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Seth, and his beady bird eye, spotted something in one of the nearby trees. After much excitement, the ball off fluff, it became apparent, was actually a baby tawny owl. Visitors came and went as it perched there, calling to mum. A few days passed, and we found it nesting in a few other trees, including the silver birch by the veg patch. All seemed well….

Another few days passed by, and the friendly owl began to make more noise – again, calling mum to come and feed it. It got braver as it decided to come down to a lower level. It spent a whole day on our fence, allowing people to walk past with nothing more than a silent twist of the head.

We called a bird specialist at the YDMT who advised that the owls, upon first leaving their nest, do something called ’branching’ and in all likelihood, it might have fallen and then struggled to get back up. It can definitely fly though, as I found it amongst my brassicas this morning, in the middle of my veg patch!

We will keep a watch out and keep you updated….

Many months ago, the idea for a cutting garden at Holme Grown was shared… So when Jack arrived with his digger, he was asked to create some flower beds at the same time.
In January, Abby and Val visited Natasha who has a cut flower business in Linton, for ideas. They came away very impressed and with plenty of ideas plus the realisation that sowing in the autumn really can help get things ahead for the spring.Natasha’a seedlings were looking great even at the beginning of the year!
Undeterred, plans were made; seed catalogues studied; seeds ordered and generous offers of seeds and plants gratefully welcomed. It has been really fantastic to have had so much help and support from fellow gardeners. Seeds have germinated, seedlings potted on and plants now fill the beds.
We’ve learned a lot along the way and have ideas already for next year. Today though we were delighted to harvest our first little bunch of cut flowers. Blooming marvellous!

When we took over the land from the previous owner, the walls were in a poor state of repair – we patched up some areas quickly and used stock fencing to plug gaps – mainly to keep dogs from roaming over neighbouring fields. However, the art of dry stone walling is not something to rush and we have Tim to thank for taking the lead… below are his comments.

Dry stone walls are a beautiful feature of the local landscape. They do, however, need quite a lot of maintenance.
Repairing the walls that have been damaged by livestock or rainwater is quite a task. Tim, Paul and Ernest began work on the section of wall near the stream earlier this year when they cleared silt from under the bridge sleepers.
Before the wall can be repaired, quite often large sections need to be taken right down and a foundation prepared. Stones were sorted according to size in order to facilitate the building process. Larger ‘through stones’ were placed in the wall to provide stability and, as the wall gained height, it was built narrower and infill of smaller stones provided structural integrity. Finally, shaped ‘top stones’ were aligned along the top.
The challenge is to select stones carefully so that they fit together – a bit like a three dimensional jigsaw. It is strenuous work but rewarding as the structure starts to take shape.

Moving from a veg plot that is about the size of 1.5 allotments, feeding a family of five, with the extra produce given away or stored, to something that is capable of meeting the needs of the wider community, is actually quite difficult to judge. How much do we need to sow and plant? The honest answer this year, is trial and error. We intend to do the best we can, and see what works. Inside the house we have lots of tomatoes, aubergines and peppers – on just about every windowsill. They are growing well.

Other young plants are growing stronger by the day in the greenhouse – onions, leeks, cabbages, lots of different kales, sprouts, spinach, chard, broad beans and peas. We’ve planted out the broad beans and onion sets already, as well as some first early potatoes. I’ll keep the variety under wraps as it may not be so popular this year – go figure! I’m slightly concerned about planting in the main patch though, so have also planted in my own area as an extra precaution. Slugs were a problem in Holme Field last year when the pumpkins were young. Rich went on nightly patrols to remove the offenders. I’ll try wool pellets as a first line of defence in due course.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

We hope to be able to offer volunteer opportunities to a number of Duke of Edinburgh Award participants. Welcome to Ethan, our very first…. I think this is exactly the type of experience the late Duke would have supported!

Making light work of the log pile

Some nice images of our combined efforts – not a bad job at all. Well done, Rich, Mike, Steve and Tom especially!

The area we used to grow pumpkins last year has been turned into our new soft fruit growing space. We have planted two rows of strawberries – I’m not entirely sure of the variety, but their parent plants have done well in my garden. Ann brought along some that she grew from runners, and I’m told they are lovely! They are starting to put on new leaves and appear to have bedded in well. We’ve planted a mixture of rhubarb plants – Timperley Early, Red Raspberry and Valentine, some gooseberry bushes – Hinnonmaki Yellow, Invicta and Jonkheer van Tets and a blackcurrant – Ben Sarek. The following week, Ann added a few more gooseberry bushes and two redcurrant plants. The space will be a popular place to hang out in a year or two’s time, once things are fruiting.

One of our earliest ideas for Holme Field was to create a community orchard. We are lucky enough to have a gently sloping, south facing field at our disposal. This in many ways, is ideal for an orchard. However, we are at an elevation of about 180 metres above sea level, which is acceptable, but we do have to be mindful of the prevailing winds. The native hedges we have planted should eventually help to provide shelter.

Getting hold of trees has not been that easy this year. We have been researching interesting varieties, suitable for northern locations and slightly higher altitudes. Unfortunately, these were the trees that were often unavailable at nurseries. Undeterred, Val and Abby decided to crack on and plant some firm favourites – Laxton’s Superb, Discovery, Katy , James Grieve and Winston. Two of each variety have been planted in a grid formation on one side of the slope. On the other side of the path we have added to the five damson saplings planted last year, with two Nottingham medlar trees. In addition we have planted three small plum trees – Czar, and two Victoria varieties.

We have enjoyed meeting Craven College students who are learning some practical skills to support their ‘Countryside’ course. They have been busy hedge planting around the chicken coop. They managed to find enough time to get to know the chickens too!