Page 18 - Free State Spring 2023_WEB

IT'S TIME FOR SHARING (Continued)

Planting, pruning, and preparation
for harvesting are all controlled by
GPS systems.

After growing the hedges in a highly
sophisticated system managed by
GPS from cradle to harvest, 1 meter
‘sections’ (3-4 plants per section) are
harvested and placed in cardboard
boxes. This can be done because of
the light, highly organic soil. When
I contemplated growing hedges, I
assumed the QuickHedge system
would likely be a struggle due to our
heavy soils. QuickHedge harvesting 1-meter sections.
Waverly Farm hedge
Waverly Farms Finished Hedges
After being inspired by Quick Hedge,
I started toying with the idea of
planting our own hedges. Because
of our heavy soil, I knew that we
couldn’t produce hedges the same
way that Quick Hedge does in the
Netherlands. Instead, we opted
to place plants on 2-foot centers
and harvest them individually with
a traditional root ball. Plants are
numbered as they exist in the row
so they can be reassembled in the
correct order at installation. We
have adopted Quick Hedge’s GPS-
controlled planting and a similar
shearing method. A

Jerry Faulring
Waverly Farm
1931 Greenfield Road
Adamstown, MD 21710
310-874-8300

18 SPRING 2023 • Free State News