British Drought Takes Toll on The Farm
Here in East Anglia, we’re officially in drought. In fact, July had the least rainfall since records began in 1876. All of the water collection IBCs are empty. The pond I use to irrigate the market garden is cracked and dried. With no mains water and currently no borehole, this farming year has been extremely challenging and I’ve been pushed to my limits.
Many of you may have seen the satellite image comparison between 2022 and 2021. It really is quite stark and more worryingly still, probably foreshadows the turbulent climate fluctuations we’re likely to have over the coming years. In my test year (2021) there was a warm, dry spring but frosts that ran almost to June. That was extremely frustrating in itself as all those young seedlings I had desperately needed to go outside. This year, there really hasn’t been rain since January! And there’s only so much water you can do when carting 5L bottles of water between home and farm.
The drought not only has it’s obvious physical toll on the landscape but a mental one too. It’s disheartening to see a farm wither away before your very eyes. Every day I spot something else that has died or is suffering due to the lack of water. The animals, of course, are the priority when it comes to the heat. I’ve found that even the sheep with their fleeces have managed to cope so long as they have copious amounts of fresh, cool water. After that comes the polytunnel. Even if it should rain, the poly needs watering and this is where I’m currently growing higher cash crops - tomatoes and sweet peppers, for example. Then come the vegetable and flower beds and finally, if any water is left, it can be thrown on shrubs, trees and anything else in dire need. Sadly, there normally isn’t much water left and so I’ve lost EVERY nut tree, many fruit trees, possibly the magnolia in the wildflower meadow and numerous small landscaping plants - hostas, vinca, maples etc. It has taken A LOT for me to muster energy to walk around the farm every day without shedding a tear. It’s hard to be there.
Flea beetle has thrived this year and destroyed the brassicas
Stalwarts, cornflowers, have NOT coped with the drought
Dahlias are suffering with the heat
This is my strawflower patch. Keeping seedlings alive is almost an impossibility.
There are unforeseen issues with this awful drought too.
The majority of my animals are behind electric fencing because I don’t have the funds to stock fence everything. Ground moisture is required to draw the current. So my electric fences are not working properly.
This means I’ve had to move the rams into the barn as they were escaping in with the ewes. I’m now having to feed them at extra feed costs.
The planned PICK-YOUR-OWN (PYO) pumpkins for autumn can no longer happen. Of the 300 plants I put in, just 35 are still going. I simply have not been able to keep up with watering them.
A lack of grass means I’m having to supplement feed the sheep and goats. And with less forage, the pigs are going through more food too. Meanwhile, there are far fewer bugs and worms available to the poultry which means they are also going through more food. And laying less eggs due to the heat. So more food, higher currently feed bag costs and fewer eggs to balance out the costs.
Polytunnel crops are DOWN. Fewer insects are pollinating as they cannot handle the polytunnel heat. And once temperatures climb to 30°C, the viability of pollen drastically reduces too. So though I have lots of trusses on the tomatoes, each one only has 4 or 5 tomatoes with the rest of the flowers dropping off.
None of the big infrastructure jobs can be done as I cannot get fence or gate posts into the ground.
Nor can I even harvest my carrots as I can’t get them out of the concrete soil. The same is true of the garlic crop - many of which have now began to rot.
New fruit trees for 2022 are dead or dying
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I was watching back a video from August 2020 when we first moved to the farm and it starts with a downpour and so much standing water. What I wouldn’t give for that about now!
One thing that I AM loving is this new shirt from Fioboc. I sweat. I only have to move on a hot day and I’m drenched. It’s not a nice feeling and it’s even worse when you’re out and about, or at the Farmer’s Market looking a hot mess. Fioboc uses the latest spill, oil and water resistant tech to avoid this problem! I went to a market yesterday in 30°C heat and I didn’t get a single patch! They’re also made of more sustainable fibres including bamboo and corn so what’s not to love?! I actually have a coupon code for 15% off, so if you check the T’s out, use GEOFF15 at the checkout.
My only current takeaway from the season is that not every season will be like this. Maybe, perhaps, I’ll get a fairly ‘normal’ season? But it has also raised the important issue of water; I DEFINITELY NEED to get a borehole put into the property before 2023. This should help future-proof the farm and the sustainability. There is no way I can produce enough local food, flowers and other produce without being able to water the crops. A borehole would also allow me to top up the two natural ponds. I really worry about the wildlife that utilise these are their main water source. I hate to think of the number of creatures dying due to lack of water. Of course, I put water down and they can access water in the multiple animal paddocks but I can’t save everything.
The forecast is possibly set to change, with thunderstorms and rains coming this week. Lets hope it’s less flash-flooding and more drizzle so this poor sun-scorched ground can rehdyrate!