Briar Farm

Sounds like a good mix. This year we’ve trimmed it down. Old faithfuls Biqhuinho, jalapeno, padron, lemon drop and trialing a new rocoto variety

I was informed so but haven’t tasted them. Beautiful big clusters of them on the vine.

The almond tree in our garden is putting on quite the show!

Lots of signs of spring here; blossom, bumbles, bulbs and brimstones!

A shout out for Apios americana, or hopniss.

It’s a climbing vine that produces edible tubers. Starchier than a potato and with a higher dry mass, they fry up really well.

The yield isn’t as high as potato but they’re perfect for scrambling up a high boundary fence.

We’ve started constructing a new woven fence. We’ll be using willow rods from our coppice to weave between hazel uprights.

It’s been a while; pinning our hopes on remembering how we do this as we go!

Chilli, pepper and aubergine seedlings getting pampered under the grow lights.

Next up we’ll be sowing the tomatoes.

Trip down to Sussex today to collect timber harvested from woodland coppice.

Chestnut posts, hazel stakes and Douglas fir boards.

Thanks!

Before and after the digger. Feels bare but a necessary job to remove large volumes of accumulated farm junk

On this section of yard we removed two skips of waste (mostly glass, metal, treated wood and plastic)

This area will be planted up with fruit and nut trees & wildflowers

There’s old down pipes coming off the eaves. Some we’ll direct into tanks, but we’re hoping there’s some sort of water store under ground so we’re going to follow some pipes and see what we find

I’ve worked out they’re too nice, they keep getting nicked!

Yep established in early autumn. A mix of annuals rye and hairy vetch. Well strim to ground level and add mulch in a few weeks

We’ve been finalising planting plans for our new glasshouse beds.

This season we’ll be growing tomato, aubergine, pepper, chilli, tomatillo, cucumber and melon with an understory of herbs and flowers.

This is the first time a crop has been grown in this space for over 20 years!

We’ve planted 30 willows on an area of field that stands wet.

Our aim is to pollard these in a couple of years time by cutting the main stem to shoulder height. This will keep any new growth out of reach of grazing deer.

We plan to use the pollarded rods for woven willow fences

Think we’re 9a here. Not sure, but min temps are about -7C and last frosts mid April

Is it that time again already?!

Our first sowing of the year; chilli, pepper, aubergine.

Plenty more to come over the coming months.

Oyster mushrooms ready for harvest!

First day done of a big week.

We have a digger and dumper in and we’re grading and clearing 50 years of accumulated farm junk from our main work areas.

Great start so far!

Spent the morning planting up trees

These 250 saplings will form a hedgerow to surround a new traditional apple and pear orchard.

Thanks to everyone who came to lend a hand!

So this is very pertinent, and one of those difficult compromises. We’ve trialled in field planting without protection and with brash piles. Every single one has been munched. Roe, muntjac, hare, rabbit, vole.

To make it work we’ve not really had an alternative.

After a few days of making dead hedges we are shifting our focus to some living ones.

We’ve staked out a 50 metre mixed native hedgerow in one of our pastures to provide a more diverse habitat mosaic.

We’ll be planting this up on Saturday with a work party.

Our next batch of native tree saplings has arrived. On Saturday we’ll be planting these up with a work party to create 50 metres of hedgerow.

Oof, that’s another creature we’re happy to not have to deal with!

Making dead hedges today using the brash from tree prunings.

They’re great for creating habitat. This one is on the edge of one of our ponds and should provide shelter for insects, amphibians and small mammals.

No need to be dragging any of this stuff off site or burning it.

Oyster mushrooms starting to pin on our low tech growing columns.

A week or so and we should be inundated!

Ah the ‘universal key’!

Just planted up a few local heritage varieties here. A Lord Burghley and a Barnack Beauty, effectively next door to Burghley.

Keeping on planting fruit trees here.

This winter we are establishing three traditional orchards planted within a mosaic of wildlife zones, agroforestry lanes, coppice and hedgerow habitat.

We are planting apple, pear, plum, gage, medlar, quince, almond, Asian pear & mulberry.

Trees trees trees! Planting up a section of orchard with pears, apples and quince.

Oo yes! Log burner flues, glasshouse aluminium spares, gas canisters, huge line marking rake for sowing, metal shelving, 2 flat bed trolleys and 9cm pot dibber!