Matthew's Blog - Sunshine, Early Crops & Baloons

Temperatures for March were well above average for the time of year and crops that were drilled into moisture are starting to germinate. The extremely tasty new season potatoes that have been wrapped up in fleece and polythene to try and encourage early growth are just starting to push their leaves through the soils surface. Roy informs me that this is the earliest he has ever had the crop showing above ground.

We recorded a total of 20mm of rain during March, below average for the time of year. Visit 'http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/regmapavge.html#eengland' to check out climate information for our region.

I hope you have all been enjoying the white sprouting; it truly is a delicious vegetable.
As Robert has mentioned it is a short season and the first variety White Eye has come and gone, Roy started picking White Star last week and hopefully a return to more seasonal temperatures may just prolong the season. Next season Roy will be adding the variety F1 Burbank to try and lengthen the harvest.

In the polytunnels where it consistently reached 40 oc last week, the early season beetroot are starting to grow; parsley and shallot transplants are ready to be set but are just being held back in anticipation of some welcome rain.

Whilst the sun was shining I took the opportunity to cultivate and hoe between the rows of garlic. The machine disturbs the weeds and buries the smaller ones whilst the bigger ones are left on the soil surface for the sun to shrivel. This process also loosens the top of the soil, which allows rain/irrigation water to find its way down to the plant roots rather then run off the beds that have been compacted over winter.

For one moment last Wednesday I thought I was going to share a champagne breakfast. The weather was warm and there was a light breeze, the hot air balloons were out in force and one looked like it was going to try and land on the farm. Thankfully it landed on a neighbours field and not our crops, I made do with my apple.

Matthews Blog - Seed Drilling & Greedy Pheasants

With water predicted to become a scarcer resource in our part of the country it is important to try and improve the water holding capacity of the soil and recycle the rainwater that falls onto our roofs.

Over the past couple of years I have been embracing the Organic farming idea of using locally sourced green waste compost and growing winter soil management crops to try and help conserve moisture as well as improving the structure and biology of the soil.
I have also started connecting tanks to the down pipes of the farm buildings to try and save as much rainwater as possible.

As I go to check on my garlic crop I notice two cock pheasants, they look at me and almost shrug their shoulders at my presence, then they continue, taking a row each they walk down the recently sown broad beans, flicking out and eating the seed, occasionally they stop, look at each other their heads moving as if they are having a good old gossip then they return to their tea.

Last Friday the second-hand seed drill I have purchased arrived. With carrots and parsnips moving on to a raised bed system this year we needed to improve the existing equipment or look for an alternative. The twelve row folding machine is far bigger than I need it to be but it gives me the option of lots of spare parts (which I recently discovered are very expensive) and once I have split it, a second machine that I can sell on.

Good spring conditions continue and the autumn planted garlic and broad beans are looking really well. Peas, radish, spring onions and spinach have all been sown in the past week with carrots and parsnips to follow. Calabrese, beetroot, lettuce, onion and parsley transplants are due in any day now, hopefully providing lots of tasty treats for the summer.

Matthews Blog - Drought, Carrot Drilling & New Greens

What a difference a week makes, the snow is forgotten and the gutters are dripping. As temperatures head towards double figures the mind starts to think of spring. The soils start to dry and fingers get twitchy, the slightest glimpse of such weather makes me eager to get the first drilling of carrots into the ground. For now patience is required, weather forecasts are checked daily in the hope they will promise a string of good drying days so good seedbeds can be produced.

With winter appearing to be short, 2011 is confirmed as the driest 12 months in England and Wales for 90 years and with no considerable rain forecast, water companies are once again warning of possible water shortages for large parts of England this summer.
Speaking ahead of this week’s drought summit, National Farmers Union vice president Gwyn Jones said, “ The Environment Agency is already forecasting drought and severe restrictions on irrigation in several Eastern counties.”
Following this Defra announced that the South east of England had joined parts of East Anglia in drought.
With root crops and salads heavily reliant on adequate irrigation, some farmers in the worst effected areas have already changed their cropping plans for 2012 by reducing the amount of roots they grow.

The worst drought predicted for 90 years just happens to coincide with me taking over the carrot growing from Roy and Rita. I will let you know later in the year whether or not it was the right decision but I am actually looking to increase the amount of carrots grown to meet demand. This also means greater investment in machinery, seed and crop protection.

Most of the early season seed has now arrived and finishing touches have been made to the transplant orders. New additions for me this year will be wild rocket and basil during the summer, thyme, sage, kohl rabi and pak choi for the autumn. Alongside this there will also be increased amounts of garlic, shallots, torpedo onions, celery, french beans, carrots and fennel.

As well as their usual tasty offerings Roy and Rita will be planting more lettuce and cavelo nero for the summer and autumn, and a new green that should bring you succulent greens from January 2013.

Matthew's Blog - Frozen Fields & Pesky Pigeons

The new year has seen the unseasonally mild conditions that brought about our late carrot fly attack (November) and encouraged the purple sprouting to flourish and the kale to begin its seed setting ritual, giving way to more traditional winter conditions.

Four inches of snow have lay covering the fields for the past week and daytime temperatures have struggled to get above 2 degrees c.

Roy has found it impossible to harvest beetroot, turnips and parsley as they lay beneath the frozen white blanket. Above the snow harvesting continues but many crops are taking twice as long to gather in and it is a constant battle keeping the large flock of wood pigeons off the taller sprouts, kale and purple sprouting crops as they fly searching for nourishment away from there preferred food of choice oilseed rape.

Oilseed rape is grown by the majority of large farms in our area but is struggling to poke its leaves through the snow, as Roy’s greens are from the same plant family he is normally guaranteed a visit when the weather turns bad.

My autumn planted garlic was showing about 5cm of leaf above the soil when the bad weather set in and is now completely covered.
It is said that planted garlic cloves will benefit from a period of cold winter weather as this is supposed to help bulb formation and flavour, this year will certainly test out the theory. The first of the new season garlic is normally ready in early June, so have those taste buds ready so we can put it to the test.

Sitting eating my breakfast Sunday morning I felt sorry for the birds that were struggling to find food through the covering of snow. I decided to break up some leftover bread and scatter it on the lawn I had cleared. Sitting back feeling good about helping the sparrows and blackbirds I was most distressed to look out of the window and see the largest wood pigeon I have ever seen clearing up nearly every piece.