On the farm this week, our crops continue their development and our rose stock gets its first ‘thumbs-up’ from the experts!
After the rapid emergence of our crops over the past couple of weeks, one could be forgiven for thinking the hard work was now behind us. This, unfortunately, is not quite the case. Indeed, planting conditions are crucial, and it is true that we planted in near-perfect conditions. The focus now, however, has shifted, and my job now is an entirely different one to the one I was working only a few weeks ago.
Crop husbandry, the practice of raising crops, is an exhaustive and exhausting proposition. Daily checks on germination rates, plant health, soil conditions, influence of climate, pests and diseases become routine and, where once I looked forward to the steady demise of a busy week, I now look forward to spending my Fridays surveying wildlife and building an intimate connection with our fields.
Our rose stock, as mentioned at the top of this update, is going along splendidly. Stewart Pocock (of the Cornish Rose Company) visited last week and was happy to note their health and condition with respect to their planting date.
Interestingly, I noted an orange glaze on some of the stock on the morning of Stewart’s arrival and he was able to confirm my suspicion that it was ‘Rose Rust’. The least serious of the “Big 3” rose diseases (the remaining two being blackspot and powdery mildew), rose rust can be easily controlled with the addition of a sulphur-based fungicide. All being well, we should have a weed/pest/disease free crop by mid-July, at which point we’ll be grafting on our own selected species. All Images © Trelonk Ltd
