Cereals

The farm grows organic winter wheat. Winter wheat is sown in the autumn with a special machine called a 'seed drill'. It plants the seeds in lines at the correct spacing, as seen in this photo.

The wheat will grow over the next year ready for harvest in August.

Instead of using chemical fertilisers, the wheat is planted after perhaps three years of growing clover which builds up the fertility in the soil. Clover does this by taking nitrogen from the air and adding it to the soil through special nodules on its roots.

Chemical pesticides are avoided too and Ashlyns Farm encourages natural predators such as ladybirds and birds to eat the pests which may harm the crop.