All Things Rural Ltd

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.

07/08/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
Wild Angelica is a member of the carrot family and has similar flowers. It attracts bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects 🐝🦋🐞🦟🕷

05/08/2024

Our Teasel crop is now showing its purple flowers and is full of bees 🐝

02/08/2024

🌼 IT'S TIME TO SOW YELLOW RATTLE 🌼
Yellow Rattle, also known as Hay Rattle, is our best friend when it comes to creating wildflower meadows!
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. It is that clever that it is thought to suppress grass growth by up to 60%! This allows not only a better variety and quantity of wildflowers to thrive, but also maintains an open sward.
It is an annual species that has tube like yellow flowers, serrated leaves and can grow up to approximately 45cm tall. It is best sown August to December as it needs a period of vernalisation (prolonged cold period through winter) to trigger germination in spring.
Yellow Rattle is also sometimes known as Hay Rattle, as when the brown papery seed pods develop from mid to late July, the seeds inside rattle around inside making a rattling sound. This was thought to indicate that the meadow was ready for making hay!
The pictures show the plant from when it is at its flowering stage, through the progression of the flowers developing in to the brown papery seed pods, to the cleaned seed that has been harvested. Can you see the seeds in the seed pod that is ready to pop?

31/07/2024

🌸 WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY 🌸
This weeks Wildflower Wednesday is White Clover, which will be a familiar sight to most people. It is very valuable to many different kinds of wildlife. It is a food plant for the caterpillars of the Common Blue and Clouded Yellow butterflies and the Black Rustic, Burnet Companion, Chalk Carpet, Latticed Heath, Mother Shipton and Shaded Broad-bar moths. It attracts bees including short and long tongued bumblebees, honeys bees and soiltary bees, including mining bees and leaf cutter bees. Its leaves are also collected by Wood mice 👍🦋🐝🐛🐁

29/07/2024

Can anyone guess what this very important wildflower is? 🌼