Regenerative Birch and Besom Brooms

Thousands of self-set birch have appeared in the new plantation, with some, crowding out the sweet chestnut and oak. They need to be thinned, and this provides a good opportunity to collect the side stems for besom-broom making. The bundles of birch twigs will be seasoned for six months or so, and then construction can begin. I’m not an expert, but I’m keen to make a compression device for squeezing up the broom-heads before binding and setting the handle.