12/06/2026
Another week has flown by on the farm.
We're coming to the end of some of our spring crops. The radishes and turnips only have a few harvests left, and many of the mustard and brassica salad crops are rapidly deciding that their job is no longer producing leaves, but flowers and seeds!
Thankfully, the next wave of crops is waiting in the wings. We're hopeful to have our first carrots available soon. The samples we pulled from the tunnels earlier this week were certainly tasty!
With the longer days and warmer temperatures, many of the brassicas have an overwhelming desire to bolt and flower. If you've ever looked closely at a brassica flower, you'll notice four petals arranged in the shape of a cross. The brassica family was once known as Cruciferae, meaning "cross-bearing", a reference to these distinctive flowers.
One of the best pieces of farming advice I've been given is to always have some brassicas and members of the carrot family flowering somewhere on the farm. Members of the carrot family (Apiaceae, formerly known as Umbelliferae) produce distinctive umbrella-shaped flower clusters called umbels and include herbs such as dill, coriander and parsley. The flowers of both these plant families provide nectar and pollen for a wide range of beneficial insects, including hoverflies and parasitic wasps, which can help keep pest populations, such as aphids, in check.
So whenever we're clearing old crops, I try to leave a few flowering plants behind. Visitors to the farm may have spotted the tall yellow-flowered clumps at the entrances to some of the polytunnels—those are old brassica salad plants that have been allowed to flower. You'll also see patches of flowering dill and coriander left standing here and there. Our cut flower patch also contributes extras.
Diversity is one of the keys to a healthy farm ecosystem. Flowering crops, herbs, hedgerows and even some of the weeds around field edges all provide food and habitat for insects and wildlife. A diverse ecosystem is often far more resilient and balanced than a monoculture field with a single crop.
Sometimes the untidiest corners of the farm are quietly doing some of the most important work. 🐝🌼
