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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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!

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! 😄😊

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 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 🤙

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.

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

I’m loving the living fence idea

I grew up with a giant willow tree on my parent’s land and I’ve seen it go through tornadoes, getting struck by lightning, getting flooded and getting split in half. Through all of that the tree still stands stronger than ever. It’s incredible how resilient willows are and they’re so good the environment

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.

Willow bark benefits rooting of other plants, almost like rooting hormone, but not carcinogenic. I love these trees.

the weeping willow is literally my favorite tree!

I love this so much!! I want to do this!! I'm 68 years old, so I hope I have enough time left to see this working on my property.

Love the fence and everything about Willow. I'm so glad that there are knowledgable people like this woman tending the earth!

This is a possible reason why it's SO hard to find evidence of many many civilisations that we have no idea about. This beautiful way of living is indetectable in the archeological record! Hopefully, we are too! Love you.

She's such a genuine, deep feeling person. I'm grateful she shared her expertise but most of all her care and passion for our earth. Such beautiful ways we can slowly come to understand how to live appropriately on our home planet.

My grandparents used willow for everything! Fences, baskets, to tie branches of trees, wind-repairing walls, as substitute to rope. Incredible tree and 100% local, environmentally friendly and bio-degradable!

I love willows but I must caution planting too close to your home. The roots can mess with your foundation. Love the fence idea!

So interesting and wonderful to learn about willows uses in these different ways! in New Zealand however Willows are invasive plants and have to be removed from river plains and the wider environment.

I enjoyed learning about live fencing. I did not understand Copus culture(CC), so i looked it up. After searching for some time i realized Copus is spelled incorrectly, Coppice is the ability for trees/shrubs to regenerate after harsh pruning. The miss spelling could be a result of Closed Captions phonetic spelling.

I can see the ecologic and the economic usefulness of Willow in communities now. Thank you !

reviving ancient knowledge for the modern generation

Wonderful. No narcissistic agenda or self-glorifying show-off for revenue. Just ordinary people sharing something they have learned from nature...

Brilliant! A British book i perused in the 90s has a comment that baskets are a sign of a culture valuing permaculture ! My mom took basket mahjong classes in the 60s, and i had one session with local folks from the Siletz tribe where we stripped hazel wands and boiled spruce 'feeder' roots to prepare them for weaving baskets in a West Coast traditional style. I made little wattle fence for my garden using shots cut from my volunteer hazel (i used branches I'd let cure for the uprights, to prevent them from sprouting amongst my veggies!

It would be nice if there was a list of salix species that are native so that you make sure you are using the right ones. Some willows are very invasive and actually damage riparian areas... so gotta be sure about the "right plant, right place" strategy.

I’m happy that she’s happy 😊

I didn't expect this to make me cry lol that was really beautiful, thanks for posting!

This plant is a lot like the mythical Hydra you cut off a head and it grows back two and fights back twice as hard.

Incredible work, so beautiful and inspirational. Liked and shared. I have been cultivating Salix Hakuro nishiki for two decades. I have this massive wall in my backyard like a mushroom shape more than 20 feet tall. Unfortunately the deer have recently learned the use of chainsaws and have been cutting through. They say Nature is an evolutionary battle. Excellent work. You gave me a lot of new ideas. Thank you! Merry Christmas! Godspeed. 🌟

I’m a conservative so probably not your usual viewer but I love and have ALWAYS loved this stuff - great info - I’ve always thought there would be some way to make a living fence - now you showed me : ) and also always wanted ways to feed animals that was sustainable and didn’t require outside dependence like this.

Willow made me recall other water trees and plants. How we have droughts nowadays, and how these trees helped with creating a gradual inbetween draughts and floods.

4:50 I've always been worried about that! 'm so glad she addresses these concerns I would never want to end up killing my plants

Really enjoy your mini-doc style. It’s never centered around you or any one personality. It’s always about, and primarily featuring, the subject experts or the nature itself. Keep up the awesome work. Very inspiring!

OMG! I've been researching and brainstorming for the perfect fence for my yard, THIS IS IT! Thank you!!

I love how she drives inspiration from willow for weathering the frequent cuts coming about in today's world. 🙏

God, I got goosebumps whe she said “when we cut trees with intention of them regrowing- with species that will regrow and benefit all life” so powerful.

I watched this video twice. I will start to grow willow next year. I especially like the living fence. This is such a great idea. Thank you for the inspiration 🙏🏼

Just so much info in every other word. I love how you speak and teach. blessings!!!!!

Brilliant! Inspirational. Makes me want baskets I didn’t know I needed.

What a permaculture sage! Keep teaching and talking! Great video!

I don't know if society will deindustrialize, but I'm happier working with growing things than for abstract social concepts. Been looking into hedgelaying.

I Dig this! The idea of building a living fence feels so good. Not only is it sustainable building, but with a net profit too, as it will always provide more than the initial investment. Permaculture is the only future for sustaining humanity, as all the artificial alternatives ultimately have front and back-end costs that reduce viability long term.

All of your posts have the best content ever! I am always learning something that matters.

finally a real quality video on willow/coppicing and living fencing. Some great growers out there but great to see quality filming that shows live work to grasp how to do it and also explain how awesome it is. Lets get planting and thanks Andrew and thanks kara

I love this concept of a living fence and so grateful that the implementation info and uses are in this video, thank you!

My grandfather used to do a lot of work with them. Wow the fence idea is so genius and beautiful.

This is the coolest thing I've seen all day. The closest thing I can do to basket weaving is kitting but now I want to learn to work with willow

I wish i could give this 100 likes. Such an amazing concept. You have answered my question: how on earth will i be able to afford to fence my massive yard? Thank you infinitely.

My hometown was famous for centuries to making these kind of Baskets until about 60 years ago. Greatings from southwest Germany direct from the Rhine River.

Woof, that message about manifesting the cut willow hit me deep. I am currently engaged in recovery and looking forward to bringing joy to others.

Great video! I am growing willow in our land. I didn't know that it had more usefulness than I could imagine. Thank you for sharing ❤️

6minutes in and I'm already searching for local willow clippings for my own property. Great video, thank you so much for the information.

If you want both, a barbed wire fence which is green and provides ecological niches, grow a haw thorn. Birds love to build their nests in them as no cat will ever reach it.

That was great! She is amazing 🤗 I could have listen to her for hours ☺️ willow trees are so beautiful

This awesome. I know willows and I'm happy to see people to be enthusiastic on the subject.

Nice video. Thanks. A side note: it's important not to plant willow near underground plumbing as its roots can work their way into the pipe connections.

I creatively came up with this on my own in my many years of gardening. Though I knew I didn't discover it, I guess seeing this video proves the organic science and wider applications.

Your vlog is a refreshing change of pace. Always leaves me inspired.

Me gusta mucho la forma en que construyeste una cerca natural con plantas.

Reminds me of hedging we have here in the UK. These willow fences seem pretty cool and they have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, I imagine animals dont mind eating it away. Certain hedging techniques with thorny plants can act a lot like a barbed wire fence. Dont imagine even that could handle the crazy ability of goats to eat anything though haha

All I can picture now is making one of these fences to create an enclosure in a clearing in the forest near a stream and letting it grow WILD and crazy, taller and full of leaves and shoots 20 feet high, making a natural windbreak for the ultimate campsite... Can you picture it? It's serene.

These are the best kind of videos on RU-vid. Super informative, dense, well edited, inspirational, actionable. Incredible this is free. Thank you!

WOW. This woman is incredibly interesting. I came here in my bumbling through English hedge laying and found a tree that's more sustainable for the country/state I live in. Definitely taking this information!

What an inspiring person! I love these videos ❤ it’s so great to see people like this out there 😊

I saw a tree stump laying on the side of the lake and it had drifted there some time ago and was re growing, a willow..I took a small cutting and brought it home, knowing how easy it is to re grow. I first found out years ago when I contracted to remove a willow tree from storm damage and brought it home for firewood and the logs started re growing in a pile so I planted one branch and had a nice tree bout 15 ft tall a few years later! NE Oklahoma!

Just gonna say, I'm not into newagey anything. I'm just very into the uniqueness of creation... this lady didn't sound newagey. Which I'm happy for because the stuff is always in your face.. This excited me as a new homesteader! B"H. He has made wonderful things for us and I'm glad we're getting back to our roots. We've lost so much in the few thousands years of recorded history.. I'm thankful for people like you and this group paving the way for us to learn our lost ways of living.

This video is everything! I love willows! I have a native (Dallas Tx area) willow tree growing in my front yard, from seed! it turns 4 years this year, and thanks to deep mulch and the aid of cowpeas, it is taller than my house and at least 25 feet wide.

This is incredible! I may just have to do this myself. I have a huge Willow on my property, likely planted in 1900 shortly after my house was built as a property boundary, and this would be an incredible way to keep that tree alive. Also, it is my understanding that some of the largest harvesters of trees, (in the North at least) are also some of the most prolific planters of trees since they want to keep a steady supply of their only product over the decades and centuries of their operation. They want to stay in business for as long as possible, and to do so, they ensure they have a sustainable model and one which is minimally depreciative to the environment. I think many lumber companies don't deforest for product, they plant forests where there aren't any, then harvest their crop. The BIG problem is the deforesting of our earths lungs, the Amazon Rainforest. What makes it worse, is that the Amazon deforestation isn't even done for building houses or productive things, it's decimated for junk crop-product like soy. LAME. The entire planet should be rallying around banning that. Deforesting the Amazon for crops should be limited, or even stopped and withdrawn from. It is so depressing that we're focusing on how to rename bathrooms to be less offensive, and fund wars, when the oldest, and MOST important natural-feature of our planet is being destroyed at speeds faster than most people are aware of. We should be funding the preservation or even the regrowth of the Amazon if we REALLY care about global warming. NOTHING removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the Amazon (it also makes incredible amounts of oxygen, which we sort of need to be alive). It is completely ironic to say you want to save the planet on a national level, then condemn the person who is doing the MOST to support that mission. The person who also has the intentions to FIX it, and the brains and money to actually accomplish it. You could argue that we are essentially supporting the destruction of The Amazon since we demand what they produce. We should be focusing on producing our own products "in-house" so we do not inadvertently overburden other more essential parts of our biosphere (not to mention make tons of jobs). Perhaps treating our earth as though it is one machine is not actually what is best for our it. Actions speak louder than words, or I guess legislation in this case.

Greeting from Colorado. Solid content as always Andrew. I will definitely be incorporating willow fencing and apple fencing on my farm.

I've often thought about making a living fence. This video was perfectly timed! Thank you.

One of the most interesting and useful how-to's I've seen. This is a great solution not only for fencing, but also retaining walls. I'm dying to try this!

I've been experimenting with living willow fences for a few years. Seeing this was super helpful! Thank you

Back in the early 60s, I remember seeing fences like this. Most were overgrown, but the crosshatch could still be seen in poplar trees and willows, and in gardens, rises.

So informative in so many ways. I have a whole new respect and love for willow!

Willow is like the cousin of Kudzu! I will definitely start utilizing Willow on my property, it sounds wonderful to me! 🙏💖🌹😊 A diamond in the rough 💎

This is very inspiring work, great educational content. I had no idea willows were so versatile ,this is the face of a highly inspirational humanitarian at work. Kara and Andrew, thankyou so much for this information, it is greatly appreciated,I hope to implement such visionary sustainable concepts into my ecology projects in the future, so thankyou 💜❤💎💎🎖🎖

What a beautiful metaphor at the end about how we can be like a willow. I may just do that online course. I’ve always wanted to learn even more from you and your friends

Jeff Lawton says that willow makes high-quality biochar. Something to consider if you have enough baskets.It's so high quality that it's used for art charcoal.

In french we call that plant "osier" my grand grand father was a farmer and used to make basket out of it, big one and little for kid... I have a little one in my room, it's a memory of him...

People like you are what we need more in this world.

this is a great idea! this is like a smaller method of english hedge rows. they take maintainence every year is the only draw back in contrast to that method, however these hedges are so much smaller and remind me of a living chain link fence. this method would be usable in a suburban farm location, whereas english hedge rows tend to be about 5 to 10 feet thick when propperly maintained and at full width/height before recut and managed every 10ish years.

This video makes my heart very happy...Where I live, Osage Orange trees are crazy prolifically (and hatefully thorny) These two traits make it perfect for coppicing a living fence row that even hogs will not challenge...Pretty sure the wood is way too stiff for basketry, however. Osage orange fence post can last a Lonnggg time

Oh my, she is just wonderful! Thank you for sharing this knowledge and fir everything thong else you have done to get this far with what you are doing... amazing! ❤❤❤

Willow is widely used in sports , bat's made out of willow hav many advantages & its fibrous structure does not crack like other wood .

We have willows at my mothers place and it was always so cool to be able to cut off sticks to play with as a kid and have them all regrown next year. There we dont have a living fence, but a lot of the willow cuttings (some of them growing right next to it) and other small leftover branches go into a deadwood hedge, which also provides a lot of biodiversity and habitat. Now I actually kind of wanna grow my own willow (fence) at home

Wholehartedly INSPIRED. 🌿 I never knew a single plant could entertain, educate, and inspire the future of our homestead in 11 minutes. Truly grateful for Kara’s lifetime of work with willow and everything that went into multiplying her message through this video. 🙏🏼

Insane ! I definitively want to test that on my future farm, thanks for sharing !

willow loves water and is extremely invasive of water sources like lawns, pipes (irrigation and drinking water inlet) and sewage. Once it is planted it is almost impossible to get rid of and will spread like bamboo.