30/12/2025
The diary of an organic sheep farmer grazing a Clun Forest flock on new pastures at Poole & Wimborne Woodland burial ground
October update
In early October there was another flush of flowers, mainly autumn hawkbits, dandelion, clover, and a couple of thistles are having another go. 🌺🌻🌸
There are still a few late bumblebees about who have been appreciating the nectar. There are lots of seedlings starting to come through. And we are seeing an increase in dung species of insects and fungi. 🐞🍄
There weren't many when we first put the sheep on but they've been steadily increasing and arriving on the dung quicker and in greater quantity. The mycorrhizal fungi will help support and nourish the seedlings so hopefully they'll be strong and resilient plants by spring.
In late October when the grass was showing a mix of lengths we moved the sheep onto new cells. The longer length is creating a microclimate which is what is enabling the seeds to germinate and the seedlings to have a protective duvet to push through.
We found some Wasp spider egg sacs along the top treeline which we left uncut due to the colony of Wasp Spiders. They've just started appearing woven into the grass stalks. We’ve kept the sheep fenced off of that area until the spiderlings emerge in the spring.
There is also a very active mole in the field, which will be bringing up plenty of dormant seeds that have been laying in wait in the soil.
