This is a compilation of quarterly articles which appeared in The Organic Grower between 2009 and 2021. The author is, or was, an organic farmer in south Devon. We often hear that farmers are stewards of the countryside and all that lives there – well a better case for that can be made for organic farmers than many other groups of farmers. Through his words here, this farmer convinces me that he has nature in mind when he goes about his business which inevitably, involves quite a lot of subjugation of nature.
He writes that he doesn’t know much about birds but he demonstrates to me, at least, that he knows quite a bit through years of observation. The bird of prey about which he wondered was, I reckon, a Sparrowhawk, just like he thought it probably was.
There are two aspects of nature which tend to dominate these pages – weather and weeds. We all like to moan about the weather but apart from ice-cream vendors and those setting up outdoor events, few look as anxiously at the weather forecasts, and the skies, as farmers. There are interesting passages here which taught me about the impacts of different patterns of rainfall on different crops. I imagine they had the original readers in The Organic Grower nodding in recognition or sympathy but many of them were news to me.
This is a farmer who knows his plants even though, perfectly naturally, he regards some of them as the enemy. ‘Know thy enemy’ is a lot more difficult if you can’t reach for an all-purpose herbicide but have to use soil preparation, rotations and physical weeding to deal with the triffids. Of course it’s obvious that concrete is better protection from weeds than hardcore in your farmyard if you experience it, but for those of us who haven’t given it a thought, little insights like this are educational.
I enjoyed all of this book but the passages on leeks, Swallows, Ivy, biting insects, dandelions, dark nights, Spotted Flycatchers and Large Whites are really good. On p151 there are some really delightful sentences on a couple of white birds flying over.
I’m sure the author would be a great person with whom to share a couple of pints. I liked his book and I think I’d like him too.
The cover? It’s OK. I like the insect in the grass. I’d give it 7/10.
Nature Notes by Tim Deane is published by Choir Press.
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