Blink and you miss it! Where did February go? Now we are counting down the days to lambing...

It's felt like a very long, grey start to the new year, and according to the Met Office it rained for 46 days straight in Astwood Bank, which is just down the road from us. Certainly, the fields are very wet at the moment. However, the last week has given us some respite in the form of sunshine and blue skies, which has really lifted the soul and made our feet feel a bit lighter. There are other signs of spring now, like the daffodils that are just starting to lift their heads, and crocuses which seemed to pop up overnight! In the woods there are alluring glints of ruby red on the forest floor, as Scarlet Elf Cup mushrooms push their way through the leaf litter. All these small but brilliant splashes of colour go a long way to alleviating the grey tedium of February. And with March now upon us, perhaps we can say that spring is springing?! 

Colours at last!

The cows certainly think that it's spring as they bellow at us whenever we go to the barn, and they're very clearly saying "let us out!" Sadly, the fields are still too wet to take the weight of the cattle, so they'll have to sit tight in the barns for a few weeks longer. They're all looking well though, even if they are getting bored, and we're very pleased as they all tested clear for TB when we had our test a few weeks ago. We can breathe a sigh of relief on that front until August/September, when we have to test them again. As always, we're hopeful that a TB vaccine will one day be made available for cattle in the UK, which would save the tax payers a huge amount of money for the unnecessary slaughter of thousands of animals each year, save the animals a lot of stress, and the farmers even more stress. The emotional strain of TB testing is not talked about enough, and it can have very serious and negative effects on a farmer's mental health.

Now is the time for hedge planting. These plants were very kindly donated by our friends at Elle Bee Design, a bespoke wedding stationer based on the farm! Have a look at their website here.

While the cows are still tucked up in the barn, the sheep have been outside braving the wet, and seem to be thriving despite the soggy conditions. All the pregnant ewes are starting to develop a bit of a waddle as they come up for hay each morning, reminding us that there are only 4 weeks to go until the first lambs could appear. Last year's ewe lambs are also growing well and some are now about as big as the adult sheep. We're very pleased with how they're all doing, and we can only hope that everything carries on at an easy and gentle pace! Fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc etc!! 

Soggy sheep say hi to a little calf! These ladies are about to head to some fresh grass - lucky them!

As things keep ticking along with the sheep and cows, it's time now to start tending to the market garden ahead of our veg box season. Beetroot, turnips, winter purslane, spring onions, and rudbeckia flowers have already been seeded, and the planting calendar for the next few weeks is looking pretty full! Because we are guided by the Maria Thun biodynamic calendar, it's very easy to organise the planting calendar, allowing us to be more efficient and ensuring the plants get a good strong start by seeding them at favourable times. We're really trying to make the layout of the garden and our practices more efficient this year, using cover crops followed by tarps to help minimise weeds in the vegetable beds, and standardised bed lengths which means all insect nets and row covers can all be the same length - no more sorting through piles trying to figure out which ones will fit where! Hopefully it will all look a bit prettier too, as we're aiming to have pollinator and bird friendly flower margins all the way round the garden. Not only will this be visually pleasing, but the flower margins should bring in pollinators and also predatory birds and insects that will target pests and hopefully reduce pest damage on the crops. We're excited for the weather to dry up a bit and the sun to shine a bit stronger so we can really get underway with our garden work!

The first shoots appear in the veg garden!

Looking ahead, we have some exciting events in March, such as a trip to FarmEd to meet with other local food producers and perhaps source some interesting and delicious products for our farm shop; Worcester University students will be visiting in a couple weeks to learn about regenerative livestock farming; and our second woofer of the year will be arriving at the end of the month, ready to give us a helping hand for lambing. The year is really starting to fill out now, and we're excited for all the exciting projects we have lined up.

Finally, we are also excited that it is the time of year for veg box sign ups! If you would be interested in one of our veg boxes, you can find out more here or email us at hello@rush.farm.

Until next time,

The Rush Farm team

Just in time for St David's day, the daffodils are starting to bloom. Sunshine in flower form!