The Wheels are Turning Again!
After a few Winter months of inactivity on the land, the extra-ordinary February weather heralded the start of the farming year and the wheels started turning in earnest. Sian's dad has been weather recording for 34 years, and this February he recorded the warmest maximum temperature since his records began; a sultry 21 degrees C on the 26th February. Needless to say, farmers all over Hampshire were hard at work making the most of the beautiful days.
The first job for Richard was to drill our spring beans. This year he is using a variety called 'Lynx' (I do often wonder about the people who market the names for seeds!). To me, Lynx is either a men's deodorant or an elusive, scarce feline. Here's hoping the beans are not that elusive or scarce this year! They had a terrible time last year with flooding and then drought, so we are hopeful growing conditions will be much better this year.
Richard chose Lynx seed because it is deemed to be the highest yielding, which also has good resistance to downy mildew and a reasonable length of straw which will hopefully stand up until harvest - making it easier to combine.
This is the first time he has drilled into a cover crop and his main concern was that our tine drill would get bunged up with the cover crop, but it coped fantastically well and the beans went in without complication. You can see the remains of the cover crop in the photos here; lots of organic material stabilising and nourishing the soil. This is a very different approach from the old traditional one of cultivating the land or indeed ploughing.
He is now just waiting for the next window of good weather to start planting our spring barley. Thereafter, weather permitting, our canary seed will go in towards the end of March/beginning of April, followed by our millets when the warmer weather arrives in mid-May. So lots to do to keep your birds well fed next year!
Trivia Question!
Wrens tend to be quite solitary birds, but do you know what the Collective Noun for a group of Wrens is?
Here is a clue: doorbells can do this!
The answer will be on my next newsletter...........
Enjoy your birds and thank you for your business.
Best wishes,
Lesley.
Countryside Stewardship 
