More stories on Crops
Sep 15
Getting Ready For Harvest
Posted in Crops, Harvesting, Organic Farming, Farming Techniques, Farm Machinery by caroline
Looking ahead to sunnier days, we'll start harvesting as soon as the dew is off the crops and the combine has had its daily service, which involves cleaning air filters, checking oil and greasing all the bearings. Then we'll continue harvesting until at least 10 pm, sometimes working into the early hours.
Aug 29
Late Harvest at Home Farm
Posted in Crops by David Wilson
This year we've had the latest harvest since I started working at Home Farm in 1985. Normally by the August Bank Holiday Monday we've either finished or are close to finishing harvest and looking forward to a day off but due to all the rain this year this has not been the case. So far we've only completed about a third of the harvest. There are 750 acres of crops to harvest on Home Farm. These include 160 acres of oats which go into Duchy Originals Biscuits, 100 acres of malting barley which go into Duchy Originals Ale, 200 acres of wheat, most of which goes into the Duchy Originals Biscuits, 25 acres of mustard, which goes into the Duchy Originals Wholegrain Mustard and 63 acres of rye.
Jul 23
Home Farm People - Catherine Pyne, Home Farm Box Scheme Manager
Posted in Crops, Organic Food by David Wilson
(Left to right: Catherine, Hannah, Ames, Emily) My name is Catherine and I run the Organic Vegetable Box Scheme at Home Farm. We distribute about 250 boxes a week within a ten to twelve mile radius of Home Farm. People don't know what they're getting in the box so it's a surprise for them which they tell us they love!
Jul 22
Going On A Farm Walk
Posted in Crops, Organic Farming, Farming Techniques by David Wilson
I do a few guided farm walks throughout the summer. Recently the Soil Association and a group which included people from different walks of life ranging from policy makers to food writers, authors and farmers joined me. I took them around the farm and we had some interesting discussions about the amount of energy used in the present food system.
Jul 11
No More Rain!
Posted in Crops, The Weather, Organic Food by David Wilson
We've had a lot of rain in the last week which was needed, but now we've had enough! So far in July we've had three inches which is quite a lot for this time of year (but not last year which we prefer to forget!). Because of the rain we can't make hay which is annoying as we've still got another 60 acres to make.
Jul 9
Picnic By The Mustard Field
Posted in Crops, Producers, Duchy Originals Products, Organic Food by David Wilson
The other day Guy Tullberg and some members of his family and staff came and had a picnic on the edge of our mustard crop. Guy is the MD of Tracklements, the company which produces the Duchy Originals Wholegrain Mustard. Not surprisingly, they brought along a selection of their delicious mustards to accompany the cold snacks. It was rather nice to have a picnic all together and it's always interesting to taste some of Guy's new mustards. Tracklements are always coming up with some great tastes and it's nice as a farmer to see the end product.
Jul 4
Smells Like Manure
Posted in Crops, Organic Farming, Farming Techniques, Farm Machinery by David Wilson
We try to muck spread just before or during the growing season so it can be utilised by the clover and grass. Why do we muck spread? Well, it feeds the soil, particularly the composted manure. In a nutshell, it's the law of return and forms part of the nutrient cycle.
Jun 20
What a lot of weeding
Posted in Crops, Organic Farming, Farming Techniques, Farm Machinery by David Wilson
We are doing a lot of weeding at the moment. We've got our motorised hoes going up and down the vegetable beds to try to reduce the weed population.
Jun 10
The Sweet Smell of Silage
Posted in Crops, Organic Farming, Farming Techniques, The Weather by David Wilson
I'm often asked, ''What is silage?'
Jun 4
Carrots and Potatoes
Posted in Crops, Harvesting, Farming Techniques, The Weather, Duchy Originals Products, Organic Food by David Wilson
We're grading last year's carrots which came out of the earth in October/November. They've been stored at 3 degrees in a refrigerated vegetable store. They go into our vegetable boxes and we also sell them to other box schemes. The carrots are also used in the Duchy Originals vegetable crisps. We planted most of our potatoes three weeks ago. We have five varieties: Cara, Cosmos, Robinta, Sarpo Mira and Remarka. The reason we grow so many varieties is that it never pays to have all your eggs in one basket. Some varieties will do better than others in a given year.
Home Farm People - Catherine Pyne, Home Farm Box Scheme Manager
Fred Hobday, 30th Dec 2008 said:
i live in north Dorset and would like to know where I can buy Nicola potatoes.thank you
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