A Week on the Estate: Walled Gardening, Last Plashing & Bird Plotting

To carry our vision of a sustainable and dynamic rural economy into the future, we’re planning to actively recruit more young people this year via the graduate scheme, the Saturday Club and the Kickstart programme. As Graduate Placement Officer, Clarice Weston is both job coach and mentor for all our young workers. Clarice brings organisational skills from a working life in secretarial and PA roles, as well as a flair for leadership and problem-solving from her time as a leader and chairman in the Scout Movement. You can find Clarice’s plans for a busy year of mentoring on our ‘journal’ page.

Out on the land, Ken and Tom from A.W. Smith made a start on ploughing ahead of drilling our spring-sown cereals and winter bird plots, making the most of the fantastic farmyard manure applied by John Benge.

As stewards of the countryside, we’re planting areas of land for the specific benefit of farmland birds and various pollinators. The winter bird plot will be planted with a diverse seed mix that includes spring triticale (60%), spring barley (10%), linseed (5%), millet (5%), quinoa (2%), mustard (2%), kale  (4%) and sunflower (4%). The variety of seeds, from oil-rich to brassica and cereal, should suit every avian palate from finches to gamebirds and ensure a food supply into late winter.

Species known to benefit from this approach include the tree sparrow, linnet, yellowhammer and reed bunting. Not only do the flowering crops support a range of pollinating insects, but they also encourage egg-laying, creating another food source for birds. Surviving hoverfly larvae are partial to aphids, giving us organic pest control.