April, 2008

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies is? .... The birdies is in the incubator! (apologies to Jimmy Durante)... Yes. Following the visit from the fox last month, we put all our Ixworth eggs in the incubator and turned it on, now we have 15 fluffy chicks making a racket in the conservatory (along with Ruby the bottle fed lamb who has just been asked to leave the house 'cos she's keeping everyone awake and there isn't enough room for her to stretch her legs!). The start of our new flock. We will be looking for new bloodline cockerels towards the end of the year, but as this breed is on the "endangered" list of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust they are pretty hard to come by so it may take a while.

Every year our herd of cows has to be tested for TB. It's a bit of a fiasco because we need to run the cows through the crush (a sort of cage where they can be held safely whilst being checked) and the vet needs to inspect each one. After the first run through on the Monday, Dougal came up with a wizard plan for reworking the crush to make it easier for all concerned and by the time the vet returned on Thursday, there were new gates and posts and a race to run the cattle down. Whilst it still needs a bit of tweaking, it's a brilliant improvement and the vet was seriously impressed with the speed of transformation he'd accomplished! On top of that, the herd went clear again - something of an achievement in this neck of the woods.

The top story of this month has to be that Lorraine attended a Biodynamic Agriculture Course. This has got to be one of the best things I've ever done. Biodynamic Agriculture is a huge subject and one full of variables. Although we've read a lot and been playing with many of the concepts since our arrival at Vowley Farm, we have never really been sure if what we're doing is correct, so given the opportunity to spend time in the company of an expert Biodynamic Practitioner and Teacher, I jumped at the chance.

Biodynamic Agriculture is about farming to enhance the life force of the soil, plants and animals. In order to do this, a Biodynamic Practitioner takes account of all aspects and energies of life in their work, so whereas much of agriculture has become earthbound, with some lip service to the influences of the moon, biodynamic agriculture is about bringing to bear the positive forces of the earth, sun, moon and planets, and how you do that depends on what outcome you want!

We learned about the influences of different planets on the soil and how to tell if you have soil full of life force or "deadened". We looked at the effects of NPK fertilisers and why the food we are eating is depleted in trace elements and minerals. We looked at plants and their needs and how therefore to create a soil that best supports those needs. We explored the animal realm and looked at the interrelations between man and animal, animal and plant, plant and soil, all the above and the solar system. We also looked at water and how enlivening water can enhance the soil's capacity to nurture plants.

At Vowley Farm we live on heavy clay soil, with the added challenge of being low-lying and flat. If you've visited in the winter, or read some of our monthly reports, you will know that we are challenged by mud and wet from November through to April (if we're lucky!) and sometimes beyond these months. It is of no surprise therefore that we have a significant number of docks, and one field in particular where they outrank the grasses. We have been looking at ways of improving land drainage but we also wanted to think about how to help enliven the soil so that natural drainage and water retention is enhanced. Following the course, we have this initial plan of action: