Dodging the rain, we finally finished baling our hay for the winter! Traditional management of flower-rich grassland for haymaking is important for biodiversity and conservation. Once the plants have flowered and set seed, the meadows are cut for hay between July and September. The hay is dried and baled and the meadows can then be […]
Read More Haymaking finished for Rails Farm smallholdingWith the unpredictable weather this summer, we are making the most of a beautiful afternoon to turn the hay today. If the weather holds, we will be able to bale it on Saturday – traditional small bales to store for the winter. It will keep the sheep and alpacas going over the winter and allow […]
Read More Haymaking for Rails Farm smallholdingAugust’s German Breakfast Club – Deutsche Frühstück – took place in glorious sunshine under the shade of the willows in the garden at Rail’s Farm. As usual, we shared Gaby’s homemade bread rolls with jams and honey produced on the farm, while conversation ranged from ‘things our dogs do’ to gathering tips for upcoming holidays […]
Read More Come and practice your German!A landmark at Rails Farm – Christoph celebrated his 6oth! Students, friends and family enjoyed a splendid spread of vegetables and salads grown on the farm. The highlight was the arrival of the Sarah Hedrin’s cake, presented in style to the accompaniment of Ode To Joy on the harmonica. As Christoph’s students will know, each […]
Read More Christoph at 60So far this summer has brought some extraordinary weather patterns. At times the same week has seen record high AND low temperatures. Dorset has already received 120% of the average rainfall for July. Those who believe that if it rains on St Swithin’s Day, it will rain for the next 40 days, may well be […]
Read More Summer 24After 25 years as a primary school teacher, I have finally decided to leave school teaching in order to focus completely on tutoring. I tutor in person and, increasingly, online. Tutoring allows me to focus on the needs of individual children and small groups, tailoring my support to their specific needs and interests which, with […]
Read More Hello I am Isla the new primary teacherI started writing this blog almost two months ago, and just one day short of May I will finally finish it. Hurray it is finally spring 2024, even though the temperatures are rather like winter. What is on the to-do list and what is new at Rails Farm? New expertise on the farm New is […]
Read More Spring 2024And again three months passed by and no new blog from us. However, always looking on the bright side of life, lots of things happened since then. Not to mention the highest carbon dioxide emissions worldwide since 2015. The hosts of Cop28 are actually there to sell their oil, because they are building the most […]
Read More Autumn/winter 2023 at Rails FarmThe last three months must have passed at warp speed so that I did not manage to write any lines about our small enterprise. Having mentioned last time what Gaby planted, it is now already time to look back at the soft fruit harvest which was slightly disappointing compared to last year. No white currants […]
Read More August 2023 at Rails FarmThis is the first new blog which will not be published anymore in our local parish magazine, to which I have contributed since January 2019. I cannot continue because the editors of the White Heart Vale decided to cut an essential paragraph out of my last article just because I criticised breeding of pheasants linked […]
Read More Spring 2023 at Rails FarmYou can find a list of all our products on the produce page