It’s been a busy few months for Windermere Food Farm since the project moved to its new home at Matson Ground, and it’s fantastic to see the community garden taking shape. Volunteers have been busy preparing beds, planting, weeding and harvesting, with the first produce having already made its way to the local food bank. Chard, broad beans, beetroot, onions, garlic and courgettes have all been harvested, with potatoes, shallots and plenty more vegetables now growing. The site has come a long way too. New beds and paths have been created, an apple tree has been planted and, thanks to a grant from Windermere and Bowness Town Council, a new polytunnel has been installed. This will give the project valuable extra growing space and help extend the season. It hasn’t all been plain sailing. The hot, dry weather has been challenging, while rabbits have enjoyed rather more of the carrots, lettuce, cucumber and beans than we would have liked. Thankfully, plenty of other crops have done well. A big part of the project’s success has been the support from local people. Seeds, plants, compost and other materials have been donated, while volunteers have given their time to help get everything…

This time last year I wrote what an amazing dry spell we’d had – the ‘perfect summer for farming here in the Lakes’. Well, this year has been one for the record books. As almost three-quarters of England moved into drought conditions, Cumbria was given ‘prolonged dry weather’ status. Not quite a drought but certainly unprecedented conditions for us. In these extra hot conditions, the livestock can suffer heat stress so the benefits of our wood pastures and coppices have really stood out, as cows and sheep sought shade from the sun and were able to keep cool. And the greenery around the edges of trees and shrubs provides much-needed extra grazing and variety from the drying grass.   This summer has made it very clear that as we move into more frequent warmer periods, our newly created wood pasture scheme on School Knot and Grandsire is going to be crucial for farming successfully and safely in future rising temperatures. We had to keep a close eye on water sources for the animals too, as streams and ponds for drinking from were quickly drying up. We had to move stock to ensure they always had access to fresh, clean water, which…

21st April was World Curlew Day, which coincided perfectly with a trail camera capturing one of our adult curlews incubating her clutch of eggs. These eggs are incredibly precious and thanks to extra monitoring from the South Lakes Curlew Recovery Partnership, chicks will hopefully be fledging later in May.    The pretty wild primroses adorn the damp banks and the bluebells carpet the woodland floors. There is new life coming into the world everywhere we look and we’ve been lucky with a dry spell of weather for the start of lambing time. We have 600 sheep in the flock, which should bring around 1000 lambs. All of the sheep lamb outside, checked twice a day by our shepherdess and are ideally left to get on with things by themselves. The Belted Galloway and Blue Grey cattle are just coming to the end of grazing their winter ‘allotment’ grounds and will soon be moved to lower, summer pastures. We’ll be back to update you as we move into the summer months and the farming cycle continues for shearing and haymaking.

This summer sees the arrival of the Lake District Book Festival, a welcome new addition to the local calendar, and we’re pleased to be taking part. The festival runs from 12–14 June at Cartmel Racecourse, bringing together a lively programme of talks alongside an impressive line-up of writers. Across the weekend, Matson Ground will be serving burgers made with organic beef from the farm, just a few miles from the festival site. It’s a simple offering, but also something of a milestone for us: the first time in a long time our beef has been available to buy directly from us. Matson Ground has been farmed organically since 2000. Today, we care for around 500 hectares of farmland and woodland stretching across the landscapes near Windermere and Patterdale. It’s an upland system where livestock spend much of the year outdoors, moving across pasture that is managed with both food production and wildlife in mind. By keeping stocking levels low, we allow space for a rich mix of plants, insects and birdlife to thrive alongside the farm. Native cattle breeds play a key role in how the land is managed. Beyond producing beef, they help shape the environment itself, grazing in…

I think January felt like an extra-long, dull month for a lot of us but we’re faring ok on the farm weather wise this winter. We’ve avoided any heavy snowfall and storms, touch wood.  So to the livestock. the sheep flock should hopefully all be in lamb. We keep them well-fed and in good health in the build-up to lambing time. The sheep will be pregnancy scanned next week and then sorted into groups based on how many lambs they’re going to have and the condition they’re in. The twins and triplets (hopefully not too many triplets due) will be topped up with organic sheep feed, made from cereals, every day for six weeks, right up until lambing in April.  We now have around 30 Blue Grey cattle and 40 Belted Galloways grazing the farmland. Blue Greys are a crossbreed of two other native breeds – a Black Galloway cow and a White Shorthorn bull. They are typically hardy and slow-growing, producing high-quality beef, and can cope with the cold snaps of weather.  The second phase of tree planting is underway in our wood-pasture creation project. The saplings from last winter have done well and we’re seeing signs of new…

In farming, it’s a careful, slow process; you’re always planning far in advance, and in many ways, autumn is the start of the farming year.   We’re very much thinking ahead to spring and even to what lambs we’ll have to sell in the late summer. The outcomes of our decisions today will affect the number and quality of lambs we have to sell next year. After their pre-breeding health check the rams, or tups, were put to the ewes last week, which will mean lambing will start on 15th April next year – 147 days for the sheep’s gestation. The rams will serve roughly 80 ewes each across the breeding season, which lasts for six weeks – they’re going to be busy boys! As you’re out and about across Matson Ground and the Lakes in autumn you might notice the rams in the fields sporting a harness. This holds a coloured crayon, which marks the sheep’s back once it’s been served. This helps us keep count of how many sheep each ram has served – it’s a very handy planning and monitoring tool.  The crayon colour is changed every week from yellow and orange to red, through to green,…

We’re delighted to announce that Matson Ground is now home to Windermere Food Farm, a much-loved community project which grows fresh, organic vegetables for the local food bank and families in need.

That’s more like it! April got off to an unprecedented dry start, even in the Lake District. Spring marks the start of the farm’s busiest season. There is new life coming into the world everywhere we look. We are about to hit the peak of lambing 600 sheep, which should bring around 1000 lambs. All of the sheep lamb outside, checked twice a day by our shepherdess and are ideally left to get on with things by themselves. Any sheep or lambs that do need a little extra help are brought back to the farm for some TLC but we have a hardy breed of sheep and the decent weather means we’ve only had a handful on the indoor labour ward. We have 90 head of cattle now on the farm, a combination of Belted Galloway and Blue Grey breeds. They are just coming to the end of grazing their winter ‘allotment’ grounds and will soon be moved to lower, summer pastures. With our farm policy we don’t have any calves on Matson Ground, only cattle grazing outside on grass, growing slowly. The pretty, wild primroses adorn the damp banks and the bluebells carpet the woodland floors. We hear the…

We have 650 sheep on the farm and in the farming calendar autumn is the start of the breeding season. This year’s lambs were weaned (no longer drinking milk from their mothers) at the end of August, so the ewes now get a rest for a few months, with a chance to recover from rearing the lambs before the breeding season starts again. We give them an MOT and decide which ones will be sold and which ones will be bred from again. We’re very much thinking ahead to spring and even to this time next year, to what lambs we’ll have to sell – in farming it’s a careful, slow process, you’re always planning far in advance. The outcomes of our decisions today will affect the number and quality of lambs we have to sell next year. The 18-month-old females, which we’ve bred, receive vaccinations against various viruses. Even though we’re organic, vaccinations are allowed as it benefits the health and welfare of the animal. After their pre-breeding health check the rams, or tups, will go in with the ewes around November 20th, which will mean lambing will start on April 15th – 147 days for the sheep’s gestation. The…

We got a dry week in late July to cut and collect the grass for winter feed. We mowed 40 acres of meadow to make into hay and haylage – a slightly damper version, which will be collected and stored as round bales to cut into at a later date, should it be needed for supplementary feed. It is a species rich grassland made up of herbs, plants and wildflowers, which being cut later in the year have had chance to grow and set seed. It gives a varied diet for the cattle and sheep to sustain them through the lean months when grass growth is lower.   In early July our shepherdess and an external contractor spend two days clipping the sheep. Unfortunately the wool isn’t worth as much as it once was so it’s not a money making exercise but it is something we have to do each summer as the temperatures rise to prevent infection from flies. Another annual job with the sheep at this time of year is weaning the lambs from the ewes. The lambs are now 4 months old and able to live on summer grass growth. The ewes go up to the high…

Did you know that wetlands are one of the world’s most biodiverse habitats? In fact, they provide homes for many species and larger wetlands, such as RSPB Leighton Moss, act as a vital stopover for millions of migratory birds in need of rest and to refuel. Our wetland areas at Matson Ground may not be visited by hundreds of migratory birds, but they are still a vital part of the farm. Over the course of the last few years, we have formed several wetland areas, with assistance from DEFRA, as part of our Countryside Stewardship agreement. These healthy wetlands store carbon and slow the flow of water, something we see plenty of in the Lake District. They also support an abundance of plant life which in turn provides perfect shelter and breeding grounds for invertebrates, mammals and birds. These are areas where livestock are excluded. Instead we are able to welcome a wide range of species such as dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies and even carnivorous plants. And by planting trees to support the development of the scrub habitat around the ponds, we hope to be able to support an ever more diverse range of species. Our recent moth survey demonstrated that there…