Ditches and Ponds

We’re back making ponds again! This will be our fourth man made pond that Chris has excavated on the farm recently, we're all really benefitting the insect life, birdlife, and wildlife too. They're also nice and near each other, so the animals can hop between each pond area (around 300m between each pond, give or take).

Our latest pond is to be dug hopefully this week, we’re digging a ditch too - ditches are much more environmentally friendly than piped water courses as the wildlife they can sustain is amazing. We have a piped water course in this field at the moment but the clay drains are not able to take the water that comes down them, so they flood and the crops seem to be getting washed away most years, as you can see by the picture from this week. Check out where the crops begin and the margin where flooding has washed away the seeds, thus making this whole area barren and unprofitable.

 The new ditch will have sloping sides and a wildflower margin too so this area will be giving back to nature and sustaining new life and with a healthy water course too we should be seeing lots of species living here eventually.

Nothing is ever instant, and Chris has such vision for the farm and its future for all the inhabitants, and so many projects that her enjoys planning and executing too. We have cut down on tillage, fertilizer, and sprays to enable wildlife to flourish and our resident beekeepers are delighted with our wildflower meadow and field margins that we have planted all around the farm. We have also planted fields with a special mix to feed the birds during the winter months that isn’t harvested so it provides cover and safety as well as food for birds and wildlife alike.

I’ll be posting updates of the digger digging out the ditch and pond, but this is the before so look out for the during and eventually the after pictures too.

Make sure that if you have any questions about our wildlife project that you send me a message, or comment, and we can help everyone to understand what we are doing to make sure this farm is sustainable for years to come.