All Things Rural Ltd

12/12/2024

With Winter now here, we thought we would bring back our Throwback Thursday series and share some lovely crop photos from our wildflower production to brighten up everyone's news feeds. Here is one of our fields of Red Campion 🌸

05/12/2024

🌱 Today is WORLD SOIL DAY 🌱
Soil is made up of a combination of mineral particles, water, air and soil organic matter and many people just see it as dirt on the ground but it is vital for life on earth.
Here's why...
🌱 95% of global food supplies come from it!
🌱 It absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it as carbon. In the UK alone, there is about 10 billion tonnes of carbon stored in soil!
🌱 It stores water. Healthy soil can retain over 250l in just one cubic metre!
Using sustainable soil management techniques, for example reducing tillage, rotating crops and using cover cropping is instrumental in helping to preserve soil biodiversity, enhance fertility and capture carbon which is vital in the fight against climate change 🌍
Appreciate our soil and all it does for us and nature as a whole 😀

11/11/2024

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them...

23/10/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
Our last Wildflower Wednesday of the year is one of the most important in the wildflower meadow making world...Yellow Rattle! Affectionally known as "Natures lawnmower", Yellow Rattle is semi parasitic which means it draws nutrients and water from the roots of vigorous neighbouring grasses and allows wildflower species to establish and thrive. It is also loved by bumblebees and is the food plant for the caterpillars of the rare Grass Rivulet moth 👍🐝🐛🌼

16/10/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
The pretty Yarrow is very beneficial to wildlife. It attracts butterflies including the Large Skipper, Small Copper, Wall, Meadow Brown, Small Heath and Peacock as well as hoverflies, ladybirds, parasitic wasps and lacewings. It is also the food plant for the caterpillars of the Tawny Speckled Pug, Belted Beauty, Essex Emerald, Lime-Speck Pug, Wormwood Pug, Straw Belle, Ruby Tiger and Dewick's Plusia moths 🦋🐝🐞🐛

25/09/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
The vibrant Yellow Flag Iris is this weeks Wildflower Wednesday. It is attractive to bees. It is worth noting that this species can be invasive so if in a pond, is best grown in basket pots so it doesn't take over 🌼🐝

18/09/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
This weeks Wildflower Wednesday is Wood Avens. The flowers attract bees and the seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals. It is also the food plant for the caterpillars of the Grizzled Skipper butterfly and the Riband Wave moth 🌼🐝🦋

11/09/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
Wild Mignonette is attractive to bees and butterflies. It is also the food plant for the caterpillars of the Small White and Large White butterflies.

Wild Mignonette produces a large amount of seed which can remain viable for a long time. Small birds feed on the seeds, particularly finches 🐝🦋🐦

01/09/2024

🍂🍁 Today marks the start of meteorological Autumn 🍁🍂

28/08/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
Next up on our Wildflower Wednesday series is Wild Marjoram. It is attractive to bees, including short tongued bumblebees, honeybees, solitary bees and the common carder bee. It is also loved by butterflies. Wild Marjoram is the food plant for the caterpillars of the Black-veined, Burnished Brass and Lace Border moths 🐝🦋🦋

26/08/2024

21/08/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
The vibrant flowers of Wild Clary is a magnet for bees 🐝🐝

14/08/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
Wild Carrot is also known as Queens Anne's Lace, Bishop's Lace and Bird's Nest. It attracts bees, butterflies, hoverflies, beetles and moths. It is also the food plant for the caterpillars of the Red Twin-spot Carpet and Yellow Belle moths. Birds like to eat the seeds 🐝🦋🪲🐦

12/08/2024

Our Oxeye Daisy crops are currently in the process of being cleaned. This video shows the seed in the Pre-Cleaner. The Pre-Cleaner is used to remove large chaff and other plant matter from the seed before it goes in to the main cleaner 🌸

09/08/2024

🚜 Seed Drying 🚜
Seed drying is one of the critical stages of seed production.
Once the crop is harvested, the seed is then brought back from the fields to begin the drying stage. The seed is spread on the drying shed floor and is turned regularly to ensure it remains aerated and evenly dried. Seed has to be fully dry to ensure it doesn’t sweat in packaging and become mouldy before cleaning. Due to the volume of seed harvested in such a short space of time, harvested seed is often stored whilst we make our way through cleaning.

Here is one of our Common Knapweed crops drying in the drying shed.