Author name: Chris Foster

Oakley: a month in the life of a wheat plant continued

If you walk along the top of Crackle Hill and then downhill towards Polehanger you will notice a big difference between the wheat crops on view from the top of Crackle Hill, which are more advanced than the crops in the fields between the track and Nuns Wood, together with those ahead and beyond around …

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Seasonal Conditions and the effects on Yield and Harvesting

It’s Saturday morning,11th September, and it’s not hot; not even warm. What a contrast to the start I made to my article two months ago! Two big events have occurred since last I wrote, in the personal, local context. The terrible floods in Pakistan and Niger, for instance, are another matter and in another league. …

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Meppershall Farming 25 years on . . . and 50

This post discusses some of the major changes to farming in Meppershall between 1959 and 2009. 1959 – 1984 [listitems is_numeric=”no”] The demise of a significant greenhouse industry in the village. The rise of chilled transport and the introduction of perishable produce from southern Europe. The move away from traditional mixed farming, with each farm …

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