We are going to sow a sustainable living fence in the spring. An old fashioned hedge-row. The hedge will be made from Hedge Apple. Early settlers planted the Hedge Apple (Osage Orange) which is in the same family as the Mulberry, as hardy hedgerows and the trees can grow to 50 feet high if left unpruned. The tree is very thorny and when pruned to be quite dense it is very effective as a livestock fence. Horse High, Bull Strong and Hog Tight my Old friends tell me. Well, we will see what Daisy says about that. There is an old wives tale that the actual horse apples repel mice and insects, and there was a time when the apples were lined up around the outside of the house to keep the home pest free. No-one can tell me if this was actually a useful practice. I think I will leave that work for the cats.
So with direction from the Old Codger who I visit twice a week, (everyone needs an old person remember and he is mine) I have gathered the hedge apples. They are called oranges. This gets very confusing. In fact they have many names – Monkey Balls, or Horse Apples among them. These are very old trees and because of their thorns they are no longer popular. But they have dense hard timber, good for fence posts as the wood does not rot and even further back the Osage Indians used this wood to make their bows. That old.
I have filled two big buckets with the strange alien looking oranges. The buckets will be left outside beside the barn for the whole winter. They need to sit out in the weather. They will be rained on, snowed on, frozen, thawed and frozen again and by the spring thaw they should have started to go nice and mushy.
The Old Codger tells me that I should get a potato masher in the spring and ‘smash the mess up’ making a kind of slurry. Then down the back of the potato paddock I shall dig a straight long shallow trench and pour the seeds, pulp and water into the trench in a stream. Then we cover it with soil and see what pops up. I am sure the Old Codger will come down and wave his walking stick about to make sure we do it right. He is 93 and very sprightly. He calls a spade a spade, is an endless source of local information with a razer sharp memory for everything, except when he is meant to take a shower. He loves my fudge. 
When the wood is young I can train the young canes into arches, creating a fast growing living fence that will control wind erosion, encourage critters (as the Old Codger calls them) and birds, create shelter and shade for the livestock and of course become a living fence. These hedges were used extensively in the midwest during the 1800’s, before barbed wire was used. My old friend told me that when he was young he saw huge steam engines come in and tear them all out. He said they tore down hundreds of miles of fenceline and hedges, making room for big horticultural monoculture. Sending all the native animals and birds looking for cover elsewhere. And setting the soil free to fly away.
He is thrilled to bits that we are going to plant a hedge-apple hedge again. Squirrels love ’em, he said. Don’t tell John that, I said.
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
116 responses to “Recipe for a hedge-apple hedge.”
That sounds like a fascinating way to plant a hedge. What a shame that the old ones were ripped out.
Progress! Plus the farmers hate hedges they take up to much land, but the really sad thing is that without those trees the prairies are blowing away, remember for thousands and thousands of years the prairies have been covered in grasses and trees, the ground has never been bare before, and now it is brown bare for 6 or more months of the year.. c
so thats what they are called!!! great post and pretty pics
thank you eva, hope you had a great weekend.. c
I haven’t seem those before in my life. They totally look like brains *giggle*
Wow, Kim you are right, i had not even thought of that.. c
I have never heard of these hedge apples before. I was sitting here thinking.. they are stunning and I can totally see me putting these on my table as a decoration similar to using pine cones and such. And you’re right.. everyone needs an older, wise person around 🙂
They would make great decorations too, they are quite large as well.. c
How interesting! I’ve heard of hedge apple, but didn’t really know anything about it and now that I’ve seen your photos I’ll be on the lookout. I can’t wait to see what the hedge looks like!
nor can I, it certainly is an experiment!! c
So that’s what those ugly things are? Hedge rows can be amazing when they get huge. t
They are certainly very interesting to look at, very other worldly, Miss T.. c
Osage orange grow in Va too (where I used to live). I have a friend who is both an archer and a bowyer, and he has made several bows from OO (for the record, he also likes red elm). The “Bowdark/Bois D’Arc” nomenclature also derives from its use as a bow-making wood.
interesting isn’t it, the culture that built up around this tree, which they then yanked up out of the ground and burnt where it had stood.. c
Old Codgers…you gotta love ’em. I look forward to another report on this project come spring. You so impress me with all you do, C.
yes you will all be forced to follow the demise to mushiness and the rise to sapling-ness of the Osage Orange hedge.. c
Our grocery store sells these as ways to keep away bugs and spiders. Kinda spendy, too. Just think: you could have a whole new business going…someday!!!
You have got to be kidding! That is fantastic! There have been tests done and there is a strange chemical concoction in the hedge apple that resembles an insecticide.So maybe there is something in it. But really! It is an old wives tale. It would make me laugh though, to sell them! c
Yeah, it is kinda crazy. I actually bought them years ago, but apparently you have to have them clustered pretty close together or in a long line with only like a foot in between…and I had three or four spread all over the whole basement – so I never noticed that they did any good!
They do work to repel spiders. I put 6 under a house that constantly had spiders; placing each one in a cool whip bowl to contain the mess when they broke down- After a couple weeks time- never saw another spider.
I saw these at the Evanston Farmers Market towards the end of the season but can’t, for the life of me, remember what they were called. It was some sort of apple but that’s all I remember. On the sign was a description and it read that they were not for eating but for ornamental use and good for repelling spiders. That was all I needed to hear and was ready to buy all that they had but then, in my mind’s eye, I saw myself spending the entire Winter chasing Max around as he found each one. The spiders got lucky — this year.
Meanie, Max would have loved a spider repellent toy!! c
Where did you find the Hedge Apples? Does your old friend still have a hedge?
Kudos to you for appreciating the knowledge that your elderly friend has to share with you. I miss my dad who had all that grass roots information. He was 40 years older than me so I didn’t appreciate his knowledge when it was so readily available.
I’m working on a post right now about gleening information from our wise old elders – of any race.
The info is all out there, we cannot let it be lost to the ravages of time, PLUS these days some of these old ways are very applicable again. Very useful.. There are a few hedges around here though they are no longer trimmed and are indeed 50 feet tall, more like wild formidable shelter belts now.. but if you can brave the thorns the apples are all on the ground.. c
When I was growing up in Kansas, we used to throw hedge apples in the streets and watch cars run over them and make a horrible mess. I am glad you have a more productive vision 🙂
what delightfully normal naughty children you were.. c
This is the first time I see those, its like the custard apples of the Philippines without the detailed bumps
I need to have a look at these custard apples, Mandy mentioned those also. Do you eat custard apples? c
Custard Apples are gorgeous to eat – cut ’em in half and dig in with a spoon. I don’t think there is any connection with your hedge apples.
This is great. I love what you’re doing. We had those fruits all over Nashville Tennessee the year I lived there (I was 7)…I didn’t know what they were called. We called them “mock oranges” but when I search “mock oranges” they appear to be something else altogether. But these were what I saw. We used to throw them at everything: parked cars, each other, but mostly just hard against the pavement to wash them crack open. But the most lovable part of the whole thing is that you’re making a HEDGEROW!!! That’s awesome. The critters will be so happy.
Mock oranges is right, that is one of the old names I have heard too, they seem to have made very good toys for kids too!! c
So you have an old codger all to yourself! He sounds like a real gem 🙂
A fascinating post C, and great to hear about your planned hedgerows, and the fact you will be growing them from seed. I’ll look forward to seeing the results
I figure if the old settlers could do it then so can I.. this is my reasoning for most of the old fashioned stuff I attempt.. c