Community Development Action Hertfordshire
Countryside Matters
Countryside Matters
by Harry Bott MBE DL
A monthly column sharing observations on farming, wildlife, gardening and rural life across Hertfordshire.
Through Rural Voice, CDA Herts provides a platform for the people, experiences and stories that help shape rural Hertfordshire.
August 2026
Wild life report
We had a visit from Andrew Wood the other day. He is an expert on butterflies and wrote the book Butterflies of Hertfordshire. He identified the following 20 species which is remarkable for such a small area.
Brown Argus, Comma, Common Blue, Dark Green Fritillary, Gatekeeper, Peacock, Green-veined White, Large Skipper, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, , Ringlet, Painted Lady, Purple Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Heath Small Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Large White.
Farming report.
You may remember that Andrew won the National award for the Farming and Wildlife group last year, he held the silver lapwing trophy for the year and this year we hosted the award for the current year. We had an excellent party and the winners plus many others were shown round the farm by Andrew.
The other event that took place during the month was Groundswell. You may have heard of this if you listen to “Farming Today” on the radio early in the morning. It started ten years ago as a meeting of farmers and scientists in a barn at the Cherry Brothers farm at Weston. The idea was to get in one place farmers and experts who were convinced that modern farming with heavy inputs of chemicals was unsustainable, indeed it was reckoned that if we carried on as we were, the soil would only carry about 100 more harvests. Groundswell has developed into a very large event with 10,000 people attending this year. Sarah and I went and we were amazed. There were a number of large tents in which experts in their field gave talks lasting an hour about a huge range of subjects connected with farming, the emphasis being on sustainable farming. Sarah and I attended two of the talks one on farming flowers for sale and the other was about egg production. In addition to the lecture tents, there were hundreds of stalls selling and promoting everything to do with farming and the countryside. It was held over two days and many people camped out after enjoying music and dancing in the evening.
I have been farming for just on 70 years and I cannot remember such an extraordinary season as this. 1976 was a record drought year, but nothing like this one. Autumn sown corn has survived and the winter wheat looks quite well, Oil Seed Rape(OSR) will be the crop of the year as it established well and has had just enough moisture to produce a heavy crop. We will be harvesting it at the beginning of July. I looked at the wheat and was surprised to see that it was ready at the same time as the OSR. Normally you wouldn’t expect to harvest wheat until August or even September in a wet year. I have just checked our winter beans and was amazed to find that they were rock hard and also ready for harvest. In a normal year they are the last to be combined at the end of August. This year we are combining them first before they drop out, starting on the 7th July. Spring sown crops have suffered badly. The spring sown oats are well in ear and look as if they will produce a small return. Our Spring sown wheat on the other hand is looking as if it will be a write off, the heads are so small that I don’t think that they will produce any grain. This is a major blow as it is a special wheat grown under contract to produce “Wildwheat” flour for a premium bread that is sold in Waitrose.
People have been remarking on the very pretty blue flowers that are growing beside High Elms Lane. They are Chicory and Andrew is growing it as a soils improver on the very compacted ground. Chicory has a very long tap root that penetrates deep into the soil and improves the drainage.
Garden report.
I have been very frustrated as I have not been able to do much in the veg. patch due to my fall. Sarah and Emma have been marvellous however and we have been eating wonderful broad beans and potatoes that they have planted. Our tomatoes have done very well in the greenhouse and are producing lots of fruit, the outdoor ones are flowering and should follow on. I have had to use a lot of water in the veg. garden, I hope that we don’t get a hosepipe ban.
Harry Bott