Planting deciduous hedge on bonfire site?

 
We have cut down a conifer hedge, sorted out burnable firewood and
shredded a lot of trimmings.  We have reached our limit of patience with
shredding, so we need to have a bonfire.  The best available space for
the fire is close to where the old hedge was.  We intend to plant a new
deciduous hedge there in a couple of months - hawthorn plus some species
from blackthorn, crab apple, dog rose, dogwood, field maple, guelder
rose, hazel, spindle, sweet briar, wayfaring tree.  Are we poisoning or
enriching the soil (or neither) by having the bonfire there?


Oh, we have no neighbours, so the bonfire will not be a nuisance.

Many thanks, as always.  I know I ask a lot of questions - I've
definitely taken on, as a novice, a big job with this garden - and I
appreciate all your help.


Laura (on not-very-acidic soil in Fife)




--
Laura Corin

 On Sat, 1 Oct 2011 15:44:11 +0000, Laura Corin


Burn away. The ash will be good for the soil. The only thing I'd
suggest is that if you have a pile of trimmings in one place, burn it
in another - move the pile to the flames. A pile of hedge choppings
will be a very tempting hideaway for lots of creatures and moving to
the bonfire gives them a chance to escape.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================================
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 On 01/10/2011 16:44, Laura Corin wrote:

If you could contrive to have the bonfire along the trench where your
conifer hedge was, it may help to clean up the soil there and finish off
what's left of any stumps or roots, making it easier to plant your new
hedge saplings.  When we got rid of a conifer hedge but left all the
stumps, we had an invasion of orange toadstools along the line of the
hedge.  Fortunately, they don't appear to have harmed the new hedge.

As to enriching the soil, the best thing your new hedge needs is
bonemeal for root growth.  However, provided you put nothing noxious on
the bonfire, the resulting ash should improve the soil slightly.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay