August 22nd – The harvest seems to be taking forever this year. A bad summer, a series of late, false starts. Several fields around Stonnall and Shenstone are half-harvested. This must be a nightmare for farmers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen wheat lying ripe in the fields this late before. The swaths of straw at Springhill, I noted last week, have now, in one day, been baled and gone, yet work inches forward at Lynn and Sandhills.
This is one dreadful year.
August 20th – I don’t know what to make of this. Near Shenstone, it’s now time to harvest the spring-planted potatoes. I’ve never seen spuds being automatically reaped, and have often wondered how it’s done. Looking at the state of this field, not very well. If parts of this crop have been harvested, there is a large quantity of taters left in the ground. I’m hoping someone collects them by hand, or maybe they will be collected by some kind of second pass of the machine, otherwise the waste would be terrible. A conundrum.
August 15th – Meanwhile, back at Springhill, near Stonnall, the harvest continues apace. Two days ago, this field behind the pumping station was a ripe crop of wheat. Now, all traces of grain have been stripped by the remarkable efficiency of modern grain harvesting machines. All that remains are the neat rows of straw, waiting for baling.
Straw in this state is described as being ‘in swath’ and is often auctioned for the buyer to come and bale it themselves. Straw has near zero nutritional content, and is mainly used as bedding, and therefore carries a low commercial value.
August 13th – The proliferation of beans planted as a crop on local farms this year is intriguing me. I’m interested in how they’re harvested, what they’re used for and why, for instance, this field at Lynn, near Stonnall, is being allowed to die and blacken. I know that growing legumes is a valid and effective crop rotation technique to nitrogenate the soil, but letting the crop die is surely a waste, unless they’re used black. An interesting thing, for sure…
August 6th – Back in Walsall Wood, near Jockey Meadows, the crop of beans I noticed a month or so ago have grown tall in the wet summer. There seems to be a decent crop of what appear to be broad beans, but the crop is sadly afflicted by blackfly and some kind of leaf blight.
I guess these will be for animal fodder, although they seemed tender and sweet in the unripe pod I cracked open.
August 3rd – The wheat is ripening near Shenstone, soon, it will be harvested and on its way to the mill. As my seasonal markers go, this footpath through the fields from Hollyhill Lane is one of the best. Last year, it was through a field of oilseed rape. Wonder what’ll be next year?
The grain itself looks healthy and fat – a consequence of the rain we’ve had. Biting the grains give a lovely, milky, glutinous taste. On this glorious evening, it was warm, and despite my end of week weariness, I couldn’t want to be anywhere finer than here, in south Staffordshire, in summertime.
July 26th – Only three days ago, I mused on the coming harvest. I noticed this evening, whilst cycling back through Lynn, near Stonnall, that it had begun. This is a real seasonal marker for me; I know now that we’re advancing from the flowering to the fruiting, and sadly onwards to autumn. This field had been harvested and partially baled, the giany matted rolls of straw awaiting bagging. one on the other side ofLynn Lane had already been finished. The first of this year’s wheat crop has now left for milling.
Meanwhile, at Sandhills, a view Mike ‘VWCampervan’ said he’d like to see in the sun (the last time I featured this, it was green, wet wheat on a dull day. Now, it was a classic golden field on a glorious sunny high summer evening. Wonderful.
July 23rd – It’s really nice to have summer on her throne right now. I’ve waited so long for this. The countryside is drying out, and crops that were green and late a few days ago are turning golden in the hot sun. Here at Springhill, near Stonnall, this field of barley was rippling gently in the breeze. Soon, it’ll be time for another of the seasonal markers to tumble into place; it’ll be time to bring the harvest home. Let’s hope for a late scorcher, eh?
July 2nd – despite the abysmal weather, the business of summer continues, somewhat surprisingly. The farmland around Stonnall is host to a variety of crops this year. Oilseed rape, potatoes, beans, barley, wheat are all growing – and ripening – well, despite the lack of sun. This fine crop of barley, maybe destined to make the malt for local breweries – is well on it’s way to harvest. Such uniformity.
August 27th – A slightly windblown day of showers and patchy sun. The harvest now mostly complete, the fields have got their autumnal cloak on; bare earth, stubble and huge straw bales are the order of the day. Even the potatoes, formerly lush and verdant, are dying off and yellowing. Here at Home Farm, Sandhills, summer’s cauldron seems to be distinctly off the boil now.
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