It has been a month of contrasts at Heckfield Home Farm, with warm, bright days encouraging early harvests in the Market Garden, while a lack of rainfall has presented challenges elsewhere. Thanks to the sunshine, a variety of early summer crops—including beetroots, lettuces, fennel, broad beans, peas, and even some strawberries—have been harvested ahead of schedule. The orchard is also bursting with ripening fruit, and the soft fruit bushes are producing abundantly.
However, dry conditions throughout May have slowed the growth of key farm crops used to feed livestock. To manage this, animals have been rotated through fields with available grass and supplemented with silage.
Beyond the fields, more trees grown in our biodynamic nursery have been delivered to our partners as part of our ongoing collaboration to preserve and propagate threatened species locally and globally. Wildlife and conservation efforts continue with the installation of a new owl box, deployment of crayfish traps in the river, and regular moth trap surveys. The farm’s commitment to biodiversity was also evident in the wildflower strip survey and by leaving sections of grass uncut to create habitats and encourage local wildlife.