No Admittance Except on Party Business - Wattle Fencing

This is from a  FB photo from a LOTR group I'm part of, but it is a great example of genius use of wattle fencing. If you're a fan of the Shire, I encourage you to emulate this!  

j

That is a neat wattle fence.

However what I feel is the really neat aspect of the picture is that green door, is that a wofati?

A pretty picture and worth sharing.

Evidently hobbits were using WOFATI in the third age of Middle Earth before the rest of us here on the humble Earth.

Anne Miller wrote:That is a neat wattle fence.

However what I feel is the really neat aspect of the picture is that green door, is that a wofati?

A pretty picture and worth sharing.

I highly doubt it is an actual wofati, but it does look like it is dug into the hillside and largely underground. From the front walk, it doesn't seem there is much traffic to it. I wonder if it is from the actual movie set, maintained to look nice?

It looks like it's part of the film set which we can still visit.  Apparently, we can go in some of the hobbit houses, but I'm not sure about that one.  https://www.hobbitontours.com/experiences/hobbiton-movie-set-tour/

It's on my bucket list of places to see.  

We went past there a couple weeks ago on holiday, but didn't make the detour (the need for lunch won the vote). One of these days, we will...it's on the list for sure.

Any advice on what wood makes the best wattle fences? I'm in south central Kentucky and have about 40 acres of woods.

It looks like some sort of willow to me.

j

Carey Kennedy wrote:Any advice on what wood makes the best wattle fences? I'm in south central Kentucky and have about 40 acres of woods.

Carey Kennedy wrote:Any advice on what wood makes the best wattle fences? I'm in south central Kentucky and have about 40 acres of woods.

Willow works well as it's quite bendy and grows everywhere.  That's what I use for my keyhole garden bed and it held up surprisingly well.  

Other trees depend on your location - I don't know that area.  But if they coppice well and can be used in basketry, chances are they will wattle.  Wattle is basically a big basket that keeps the house from wondering off... or was that sheep?  

I recall that Hazel is a really common wattle substrate in England. There are different breeds of Hazel, including a native North American one.
Corylus americana  https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=coam3
The list says it's found in Kentucky.

It would be great if you experiment with it. I think Hazel is often split before using it for wattle. There are other threads on permies with info I think...

Jay Angler wrote: I think Hazel is often split before using it for wattle. There are other threads on permies with info I think...

Hazel (Corylus avellana) was what I used when I had a go at splitting here. I gather splitting makes the wood more durable - presumably it dries out better. This is what I did with mine:


My freaky cheap shed build thread

I wonder whether chestnut is flexible enough to split and weave? That is a very durable wood outside and may be even better than hazel for fencing if it would work like that.

I'm intrigued by the ends of the fence to the Hobbit house gateway. It looks like they are tucked into the gatepost for neatness, rather than being wrapped around and end post. It looks very tidy.

r ranson wrote:It looks like it's part of the film set which we can still visit.  Apparently, we can go in some of the hobbit houses, but I'm not sure about that one.  https://www.hobbitontours.com/experiences/hobbiton-movie-set-tour/

It's on my bucket list of places to see.  

Bucket list indeed.  One of my challenges is that I could likely spend months in Australia and New Zealand and not get anywhere close to bored.

Any saplings that are the right size can be used in a wattle fence, though some are less suitable. Maple is stiff and tends to crack more than others even when green, for instance. Basswood and sumac are weak and will crack easily. Hickory is very tough and as long as you are able to bend it, it will take the weaving. Musclewood, sometimes called ironwood, is pretty tough when green, but gets brittle with age fairly quickly.

Splitting will let larger saplings be used for the same tightness of weave, which of course will be stronger. The younger a sapling is, the less strength and durability it will tend to have. Split saplings can dry better as half of the surface is barkless. Debarking by itself would help longevity but is seldom practical for saplings in fencebuilding quantities.

Start the split from the small end, and the split will tend to stay more centered instead of running out to one side at each branch node.

I built a wattle(ish) leaf bin out of sticks that were lying around in my yard. Mostly maple, some boxelder, some sycamore. I say "ish" because I did it randomly and spontaneously, and quite sloppily, but the chaotic result is aesthetically pleasing to me and it contains the leaves quite well.

It measures approximately 5 by 8 feet and is about 3 feet high. And I've added to it a bit since I took these pictures...it's kind of a work in progress, and I weave more sticks into them now and then whenever I feel like it.

Ned Harr wrote:I built a wattle(ish) leaf bin out of sticks that were lying around in my yard. Mostly maple, some boxelder, some sycamore. I say "ish" because I did it randomly and spontaneously, and quite sloppily, but the chaotic result is aesthetically pleasing to me and it contains the leaves quite well.

It measures approximately 5 by 8 feet and is about 3 feet high. And I've added to it a bit since I took these pictures...it's kind of a work in progress, and I weave more sticks into them now and then whenever I feel like it.

Now that is a pretty leaf bin! Looks like a random weave basket.