So I was gong to explain about, what we’ll call, the rotation area. It's completely fenced and split into five sections, the first and second sections are mainly grass now, but as with the rest of this area it was rescued from thick brambles last winter.
The grass sections were earmarked for the chickens, but for a while around our open day in Easter we had the lambs running around. As cute as they were, and as helpful at cutting back the grass, I was glad when they went back to their owners. Their insistence on wanting any bit of grass that was beyond a fence – even when they were standing on perfectly good grass – became a little tiresome. Most of the fences on the site aren’t ours, and there’s little we can do about whether they’re sheep proof or not.
Which brings us to the wheat in the section next to them. The wheat… I’ll come back to the wheat.
Oilseed rap
e was sowed in the fourth section and it did a good enough job. The greenfly had a ball though, with millions taking up residence and sucking the life out of every tip and flower stalk. It was surprising to see only three very lucky ladybirds attacking them though – in fact I haven't seen many all year which is odd.
There was very little actual seed in the end then, which was perhaps a good thing as it's really a weed. Having said that, there were a couple of days in August when the thick aroma of the flowers filled the air – like bluebells, it can be overwhelming and not something I particularly like.I'm not actually that keen on growing it at all unless we have to, especially as we already have the yellow sunflowers – but you shouldn't grow it on the same land for another 7 years anyway, so it’s a no go next year.
Wheat!! Oh the wheat...
The sunflowers worked brilliantly in section five. A bit taller than expected, variable head sizes, and I'm sure there were far more plants than were put in. Instead of 150, we ended up with more like 250. Oh well, not a bad thing.
Baring in mind
they were bought as bird seed from a pet shop we seem to have struck lucky. We were growing the commercial variety rather than the giants that children grow, and I’m surprised they’re not sold more readily for gardeners, they were so easy and yet so impressive.The large heads were collected before the birds could strip them completely, and the seeds dried and stored. We'll definitely have more next year... and I mean more.
So, the wheat.
We were lucky to be passed on to a contact at RAGT Seeds who was exceptionally helpful. If anyone out there is looking for a farm seed supplier...
They donated a large bag of their organic Paragon wheat to sow – enough for next year as well.
It did really well through to June. Healthy, green, erect, and not a gap to be seen. The sun gradually did it's work, and a golden glow began to form as the stalks dried.
And then it went downhill.
The neighbours sheep broke the gate and decided to have a walk around amongst it. They didn't eat any, just had a wander.
Deaf to the promises they'd be kebabs, they were herded (dragged) back through the gateway and the gate patched up more securely.
With so many tracks now running through the wheat, at least a third had been lost and I couldn't even look at it for a couple of weeks.
And then it got worse.
Rain storms hit it hard, and the strong wind ripped through those tracks flattening yet more. It was now a matter of salvaging what we had. A couple more weeks of sun was needed to finish it off, but it rained and rained.
And then suddenly... it was gone. The lot. Flattened. Every stalk systematically snapped and the grain taken.
A list of suspects was built up, but conclusive evidence was lacking. Was it the deer? A roaming dog? Rats? Rabbits? Squirrels? Humans? Wildebeest?
There'd been some large footprints nearby – jokingly described as bear tracks at the time – but now suspicions turned to badgers.
They're known for trampling wheat and eating it at times, but had they taken a liking to ours?
We were never to find out. My money would be on a combination of animals, all doing their share. Gang culture is alive and well in the wild.
With no wheat there’d be no grinding it into flour, so that demonstration would have to be sidelined for another year.
There‘s no such thing as a failure though. If anything, the experience is a lesson about farming – you can lose an entire crop quite easily, and that’s the bulk of your income gone for the year. Food production is a risky business, and not one that should be taken as casually for granted as we often treat it.
The plan for next year and beyond then is to rotate these sections so we make the most of the nutrients in the soil and show how rotation works on real farms. The wheat needs lots of nitrogen, the rapeseed less, the sunflowers aren’t that fussed, and the chickens are adding plenty to start the process all over again.
It isn’t as easy as that of course, and you need to make the most of the land during the winter months too. By having area one as permanent grazing for the chickens we’re part of the way there.
Ideally we’d have winter wheat instead of sowing it in spring, giving it a head-start next year – but we have the ‘bully’ chickens ripping up the grass in area two and adding a little goodness to the soil.
Doing a similar job are field beans in area four, which add nitrogen and can be pulled out in the spring ready for the sunflowers.
Field beans are an odd crop, they’re not really eaten in this country with much of it going into animal fee – but we grow an awful lot of the stuff and yet most people wouldn’t have heard of it.
It’ll be interesting to see what improves and what doesn’t, and who knows, we may get a chance to grind some of our own wheat.
Fingers crossed.
Jamie
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