Strimming and overgrowth clearance in St Thomas

St Thomas sits low and close to the river on ground that has flooded historically, and land like that grows in a way the ridges either side do not. Silt and water together produce docks, nettles and thick coarse grass that stand higher and are heavier to cut than anything on the drier slopes towards Exwick or Alphington.

That is worth knowing before booking by the hour, because an hour on flood plain growth covers noticeably less ground than an hour on a thin dry plot. It is also why a single annual cut here often is not enough to keep a boundary usable.

There is a lot of allotment and small growing ground on this side of the river, and the commonest job on it is not the plot itself but the edges: the path, the shared boundary and the strip along the fence that nobody has claimed. Those are quick pieces of work and are usually inside the two hour minimum.

Where a plot has been let go entirely, the sensible order is to take the whole thing to ground level first so what is underneath can be seen, then decide. Sheds, water butts, glass cloches and buried edging are all common and all need marking before a metal blade goes anywhere near them.

The Victorian terraces close to Cowick Street and Exeter St Thomas station are the tight ones. Narrow frontages, on street parking all day and rear access that varies house by house, so the practical question is always the same: can the machine and the arisings get in and out without going through the hallway.

Out towards the ring road and Marsh Barton the estates are far easier, with drives, gates and somewhere obvious for a trailer to stand.

Ground that has been under water at any point comes back thick, and it comes back with whatever the water brought with it. Clearing it is ordinary work, but it is worth saying if a plot has flooded, because it changes what is likely to be hidden in the growth and how the arisings are handled.

Anything cut can be taken away under the waste carrier registration, which on ground like this is usually the right answer rather than leaving it to rot down in place.

The ground rises on both sides of the low river land, towards Exwick on one side and up past Exeter Racecourse on the other, and the plots on those slopes drain properly. Growth there is thinner, drier and quicker to cut than anything down on the flat.

It is the practical answer when a wet spell has stopped work lower down: the hill sides are usually cuttable a day or two before the river ground is, and a booking can be moved up rather than pushed back.