Why we like the winter storms

Stormy conditions are unwelcome to most people, especially those connected with farming, fishing, tourism and transport. Over last weekend we experienced some gale force Northerly winds that lashed the Northern shores of Scilly and created quite a lot of swell. This has the effect of ripping seaweed off the rocks under water, which then washes in on the beaches.

We use a lot of seaweed, in the order of 150 tons per year. It is now piled up on Great Bay and we're busy carting it off to be spread on the fields. It's a combination of silage grab and trailers that mean we can do this operation quite efficiently and maximise mechanical assistance.

In the days of old, of course, it was very different - all the island men had at their disposal was horse and cart, pitchforks, and hard labour. This must have been an incredibly time consuming process; to think 2 people can shift 3 tons of seaweed, from beach to field in about 15 minutes, it probably would've taken them all day to do that amount.

Seaweed is a great soil improver that really builds organic matter and bulks up our very light soils. It is sustainable and only costs us the fuel to move it from beach to field. It is put on the fields fresh, spread to about 6 inches thickness and left to rot. After about 8 weeks, assuming there's been some rain, it has rotted to the stage that it is OK to cultivate...simple as that.

Thank goodness for the winter storms...

Mustard

Mustard is a great green manure that we use to cover soil that has had one crop in, but it's not time for the next one. Bare soil is a bad practice because nutrients are leached and can lead to losses of organic matter. So by sowing a fast-growing green manure, like mustard, several functions are performed at once.

Firstly, it smothers out all the weeds - obvious benefits. Secondly, its roots go in to the soil and improve structure. Thirdly, it holds nutrients and releases them back in to the soil once its cut and cultivated back in to the soil - releasing nutrients for the next crop. Lastly, it provides a habitat for wildlife.

All green manures are good for birds and insects, but mustard is especially good for butterflies and bees. I took this photo today of a honeybee working the pollen from mustard flowers:

This is a bee from one of my hives (incidentally nearly a mile away), which means that I benefit further, from the sales of honey. All in all, green manures are a fantastic thing that should be an integral part of every growing system. And all it costs is cultivation and seed...