needed careful attention to the different planting densities shown on the plan.

It was important not to treat the whole farm as one planting block. The woodland infill, wood pasture, shelterbelt and orchard all had different reasons for being there, so they had to be planted accordingly.

Fencing and Orchard Guards

Alongside the planting, we installed 125 metres of stock fencing with two strands of barbed wire.

This was carried out in the same field as the orchard, where the ground proved particularly difficult. A river of granite ran through the field, which made driving posts hard going. We hired in a tracked post banger for the fencing and orchard guard works, which gave us the best chance of getting the posts in properly without losing too much time.

Each of the 18 orchard trees was protected with its own chestnut post and rail guard. These guards were built to give the fruit and nut trees proper protection while still looking appropriate in the setting.