More stories on The Weather
Sep 10
Animals And The Rain
Posted in Livestock, The Weather by caroline
The farm animals tend to react to the rain in different ways. For example, the lambs have been wandering up and down the hedgerows with their heads down, bottoms to the wind, trying to get some shelter. They are not putting on as much weight as they usually do at this time of year but this will change when the sun comes out. The cows have been collecting quite a lot of mud on their feet which means more cleaning in the milking parlour for us! And the pigs simply take shelter when it rains and come out again when it stops - which seems quite sensible really!
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 2
Making Hay!
Posted in Farming Techniques, The Weather, Farm Machinery by David Wilson
We've mown some grass and started tedding it (spreading it around to get the sun on it). Although the weather is not completely settled it's good enough to risk knocking some grass down. We mow it with the doors on the mower open which means the grass lies flat on the ground, then you give it a day or two and you turn it once or twice a day until you've got hay.
Jun 30
Content Milking Cows
Posted in Organic Farming, Livestock, The Weather by David Wilson
This year, the cows are pretty content because the grass has grown well and it is our herdsman Mark's second year managing the herd which also helps. Organic standards mean we stock fewer animals on a given area compared to conventional farming - whether it is in a building in the winter or on a field in the summer. Our cows walk out to their grazing and we don't push them too hard for their milk.
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 8
Contented cows
Posted in Organic Farming, Livestock, Farming Techniques, The Weather by David Wilson
The cows are outside 24 hours a day now because the grass has starting growing and it's milder at night. They look an absolute picture grazing in the fields. It's always a difficult juggling act to keep the grass at the right height. At this time of year, grass is trying its hardest to produce seed heads. As it reaches this stage it becomes less nutritious so we try to maintain the grass sward a few inches high.
Jun 5
Filthy Mess
Posted in Farming Techniques, The Weather by David Wilson
When I see a forecast for heavy rain my heart sinks. It affects us hugely because it dictates what we can and can't do on the farm. The main problem is the ground becomes waterlogged and tends to slow growth down. Given all the rain we've been keeping busy doing dry jobs around the farm like clearing up the vegetable line in the shed where we do all the grading.
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.
May 28
Lambs, Alpacas and Pronking!
Posted in Organic Farming, Livestock, Baby Animals, Farming Techniques, The Weather by David Wilson
We've almost finished lambing now and luckily haven't lost any lambs to foxes which I'm pleased about. We normally lose a few each year but this lambing season, for the first time, we borrowed two Alpaca (which look like mini Llamas) from a neighbour to deter foxes. They are intimidating animals and if you go into the field with a dog they are very defensive in the way they strut around.
May 14
Current crops
Posted in Crops, Harvesting, The Weather by David Wilson
Crops in the Spring are affected by two things: temperature and day length. We started sowing the Spring crops the first few days in March. The malting barley (Plumage Archer and Westminster) went in first followed by the Spring oats. The last crop we planted was the mustard in mid-April. The rye is the most advanced crop, about nine inches high; with the long days it grows quickly and will go up to 6 ft. We start harvesting the rye in late July, early August, and we go straight through with the wheat and malting barley. It's always a frantic time. No lying on the beach for me.
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
Read Comment >