See separate blog post for details of deliveries over the festive period and extras available on the 22 December delivery. Remember there will NOT be a delivery on Thursday 29 December.
November has been mainly wet, windy and mild, which has been good for our leafy green crops although they have started to slow down now. The harvesting team have had some challenging mornings though and driving around the fields gets harder. But no complaints really, we need plenty of rain to fill up the aquifers and resorvoirs so we all have water next year.
Soil Sampling. We recently undertook soil sampling to check on the organic matter and as well as pH and levels of potassium, phosphorus and magnesium in the soils we grow on. We are very happy the results, especially with the soil organic matter (SOM) level in all 24 samples. SOM is important for biological activity, it also provides a nutrient source for the crop, it helps with soil structure and water retention and stores carbon.
Organic farms have 20% more organic matter in their soil on average. Organic farmers make soil health a key priority on their farms, building fertility naturally through the use of compost, crop rotation and nitrogen-fixing crops. Organic farmers use, on average, 65% more compost on their farms! Organic matter is really important for building healthy, fertile soils, and helping the soil to hold and store water.
https://www.soilassociation.org/causes-campaigns/save-our-soil/10-soil-facts/
The Ripple Farm watering hole. The pond has filled up quite a lot but I had to patch up a lot of holes in the liner after the foxes damaged it in the spring, and one of them must be still leaking so it won’t get total full until I can work out where the leak is. There has not been much action caught on the trail camera in November though, I think partly because there is plenty of water available elsewhere now but there may also be a technical issue with the camera! I was recently reminded of some wonderful photos of birds and butterflies on the farm taken by a local photographer and thought I would share them again for the benefit of our new customers. https://richardearland.co.uk/ripple-farm
