How quickly a month passes with the harvest being early this summer (no surprise there); it’s been very busy on the farm; tractors hauling grain and seed sometimes until the early hours, double trailers of straw arriving, in addition to our daily haulage lorries; all heading for our weighbridge, to be weighed in and out.
Fine Foods has also been busy with shows and events. We have had lots of visitors to our shop, stocking up on their favourite products. We have had a Tour or two, some filming for Fussels TV; John Melican cooking up a storm, with Tim being chief taster and commentator!
Tim had a very successful day at Dorset Food & Arts Festival …. always a great day out with Brett Sutton from The White Post at Rimpton, in the Cookery Theatre. I also had a great day at The Gillingham & Shaftesbury Agricultural Show, not only on stand, working alongside Gillingham Waitrose, but demonstrating on the Cookery Stage with David Griffin-Shepherd of La Fleur de Lys, Shaftesbury, creating and cooking recipes using some of our range of products. All swiftly eaten by the audience as I was finishing! On the back of that, I have been invited to demo at the Dorset County Show, 1 & 2 September! By the time you read this we will have covered Melplash Agricultural Show and River Cottage, not forgetting the Frome Cheese Show and Food Rocks in Lyme Regis. Come and find us!
Preparing the Ground and Drilling the Seed …..
Moving swiftly on now to a bit of Farming news ……. While harvest is in full swing, the organisation and logistics of where everyone is regarding combine and hauling, baling (sometimes far away), tipping and storage; all lies with Andy and Shaun, ensuring all eventualities are covered and hoping that breakdowns are few. This also requires thinking ahead and making sure all the farm equipment is maintained and checked by our Workshop guys well ahead of harvest.
With harvest coming to an end, it’s gone full circle - preparing, planting, nurturing and reaping.
Having had a few showers, this brought combining to a halt. We had to wait for the balance of the wheat to dry off before it could be cut and baled. All in now which is a relief, our barns brimming with grain and seed.
You may have noticed that Church Farm fields are starting to change; those that will be drilled with Rapeseed are being cultivated. This is when the barley stubble is chopped up leaving it to form humus on the surface. The winter Rapeseed will be drilled/planted by the end of August, being in the ground for about 11 months. Rapeseed germinates pretty quickly, 3-5 days from planting becoming established through September and October before the first frosts come. They will be good sturdy plants with even cover, before lying dormant through the winter. In about February/March when the ground and air temperature starts to warm up the Rapeseed will come out of hibernation and start to grow again. We will also be drilling/planting winter Wheat and Barley …….. after 26 September.
Why not consider booking onto one of our Tours (all details on the website) where you will have a chance to hear far more than I can write here. It’s a great couple of hours and includes a delicious bowl of food too! Next time – ‘Maize Harvest’
Do keep in touch with us via our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Lizzy Etheridge
Production | Sales | Events
