June 13th

 I missed writing the newsletter last week, it had been a very busy week.

And again this year we have our lodger and her family back in the tractor.

Every year there has been a pied wagtail, laying her eggs at the back of the tractor right under the cab.

This year there was no activity, until I started hearing the chirping noises again, so we searched, and yes, another nest in a new area with three chicks, it doesn’t look to be near as safe as previous years, this year it is tucked right under the tractor mudguard.

But mummy wagtail must think its secure, and yes, they seem to be fine as we go out to the field to work, mum just fly’s around following us.

We now have most of the squash plants planted, with only the pumpkins still to do, that’s eight thousand planted two thousand to go.

All the brassicas and onions are planted and most of the leeks with just fifty thousand late leeks to get planted.

This week we should get them all finished.

We had the new weeder machine out this week, and after a wee bit of remembering how the computer works, and setting things up, it done an amazing job, in half the time and only one person. Hopefully this will eliminate the need for so much bed weeding, or possibly no bed weeding.

Although the crops that we direct sow will need to be weeded, as the direct sown seeds grows at the same time as the weed, but there won’t be as much needing weeded, as the new machine gets really close to the crop.

We also decided to buy a second-hand carrot sowing machine this year, I was away to sow the carrots last Sunday night, but it wasn’t working.

I have never used a machine like this before, the machine has a fan, when the tractor is on it produces air, this makes the seeds stick to holes in a plate, then when the plate moves round the seeds get dropped and planted.

But after speaking to the place I bought it from down south, we discovered that the fan housing had been damaged on delivery,  that did make sense, I had to re weld a stand that had been dent.

The fan was getting stuck as it tried to turn.

So I had to fully strip it, and sort out the bent part, now its running smooth.

And now I know exactly how it all works, as I have had it fully dismantled.

I am planning on sowing the carrots this Sunday.

I will let you know if I have managed.