First Cuckoo!
By Peter Lundgren, The Farmer
Spring is finally here – this morning I heard the first cuckoo of the year. And the swallows are back busy rebuilding their mud nests on the barns and house. And there is a barn owl taking up residence in the barn. And the trees and hedges are pushing out leaves and the dark browns of winter are turning bright green.
It’s amazing what a change in the weather can bring – freezing last weekend and over 20 degrees this weekend – nature seems to be bursting into life in a hurry. And a bit of good weather helps to cheer me up!
The sun shining and the increase in temperature has got things moving in the field of wheat as well. The plants look as if they need some additional nutrients so the field of wheat has had its second and last dose of nitrogen this week; and also been sprayed against diseases along with some potassium and manganese foliar feed to address the micronutrient problems I described in the last blog. The foliar feed should help the plants take up the available nitrogen and the fungicide will help keep the crop healthy for a few weeks trapping sunlight and building yield.