Clearing the field
Posted: Saturday 28 March, 2009
When we bought our house, there was a "hump" in the field. It was made of rubble and was the remains of what had been used to reclaim some land down to the river. Over the years, it has been used as a viewpoint for Dan and I, the dogs, the chickens and latterly the sheep. Since it was slightly horseshoe shaped, we also used it as a fire pit. At one time, we had plans to make it into some kind of garden feature.
However, the advent of the sheep and the need to make the most of what grazing we have sounded the death knell for the "hump". As part of the fencing and sheep shed erection exercise, the "hump" was relocated to the riverbank and planted with willow.
That left a big, stony bare patch in the middle of the field. And a big stony bare patch at the gate, caused by the JCB that moved the "hump". So today, we (Dan, his mum and dad and I) had a work party to clear them and prepare it for reseeding. Now, we could have used machinery, but we went for muscle power. It was slightly medieval - the four of us toiling in the field, with only hand tools and a wheelbarrow with a flat tyre (I know they didn't have wheelbarrows in the Middle Ages, at least not ones with rubber tyres). Why don't you find the flat until the barrow is full of stones?
Hector: Copper Black Maran Cockerel from asmallholder on Vimeo.
By 4pm, when the rain started to drizzle, we had finished the area at the gate and were probably a third of the way across the other area. We're going to hire a petrol scarifier to attack the mossy bits next weekend, but we will sow seed on the bare bits this week if the wind drops - if we'd sown it today, we'd have sent it to the four winds.
I've bought a mix for free range poultry from the Grass Seed Store; it has a herb content and should be quite hardwearing. If we can get it away now, the sheep can get on it later in the year.
So fingers crossed for a shower of rain and no wind!
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