We here at withysmithe meadow are harvesting our willow.we have been growing willow here on our land for 3 years so this year we are cutting by hand 1st second and 3rd year growth.We have 17 different varietys of basketmaking willow ,all at different stages.
Most of the 1 year cuttings will be used for creating wildlife habitat as its too branchy to use for weaving.so we will be making piles of willow for insects.The 2nd and 3rd year willow of which most of it casn be used for weaving.
We will also be planting a few more varietys over the next 2 to 3 years .
The willow cuttings take 3 years of growing to get to the stage where the stool is established .We cut the willow back to about 10cm each year in order for it to regrow.
you can get anything from 3ft to 9 ft lengths in a year from some of the varietys.We are now able to sell some cuttings ,and hopefully over the next few years we may be able to sell small amounts of our homegrown willow aswell.
