Summer, over and out

It’s been a couple of months since we were visited by Adam Henson & the Countryfile team. We were overwhelmed by the response from customers and friends from all around the country who had watched the programme, then contacted us to say how amazing this small part of Northumberland looked on tv on a Sunday evening!

The hot weather and lack of rain has caused many problems this summer, but the largest casualty has been our pumpkin crop. We’ve grown Pick Your Own Pumpkins for the last 2 years and we were looking forward to another season welcoming people to the farm to have a ride on the Pumpkin Express and pick their own pumpkins for Halloween. Sadly, as our area of Northumberland only experienced an eighth of the rainfall we had last year, the plants all suffered and couldn’t all survive. We will have a few pumpkin survivors for sale in our shop but not enough to welcome the public to the field. There’s always next year, this seems to be a phrase we are always hearing as farmers when the crops aren’t great, we just have to try again and hope for the best.

However, harvest was one of the driest and quickest we have ever known on our farm followed by the crop planting for next year. The season was certainly made easier by the dry conditions and I’m sure the rain that follows in the Winter will be plentiful, as long as it remembers when to stop, once it starts!

On a brighter note the bird population has really thrived this year, especially in our garden. I’ve lost count of the number of young pheasants visiting every day to enjoy the bird food I’ve been scattering on the lawn. The smaller birds have had at least two batches of eggs with a great percentage of survivors, especially goldfinches and blue tits as well as sparrows and the resident robins too. They didn’t fly far in the heat and I was putting fresh water out every day, they seemed to be conserving their energy and trying to stay cool in the trees around that edge around the garden. They’re gathering around the feeders and bird table more now that the weather is cooler and the food in the hedgerows is less plentiful. Please keep feeding the birds, it really makes a difference.

Thank you

www.laverockhallfarm.co.uk