Lambing takes up many hours in March. The ewes are given hospitality in the fold yard and dutch barns immediately prior to and following lambing. A watchful eye is kept for several weeks on lambs that are prone to straying from their mothers, and on ewes that can be reluctant to be mothers. Any signs of stress in parent or offspring need immediate attention.

Having had the Ewe flock scanned for the first time ever means that we have a pretty good idea of how many lambs each ewe will produce. This should aid the plan to relieve a ewe of her third lamb and help a single mother to adopt a second lamb. In a perfect world this should work out well, but the ewe’s own temperament and ability to produce milk are important factors too.

As the daylight gets longer and the soil temperature begins to rise, we contemplate the sowing of carrots, parsnips, beetroot and swede.

Organic transplants will begin to arrive for planting from the end of April.

Sowing and planting is done at regular intervals to try and space the maturity of crops for a steady supply. Still, so much depends on the weather – but we always hope it will co-operate!

When plants are at their most tender, they need lots of protection from greedy pigeons and rabbits- so many hours are spent in the field trying to keep them away. We do not know of any secret formulae!

As plants become established, so do weeds- so hoeing and weeding becomes the order of the day. Much of this is done by hand.

We will not have gone on holiday, but will be busy in the fields, growing your veg for next season. It is aleays worth a look in if you are passing and there are usually fresh organic eggs available for sale.

If all goes well, we would hope to have the first veg for sale in mid July.