Good morning,
The grass is growing gangbusters. There’s a barely visible black dog in the photo for scale. The orchard has been slower to get going with the trees only just coming into leaf and not much blossom - it is hard to know what kind of crop we will get this year.
We expect the difference in enthusiasm between grass and trees is that the grass has managed to transpire more water through the leaves, and the deeper tree roots in the orchard are still in cold, wet clay, which signals that it is too soon to bloom.
We’re planning to mow the grass next week to make our first crop of silage, and will be sowing a barley & pea mix into the failed wheat fields soon after. In order to get a proper crop, we should have sown this in middle March but the ground is only just coming dry enough to get on and it is nearing the end of May. It won’t have full ground cover until after the longest day next month, which might mean it tries to produce a seed head too soon and will certainly mean a small crop.
Dad isn’t expecting to recoup the cost of growing it but knows it is part of the regenerative way to keep living plants in the ground year round and we’re playing the long game. So, sow we shall, and reap we shall not - yet.
This month at the Trenchmore Table we are welcoming Henry Porter to the kitchen. Henry grew up in Bexhill and has cooked in restaurants in Sussex & London, including Marcus (of Wareing fame) and etch. under Steve Edwards. He’s off to cook at Noma Copenhagen next year, so we’re very excited to have him cooking at the farm before he heads off.
Henry’s cooking is both style & substance, and his menu brings international flavours to complement local ingredients. This Trenchmore Table will be a celebration of our Sussex Wagyu beef, but we can also cater for veggie appetites.
The Trenchmore Table - 7th June
You can find 3Bros burgers at the farm on Saturday, at Beak Brewery in Lewes on Sunday and at Bison in Hove all bank holiday. It’s a big weekend for burgers.
We have some bavette steaks, roasting joints & short ribs in stock so pre-order or pop in.
Wishing you a sunny fews days and hopefully a decent burger this weekend.
Rachel x