September is here and the weather seems so changeable, it really does feel like four seasons in one day at the moment! The rain when it comes is very welcome though after the scorching July and August we had, refilling our reservoirs which were getting seriously low.
It’s certainly been a challenging summer for us on the farm, even though the warm weather resulted in a bumper crop of strawberries, the fruit tended to be smaller than previous harvests. It’s clear to us all that adjusting to these climate changes will be a big part of our farm management going forwards.
Even so, we’re not done with our Strawberries just yet – our newest batch of plants will continue producing fruit for a while this year, and actually the weather forecast is now looking favourable for another good crop!
And even when the fruit has been picked, the work continues - after picking our wonderful Little Scarlet strawberries in June, we’re now in the process of starting to prepare for next years pick. The old plants and growing bags have been removed and recycled, the tabletops have been maintained and cleaned, and the new plants are already in place. These little seedlings will grow steadily until next summer when we hope to have another great crop of this incredible ( and exclusive to us! ) tasting strawberry!
It’s not just about Strawberries though on the Tiptree farm – we’re pleased to report a good harvest of damsons. We picked around 5.5 tonnes of this distinctive plum-like fruit this month, and if you haven’t tried our damson conserve yet, then we really think you should!
We were hoping to share some pictures from the new Owl boxes – but every time Farm Co-ordinator Dan gets close to the boxes, the owls all seem to hide. We suspect that they’re rather enjoying winding him up. Instead, here's an older photo of a barn owl chick we took previously.
