Update - Mid April 

With the drilling of sugar beet and beans now complete, we are now on major slug alert! Although unglamorous looking, they can be devastating by easily wiping out the young emerging crop. Prevention is incredibly tricky and it is not as if you surround the whole field with salt to stop them feasting. As the countryside turns from brown to green, it is now the time to keep an eye out for fungal diseases and later on to crop-damaging insects such as the Wheat Bulb Fly. There are two main fungal diseases that agronomists (crop doctors) battle against: Septoria and Yellow Rust. Timing is crucial as we start to spray with plant protection products before the diseases can take over. At the moment we are at T1 stage (i.e. treatment one). Usually throughout the season there are 3 treatments. So we shall see how the season evolves, what the weather brings us – Icelandic volcanic ash cloud or not.
Caroline

Update - Early April 

We are delighted that Eddie has joined our garden team. After a month's trail and having received various war wounds from holly and bramble tussles we look forward to bringing the gardens back to some order and colour. Undoubtedly he will tell us the various Latin names of plants, so it seems 'class is in session' for the rest of us! Nothing beats the smell of freshly cut grass. Indeed everything is growing at such a rate and we will catch up on the 3 weeks delay caused by the cold weather earlier this year. In amongst the grass there are always plenty of nettles. To be honest it is tempting to tidy up patches of nettles with the mower. However, the nettles are also the chosen plant for a number of butterflies and moths, who laid eggs on the leaves. On closer inspection the nettles can also reveal eggs, caterpillars and various pupae, including the silky tents of the White Cabbage and Red Admiral. Look out for the emerging butterflies.
Caroline

Update – March