Tuesday 21 July 2015

Ripe

The weather here is cold and damp and we have so far had little or no Summer weather at all apart from one week in early June.   And yet despite this the corn is beginning to ripen.

On our drive down to the feed merchants this afternoon (we go through lower levels and out of the Dales) we passed many arable fields.   Some of them were still plain green, some were beginning to turn yellow and one or two were totally golden-yellow.   They looked like wheat to me but the farmer quickly corrected me, pointing out that the green fields were the wheat.   The seemingly gold fields were in fact Winter Barley.

When I suggested that it looked ripe and that no doubt the Combines would be out any day now he repeated one of his famous mantras.   When your Winter Barley looks ripe then is the time to shut the field gate and go on a fortnight's holiday before you cut it.

Wrong as usual.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

The fields are ripening here too and I've seen one or two newly shorn this week. We've had muggy heat recently, although today it has been lovely and warm. Shall I send the sun up to you?

Bovey Belle said...

I love that, if you think your barley's ripe, go on holiday for a fortnight and forget about it! A lovely expression.

I noticed on my train journey home yesterday, some ripening fields (winter barley?) and others very green still, but a remarkably short stalk, and then one poor yellow field which was 3/4 flattened by wind and rain. The poor farmer must have been tearing his hair out as it was a BIG field too . . .

donna baker said...

In the US the farmers insure their crops. Do they do that in GB?

angryparsnip said...

I love the Farmers quote.

cheers, parsnip

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

First combine spotted today cutting some winter barley; obviously it's been warmer down here.

Rachel Phillips said...

Follow the harvest. If you are in Morocco they are harvesting the barley in May. It is the south first and then later the north and then Scotland. Watch the Tour de France and see where the harvest has got to in France (although this is not such a good year for doing that as there is a great north south divide for the Tour and a big bit missing in the middle). It is just the way it is. It doesn't matter whether it is a bad summer or a good summer, there is always an order. The combines are out here in the winter barley, and then the rape (which is late this year), and then later the wheat and then finally the spring barley and then the linseed and the beans.

Joanne Noragon said...

The old wisdom is the best.

donna baker said...

My daughter-in-law's family just finished their wheat harvest last week. Think they got a pretty good crop this year.

Frances said...

Well, once again, this city dweller has learned more about how seasons progress on a farm.

I do expect that there might be certain matters about which you can instruct the farmer during the seasons. Ahh, but do you ever open that classroom?

As a follower of this site, I am delighted to be able to continue to learn more from all offered sources.

xo

Cro Magnon said...

Lamas is only 10 days away; sounds like your new season's bread will be a bit late. Our wheat was mostly harvested about a week ago. My daughter-in-law's (kellogg) family are with us from Sweden. I am assured that they have had an awful summer so far; rain, rain, and more rain. Very hot here, and NO RAIN.

thelma said...

Farm machines trundle along the road all day here, mostly silage now, first the hay was baled after the hot weather, then the rain came and I presume the farmers turned to silage. So now I have learnt something about the crops round here, the gold fields are winter barley, the green are wheat, something learnt every day .....

The History Anorak said...

We were in Norfolk at the weekend and it was clear that the fields labelled "For Weetabix" were a lot further off ripe than the "For Woodforde's" were. Or I thought so until I read this. Obviously the barley has another two weeks to go!

thousandflower said...

Sigh, the weather here is hot and dry. No serous rain since April and everything is dry and dusty. We are barely keeping up with the watering of the vegetables and production is noticeably down.