Posts by Malcolm Barker

The hot, dry summers we get now are not conducive to growing potatoes. Once the temperature exceeds 25 degrees, potatoes go into survival mode and the yield suffers.

As I write, harvest is now almost over, with one small area of spring barley remaining.

Again, this year, a cold dry spring has become a hot dry summer. The record temperatures have forced the cattle and sheep to remain indoors for shade during the afternoons…

Over the Jubilee weekend I finished shearing the sheep. I have reverted to hand shearing because the sheep sit quieter without the noise and vibration of machine shears.

May has been a month of catching up on work which should have been done during April.

A month ago, I had the feeling that I was starting to catch up with my work. The sun was shining and the land was drying out after winter.

There is a feeling of spring everywhere. The dry, sunny days in late March have helped to get the spring barley sown and most of the lambs are outdoors and should be grazing the herbal leys and swedes in the coming days.

The days lengthen in February and the four weeks give an extra hour at each end of the day. By the time March arrives, spring arrives also.

Lambing started on my farm on 14 January.