So 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Read More Summer 24This is the first new blog which will not be published anymore in our local parish magazine, to which I have contributed since January 2019.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 FarmThe rain stopped only for a short time in December with a very cold spell, never experienced in the 10 years we are living in Dorset. The lowest temperature was about 10 degrees below zero and the landscape looked beautiful. However, for a smallholder the beauty brings worries, our livestock need to drink. At those […]
Read More Wet Winter At Rails FarmSince the drought finished the rainy season seems to be endless. As we did not have enough water we now have far too much to cope with. Hey ho, we shouldn’t complain and rather adapt to the situation. It can only get worse. Looking at the lack of commitment of all nations to reduce CO2 […]
Read More Dorset Monsoon at Rails FarmTwo days before I wrote this article, we all lost a remarkable human being who took her duty for this nation as seriously as nobody before, her majesty Queen Elisabeth II. I wish our new King Charles III that he continues that incredibly important task and leads this nation into a healing process of the […]
Read More The arrival of autumn at Rails FarmAs I am writing this article the heat wave is on its way. Will the heat record of 2019 of 38.7 degrees Celsius be broken this year? The chances are very good as we carrying on pumping CO2 in the atmosphere, chopping off ancient trees for HS2 and don’t really change our life style to […]
Read More A hot summer’s day at Rails FarmThe War on Weeds The last two weeks have demonstrated how much an impact warmer nights and overall higher temperatures have on photosynthesis and therefore the growth rate of vegetation. Unfortunately, the winners are the weeds. Being organic makes it so much more labour intensive to free up the newly planted trees and vegetables to […]
Read More Spring 2022 at Rails FarmAfter the dullest December 2021 since 1956 with only 26.6 hours of sunshine and record high temperatures of 14.2 degrees Celsius on New Year’s eve in Yeovil, the Christmas break was a bit of a home bound imprisonment. The log burner was running almost permanently, the wine bottle was opened earlier than usual and chocolates […]
Read More Rails Farm’s new resolutions for 2022Only a month and a bit, when writing this article, and winter knocks at Rails Farm doors. After changing back to winter time, light is rather sparse in the evenings thus one gets inside rather early. I guess that is what we should do, slowing down and taking more rest. However, this year’s COP 26 […]
Read More Thoughts for the winter and the new yearHow quickly the summer passed and autumn arrived, at least from the meteorological point of view. The stars will follow on the 21st September, solstice, when day and night have the same length. What did Rails Farmer achieve? The pond has been finished and the first organisms have moved in. With a few donated plants […]
Read More A chilly September 2021 update from Rails farmYou can find a list of all our products on the produce page