Good afternoon,

And a jolly sunny spring equinox to you. Daylight hours, temperatures and spirits are on the ascent, and even the fields are drying up in some patches. It’s still too sodden for the cattle, but with a few more days like today we’re hoping we can put out the first 45 cows and their calves in a week or so.

Farmer Knowles and I walked the fields this morning to check on the state of things, and it is a mixed bag. The blackthorn blossom is adorning a lot of the hedges, providing an early spot of pollen for the bees. The grass is looking lush in places, and today tends to be a turning point for its growth. And we spotted lots of worm castings, which is a sign of good things and healthy soils.

Our diverse population wheat hasn’t fared so well. With some 40 inches of rain this winter, it looks like the crop is unlikely worth harvesting. Even our best field (below) is a sorry sight. We can make out some of the rows of wheat, but most have drowned and the crop is very thin, so we’re planning to oversow with peas and oats as soon as it’s dry enough to get on, and then turn this into silage for the cattle.

Our farm is on heavy Wealden clay, which is unforgiving. The water retention will serve us well in a drought, but makes things difficult with this amount of rainfall. I think the answer for Trenchmore with our climate becoming more extreme, more warm and more wet is that we stop fighting our soils and stick with grass, herbal pastures, apple trees and livestock. We do those pretty well, after all.

This Saturday,

23rd March

We have 3 troupes and 40 or so Sussex morris dancers taking over the yard on Saturday, so we’re expecting a lot of noise & merriment. Please join us to bless the orchard and have a dance from 12-3pm. 3Bros Burgers are on the menu and you can pre-order here or just pop along. It is free to attend.

Friday 5th April

The Brewhouse Project are taking over the Trenchmore Table on 5th April, serving a 3 course feast of beef & beer in our cyder shack.

You can book a seat here.