Luddesdown's "organic" vineyard has suddenly blossomed. A sudden and spectacular bloom of wild flowers seems to be a testament to a policy of zero herbicides...
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| View from Wrenches Shaw... |
The deep ploughing that so
badly scarred the Luddesdown valley landscape earlier in the year seems to have unearthed a seed bank that has, in some places, now produced a remarkable flush of wild flowers.
The yellow is largely rape or some other mustard, but this is mixed in with the yellows of hawkweeds and sowthistles, as well as a profusion of common poppies and camomile...
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| View south at Cutter Ridge Road... |
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| Looking west from Cutter Ridge Road... |
A mixture of Common Fumitory, Chicory and Borage adds a splash of blue in amongst the reds and yellows...
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| Borage... |
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| Common fumitory... |
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| Chicory, with Painted Lady butterflies... |
As can be seen above, the non-use of herbicides and insecticides has also given rise to an explosion of insect life, particularly bees and butterflies. Most numerous are the Large and Small Whites that have been attracted to the pesticide-free rape and mustard in their thousands, but 2019 is also a boom year for Painted Ladies, hundreds of which were flying gloriously and powerfully around the fields. Brimstones, Peacocks and Red Admirals were also well-represented, though the vicious spring hack-back of the hedgerows seems to have scared away the Gatekeepers...
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| Peacock on crimson clover... |
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| Brimstone on Toadflax... |
It was also good to see that some Skylarks had returned to the field margins after being driven away in Spring. The long grass was densely flowered with the purple flowers of Knapweed...
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| Knapweed in the field margins... |
I have a feeling that this wild flower bonanza cannot be allowed to continue, however. The vines are being crowded out by this super-abundance of home-grown vegetation, a state of affairs that surely isn't economically tolerable. This bloom is, of course, a one-off brought on by the breaking up of the soil structure. Buried seeds have burst into life for one final, glorious bloom
The vines must be protected as they are what will be making the money. I have little doubt that the vineyard land managers will soon be doing some heavy weeding, perhaps even carefully applying a hefty dose of good old glyphosphate or some other such poison, so that the precious vines can establish themselves free from the competition of pesky local flora and fauna.
Enjoy the flowers, birds, bees and butterflies in the Luddesdown vineyard while you can because I think they will all soon be gone for ever, and not by means of natural seasonal changes. The current flush of flora will not be permitted to set seed, and so gradually the wildflowers will die out.
All that will be left is a dull, sterile monoculture of vines, with vast areas of fields criss-crossed and defaced by the galvanised steels wires and supports.
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