Is This the Most Useful Plant on EARTH?

COMMON QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Where is this located?: The Willamette Valley of Western Oregon. Zone 8a. Rainfall ~42" per yr. What varieties of willow do you recommend?: (From Kara)"In the video you see: Salix alba vitellina, Salix purpurea, Salix daphnoides, and Salix fragilis (various varieties of each). Streambank stabilization is done with native willows (Salix scouleriana and Salix lasiandra in western Oregon). But also, people should look at www.willowworld.org/ for specific uses of willows. There really is more to learn than can be communicated in this one video!" Sorry, we didn't know Willow is considered invasive in Australia!

I think maybe she overestimates my need for baskets but the living fence idea is cool af.

Speaking of ecological restoration, be sure to plant a native willow species that isn't invasive to your area!

This was standard practice for so long in Europe. Boundaries between farms were all sorts of species that were useful. So many animals and insects lived there as well. It's fantastic to recreate these useful areas on farms. In England they are called hedgerows.

Willow is Britain's bamboo. It's SO versatile and adaptive. I remember seeing a big willow tree had been torn down by severe wind up at a local Country Park. It wasn't causing any threat to public safety so it was left there as a kind of wildlife habitat. A couple of weeks passed, and I noticed that vertical shoots were popping up from the fallen horizontal trunk. It was still alive, Cool AF! 😄😊

As a willow grower, folks have to understand the care and maintenance a living willow fence requires. A low maintenance fence is going to be a better choice for the majority of people. But if you are ready to tackle a living willlw fence, you will never regret it.

The water consumption of willows might be problematic for most people. As will the tendency of willow roots to invade water pipes. DONT try this near any plumbed structures or valued water storage.

This is great as long as it is properly maintained. Don't ever plant willows in water or on a bank, it will spread a carpet of roots through your pond which will send up new trees. It will turn water into a swamp. Willows are thirsty. Been pulling willows and their root carpet out of our pond for 4 years now. It just keeps coming back.

I have 40 year old willows, we call them "knotwilg" because the part where you cut the year old branches grows big and irregular over time. Their inside is completely rotted away, only the bark and a few layers inside are alive. But bugs, mice, birds, all kinds of wildlife live inside them. They are the reason we bought our little piece of land, and we love them very much.

This is really cool, but you need to focus on selecting native species for ecological reasons, and palatable varieties if you want to use them for forage. I did my MS thesis on willow defensive chemistry, and even goats won't touch many willow species because of their high phenolic glycoside content. If you taste them, they are quite acrid and will cause digestive malaise in mammals if consumed in quantity. Consult your local state or federal fish and wildlife agencies or university to get help, they will likely be stoked to help and may have resources available on collecting local native willows for different purposes.

I use a living fence, but I do so with annual flowers such as giant Cosmos, Calendula, etc. Willow trees have long, invasive roots and can take over very quickly. They would take a massive amount of time to maintain and if you can't make that sort of impact, they can quickly get out of control. Plus, there's that root structure that can invade throughout your garden and make it difficult to get through the root mass to plant. Willow's also take a massive amount of water and nutrients. In places of a lot of water, that's great, but not so great in dry areas. The roots of Willow will search for water and can extend massive amounts of space to get to it. It's a matter of making a living fence that will benefit the person, place, and time of the situation. White willow can be used to make medicine. We just need to make sure of what our purposes and benefits are before getting into something that may not be sustainable or beneficial for you or your purpose.

Here in the philippines we have this tree...Moringa oleifera is a plant that is often called the Drumstick tree, the miracle tree, the ben oil tree, the horseradish tree, or simply “Malunggay” here in the Philippines. It has been traditionally used as human food and alternative medicine worldwide. It also will sprout from any branch you shove into the ground. It is a super food also.

I live in Idaho. My neighbors have already said I can prune their trees coming through and over our bordering fence. Their trees are fast growing willow. This fencing idea is going to happen around my front yard to which some people walking by think its okay to let their dogs pee on our herbs. This will be a very cheap and renewable solution to many problems. As always, thanks for sharing, Andrew!

I know someone who weaved living willow into a spiral cone with entryway that is used for an outdoor shower. It's so beautiful!

If I’m ever able to buy a house, I want to do a living fence around my yard. It’s so beautiful. I can listen to Huntermoon’s explanation of life all day. A brilliant and inspirational human.

I do this and for the longest time my neighbors thought it was dumb because I was making more work for myself. Now i sell them fire wood and baskets. I also was asked by three of my neighborhoods if i would help them make a living fence. So hopefully others in my area will do the same.

I noticed the fence was tied together with a cloth string. I started using long strands of dried grass as twine for all sorts of purposes around the garden like tying up crops to supports for trellising. The dried grass is surprisingly pliant and durable and will hold throughout the season without having to worry about it breaking. You can easily collect an endless supply to have on hand for projects. Best part is it's biodegradable and you don't have to worry about collecting all the string from your plants before tossing them into the compost pit at the end of the season.

Willow bark also makes great medicine (aspirin) and you can use the young growth to make a great root hormone (just cut the young branches and leave them in water for 3 days). Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for your job to make permaculture easy to understand and to share, we need to globalize it now!! Greetings from Argentina!!

I started my weaved willow fence 2 years ago to make a separate area for my kids to play in and have their sandbox and stuff. I cut of the tops in the beginning and weaved branches horizontally on top. It's amazing how sturdy it was straight from the beginning. I trim it 3 times a Year with a hedge trimmer. And feed the horses the fresh shoots that just keep coming. Make sure to have enough space between your hedge and your pathways.✌️ Ps. You can even hold big chickens r geese behind it 🤙