Is it easy planting trees?

We've been farming our little corner of Dorset for over 14 years now, and in that time we have fallen in love with planting trees.

Trees planted 10 years ago

It started out with the collection of the odd acorn when walking in autumn, planting them and watching with child like wonder as our acorn first became a tiny sapling and then a tree.  Being a very windy area our interest soon grew into buying a few bare root "whips" (1 or 2 year old trees) in autumn and planting them in strategic places to help us gain some shelter.  Some of these when planted were just knee height are now towering over us.

It is often all too easy to be put off the idea of planting trees.

Our future Glade

Having grown a variety of trees and hedges from different methods we decided in 2010 to take on the planting of a 5 acre woodland.  We took time to plan, removing and relocating fencing and visualising it when mature. We plotted a winding walk way through it and a glade in the centre where we could one day site a clay oven and take the Grandchildren for picnics.  To give you an idea of our time scales on this idea our eldest son is now 14 and very career minded, so the trees have at least 20 years to establish!!

We calculated the number of trees needed to be in excess of 2,000 and realised we would need some help.  At this point we started to talk to others about our dream.  This is when we experienced a lot of sucking of breath, discussions of deer decimating our whole woodland over night, how poor planting could result in the trees sitting in the ground and dying, and killer rabbits.  In fact if there was a way a tree could die it was brought up by someone at this stage.
With an investment in over 2,000 trees (paid for in part by the English Woodland Grant Scheme from the Forestry Commission) we did feel a bit nervous, but having always had success with trees and having done a fair amount of research we stuck to our plans and the trees arrived, a little late for planting, in Februray 2011.

Horse Chestnut buds

We all set-to with spades, planting the trees as quickly as we could.

Our planting, it turned out, was at the start of an unpresentedly dry spring and we went weeks with no rain.  With over 2,000 trees now in the ground spread over 5 acres (the size of 3 rugby pitches) we could not water as you would a tree in your garden.  We did try.  We emptied all our rain harvested water onto small groups of trees.  It felt like filling a bath with cups of water brought in from the kitchen!  On a those rare occasions when there was rain in our region it somehow never quite reached us. We felt certain at this point we would lose large numbers of our trees.  Perhaps everyone had been right?

We are now 2 years on, and have seen droughts, deluges of rain, deer and rabbits.  Through all of this my respect for trees has done nothing but grow.  We would estimate our tree losses at less than 10%, and much of this can be replanted from young seedlings we've been growing on for the purpose.  Some trees lost some of their top growth, but their will to live is so great that they have sent up fresh growth from the base.  Many buds are already starting to swell up in readiness for spring.

If you are thinking of planting any trees my advice to you is go for it.  If you are a novice why not, like us, eye up some trees you love this year, and wait to the autumn to select some seeds.  You can plant them into a spare bit of border or some pots, to plant out in a year or two.  And if you've got children they will love it.

Prince's Fears over not handing on a Poisoned Chalice

Prince Charles is clearly thrilled at the news that Prince William and Kate will be having their first child this summer. 

In a recent interview with ITV1’s This Morning Programme he spoke from the heart about the prospect of his first Grandchild, his concerns over environmental damage and the need for action.  

He said  "It makes it even more obvious to try to make sure we leave them something that isn't a total poisoned chalice”

Since the 1980s he has sought to raise awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment such as climate change.  He has been an enthusiastic champion of organic farming and gardening methods and in the 1990s launched his own organic brand, Duchy Originals, selling  a range of goods from food to garden furniture.  He has also sought to invest in finding a solution to save the world’s threatened Rainforests, setting up The Prince’s Rainforest Group in 2007.

Prince Charles has published the carbon footprint of his household every year since 2007, as part of his annual report and has set himself a carbon target.  

Is Poultry Keeping for you?

At Muddy Carrot HQ we like to keep a handful of chickens supplying eggs for our table.  Eggs are such a complete food, in fact Zest Magazine gives 7 good reasons for making superfood eggs part of your regular diet.

If you have the space and have thought of keeping livestock, chickens are a great starting point.  Our chickens are loved by every member of the family, and have bags of personality – whilst at the same time producing us a regular supply of eggs!

If this is something that appeals to you then Greenmeadow Poultry  offer a range of traditional breeds.   Cheryl from Greenmeadow compares traditional utility breeds with a purpose-bred laying hybrid - “A traditional utility hen will live longer and be productive over a longer time. For example, I have a five year old hen who still layed reasonably well last summer, in between raising two broods of chicks for me. She moulted in October and came back in to lay; and I expect to be able to use her as a broody this summer, too.” 

Their excellent services also include a range of poultry keeping courses from general care through to preparing chicken for the table and they are happy to advise on feeds and poultry housing.

Our Vision for 2013

Conscious consuming means absolutely everything to us.  It is not just about what we buy, and how we buy, but also a question of should we buy?  This does not mean we believe in living a life of denial, but one of far less waste.  

In the words of William Morris - a founding member of the Arts and Crafts Movement (started in the 1880s) 'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.' 

There is huge value in such an ideal.  This sort of conscious consuming means that purchases are made on a more conscious level, buying something that enhances someone's life - and not just for today, but for the long term.  This means buying quality.  

At Muddy Carrot our sellers are assessed on whether they produce in line with our values, supporting their local economy, everything produced ethically and the people who produce compensated fairly.  This includes low intensive and organic farming, local and independent businesses, fair-trade and definitely no sweat-shops.

Is it time for a return to the Arts and Crafts Movement?  Buying to enhance our everyday routines in a meaningful way, and avoiding the mass-produced that will just end up tossed to one side.  What do you think?  We'd love to hear your views...

Our Native Black Bee

Bee keeper Garth Matthews

I spoke recently to an old college friend of mine who shares my passion for the environment.  I haven’t seen him in years and, yes, we both have definitely aged!  He is now a keen bee keeper with a particular interest in preserving our Native Black Bee.  I have to admit, despite my concern for our bee population, to not knowing we had a particular breed in this country.  What’s more this breed has been disregarded by many breeders in favour of a more modern bee.  Here is a potted history of bees in the UK:

Our native Native Black Bee, the dark European honey bee - Apis mellifera mellifera - did not arrive until between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago.  This is post the last ice age - giving rise to suitable flora for the bees to feed on and before the melting ice cap created the channel that cut us off from Europe.  These were our sole type of bee until the 19th century.

From 1814 onwards a few of  the UK bee keepers imported other breeds of bee, in particular the Italian Caucasians bee, initially with very little effect upon the native bee population.   Sadly though, between the wars a mite affected our native bee so badly it came close to extinction with only a small number surviving in parts of Scotland and Ireland.  The outbreak was called the ‘Isle of Wight disease’.

This triggered far greater importing of bees, initially from Europe and then also from the USA, Australia and NewZealand.  Even now, with far greater  import restrictions, the bee population is still being topped up by major imports of largely Italian style queen bees. 

This is not good news for our native bees. 

The direct result of these imports is that the genetic mix of our honey bee is broad, and although natural selection still favours dark bees, many of the major genetic advantages of our original native dark bee have been lost. Even in Scotland where Apis mellifera mellifera numbers were still significant up to the late 1960s, these imports have had a detrimental effect.

So does this matter?

Collecting a swarm of British black bees

There is no other bee better adapted to our climate than our Native Black Bee.  Over the past 6,000 years it has evolved to withstand the extremes of climate in our country and is also more economically viable than any other bee.   It is the experience of people who keep our native bee that the bee will produce surplus honey every year, even during cold summers when other breeds of bees have to be fed sugar to keep them alive. This is down to a number of factors including its physical size and design with insulating overhairs as well as its quick breeding response to our changing weather, enabling them to have the necessary reserves to survive poor weather. 

There are bee keepers who have kept the native breed all their lives and who believe they have a much stronger resistance to mites and therefore can survive without chemical treatment.  This may be a consequence of the original Isle of White outbreak.

There are small pockets of pure Apis mellifera mellifera  in remote parts of the country and, handled very carefully, there is a real possibility of re-introducing these on a major scale to save this exceedingly valuable species.

If you wish to know more about our native bee visit BIBBA

Children's Activities - Upcycling

On the run up to Christmas our house feels full of decorations, excited children counting down the days, and Christmas music.

In the expectations of new presents the children have been doing a clear out of their rooms and creating a box to go to charity.

This clear out turned up a last year's Beano album full of fun colourful cartoons and it seemed a shame to just discard this; a look over towards a very tatty desk gave me an idea.

Decoupage!  Soon one tatty desk had a really personal touch, full of distraction from tedious hours doing homework!!  

This then led to a literature inspired desk for his brother and a fashion inspired jewellery box for their sister.

Decoupage is a great fun activity suitable for all school age (and above) children.  It is very addictive, once started you may find yourself casting your eyes around looking for more items to personalise.

You'll need

Suitable paper.  Not too thin or too thick.  It could be magazine cut outs, broken books full of great verses, cartoons or even old maps...

Box or table to decorate

PVA glue

Paintbrush

Scissors

Varnish

1. Look over what you want to cover.  Decoupage needs a clean surface, if it is very smooth it may need sanding to create a key.  Also if any background is likely to show at the end you may wish to paint.  
2. Select the images you want to use and cut out.  We used square images to cover the desks and individual fashion items to cover the jewellery box and decide the layout.
3. Once everything is ready add about 20% water to the glue, then mix and spread thoroughly (but not too thickly) over a small section and carefully lay out your images ensuring they lie smooth and all the corners are glued.
4. Once finished leave to dry thoroughly.
5. Cover in several layers of varnish, allowing to dry in-between coats. 

We love a bit of Scrumpy

Having been born and bred in the West Country I have to admit to being a little partial to a drop of cider. Sadly, a number of the smaller producers I grew up loving no longer exist. I have particularly fond memories of Inch's Scrumpy from Winkleigh in North Devon – a wonderful still, cloudy cider that was deceptively strong!!

I was therefore delighted when we recently took on a new addition to Muddy carrot - the multi-award winning Thirsty Farmer Cider. It is a traditional, long fermented, slightly cloudy, still farmhouse cider, similar to the one from my memories. 

The Fear family started making cider further back in time than anyone can remember from their then farm in the South West; but it was in 1880 that the first commercial batch was sold by Mr Metford Fear to a public house in Weston Super Mare and the love of making cider has been part of the Fear family ever since.

In 2005, Andrew Fear settled in Leicestershire near to possibly the only cider apple orchard in the county, and decided to produce his own brand of cider  which he called the “Thirsty Farmer”.

Since then “Thirsty Farmer Cider” has won many local and national awards including 2 Gold Stars by the Guild of Fine Food in the 2011 Great Taste Awards.

The Thirsty Farmer Cider is very popular in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, but I think the West Country has had a definite influence on this lovely Leicestershire cider.

How to make Mulled Cider

1L Cider
3 allspice berries
5 Cloves
2 Cinnamon stick
2 oranges
sugar to taste

Put the cider and juice and zest of 1 orange  into a saucepan with the spices and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Taste and add sugar if you want. 
Transfer into a large heatproof bowl with slices of orange to garnish.
A perfect warm party drink to cosy up by the fire.  Enjoy...