November is the month to collect apples for making cider. Cider uses apples that are a bit bitterer than eating apples, and should be left for several weeks to become soft before they are crushed and pressed. A common mistake made by newly-installed smallholders is to plant lots of apple trees, all of which yield… Continue reading Cider Apples
Category: Hoe farming
The Vegetable Garden in October
The work done earlier in the year can be seen to be paying dividends as the summer progresses. The picture above was taken at the beginning of October, when the vegetable garden is at its peak; chicory and leeks can be seen in the foreground, green manure (phacelia) has been sown on the left where… Continue reading The Vegetable Garden in October
Linen Retting in Pond
Cutting Buckwheat
Farmers used to grow a greater variety of crops than they do now – buckwheat, for instance, was once widely grown in many parts of Europe and Asia, and formed a staple part of the diet in many areas. Crops such as buckwheat have fallen into relative disuse because they do not fit in with… Continue reading Cutting Buckwheat
Drying wheat grains
The basic principals of cereal growing are quite simple: select the seed, sow it in well-prepared ground, harvest it, thresh it, winnow it, and grind it – and you have flour from which you can make your own bread. In practice, things are a little more complicated, mainly because farming works best as a communal… Continue reading Drying wheat grains
Wheat and poppies
Traditional farms were not weed-free. Weed seeds are present in the soil, in the compost that you spread, and even mixed in with the seeds that you are planting – which is probably the case with poppies. Over time, however, the plants that one does not want to see in the fields – such as… Continue reading Wheat and poppies
Potato Trenches
Early in March it’s time to start thinking about the year’s potato crop. Trenches are dug and lined with mulch or compost, and the potatoes can be planted at the end of the month.
Split Wood
Wood is split and then piled up. After a couple of years of seasoning, it is dry enough to burn.
Coppiced hazel bank
Winter is the best time for tree work. Hazel trees should be cut down to ground level. New shoots will grow up from the base, re-invigorating the root system and old wood. A hazel tree coppiced regularly in this way can live for thousands of years. We first cut the above bank about seventeen years… Continue reading Coppiced hazel bank