A Good Year for the Cobnut Plat

My last post, on September 6th, was upbeat about the size of the crop but downbeat about the availability of pickers, so it was a great relief when Mr Dain at Hurstwood Farm agreed to send in his pickers in over the weekend of September 14-15. About two thirds of the trees were allocated and eleven keen-eyed and tireless pickers and their farm-manager got to work until rain stopped play at 4pm on the Sunday.

colourful crates to hold the nuts

Those nuts, nearly a ton and a half of them, were loaded up and taken off to be processed into the Kentish Cobnut Oil which we look forward to seeing at Farmers' Markets soon.

Meanwhile our own volunteer pickers continued on the remaining rows which had been reserved.  Some of these went to a local wholesaler, to end up in small retail outlets and more went to Ightham Mote where visitors supplied a ready market.

The September days, with few exceptions, were ideal for picking and many different individuals and groups enjoyed the satisfaction of bringing in the crop in fine weather and good company.  Here are some of those, of all ages, who played a part:-

This family group returned several times, spurred on by the youngest demanding to be allowed to 'go to nutplat!'.

Shipbourne school-children who had visited in April returned to 'pick and picnic'.
 

 
 The 'mini-beasts' they found this time were ladybirds, earwigs and families of extremely small spiders using the husks of the cobnuts as a snug hiding place.
















After picking nuts to take home the children had a great time exploring and making 'elf houses' out of branches and leaves, and head-dresses to match.

They had walked from school, across the fields to the plat but when the time came to leave were happy to be collected by their parents.

Goodbye!  Come back in the spring!

Ightham Mote's Apple and Orchard Day is a fixture at the end of September and a good opportunity to sell cobnuts from the estate.  We still had several rows left to pick and pickers were now in short supply.  The Mote's Volunteer coordinator put out a call for reinforcements and a group of volunteer room-stewards and garden helpers responded.  

  They picked with enthusiasm on one of the loveliest September days and promised to spread the word for next year.

At the end of September the cobnuts are golden brown

We were able to reach our target and three loyal volunteers manned the stall, sorting, bagging-up and selling a large quantity of nuts.




Meanwhile from early September through to mid-October a steady stream of cobnuts disappeared from the stall in the Cuttings Garden at Ightham Mote and the honesty box with its 'suggested donations' was filled and emptied regularly

When  the season's takings are banked and the accounts are made up, the financial position should be well on the way to sustainability.  It would not be sensible to count on such a good harvest - and welcome absence of squirrels -  every year however; cobnut are subject to yearly variation and are notoriously 'unreliable croppers' which means that in a good year provision has to be made for a possible poor one.  The restoration of the plat is at a half-way point, two years into a four-year project and while the really heavy work has been completed the tasks of pruning, wanding and mowing are on-going. The young birch and willow trees which had grown up between rows and were removed over the last year, are now beginning to sprout vigorously and this has to be dealt with.

A particular problem is the infestation of weevil (curculio nucum) which, at an estimate, has affected some twenty per cent of the crop: a problem which has to be dealt with.

The weevil grub feeds and grows inside the nut and bores its way out

Weevils have affected about 20% of the crop


Plenty to think about for next year.  Meanwhile I am happy to forget about cobnuts for a bit - except that is for the  not-to-be-missed Nutters Supper.An application form is available on the KCA webs or I can give you details.

Harvest Time

Cobnut picking has started! 

The last week of August was when I decided the nuts were ripe enough and, a buyer being available, no time was lost.  Here you see a good pile of cobnuts, spread out in the shed, giving the earwigs and ladybirds a chance to make their bid for freedom, before being crated up next day, and taken to the wholesaler, or put into bags to be sold on the stall at Ightham Mote.

The weather has been kind to us, providing perfect cobnut-picking days of warm sunshine, when it has been a pleasure to be out on the plat.  The crop is a good one, especially when compared to last year, and so far the squirrel menace has been remarkably absent.  Could it be that the late cold winter affected their breeding season?

The rows between the trees have received another mowing, grateful thanks to our farmer friend 
for his generous help of time and tractor-power.

The crop is looking good.....







....and all we need is an army of pickers.





I have been out there most days and have had only a few days without help from several of our volunteer 'Nutters'.

Red flags mark the row where picking is to start each day, and pickers soon learn where to look for nuts hiding themselves among

the greenery.

Bugs are plentiful, mainly earwigs and ladybirds but also tiny nests of spiders, hidden inside the cosy shelter of the cobnut husks.

At this stage it does look as if we will simply not have enough pickers to gather in the harvest, which is a pity. But the more we can gather in, the more we can sell to local buyers, to help put the plat onto a truly sustainable financial basis.  Do get in touch and join us if you can!

Email to: snow.drops@yahoo.co.uk
Telephone: 01732 761466

Hoping for fine and dry weather over the weekend!

Safari and Tea at the Plat

 The previous day had been overcast; the following day was the hottest of the year but the day of the Safari was very nice indeed.  But it was clearly a bit too hot for some - or else there was just too much going on on that particular weekend -  as the turnout of walkers and cyclists was not great.

Volunteers and, in some cases, owners were stationed at each plat where signs had been strategically placed indicating the way to go.

Badgers' Plat on the footpath near Stone Street

Waiting

On duty outside Bewley House Plat

                                                                But cyclists did appear and this family visited three plats,

 before arriving for well-earned tea at the Mote plat.

When it came to the Tea and Cakes the numbers, not surprisingly, improved.  The gazebo and tables, on loan from Ightham Mote, looked decorative and provided welcome shade. At four o'clock the visitors began to arrive for tea and cakes and a good crowd assembled. 

The array of cakes, home-baked by the Nutters was varied and delicious. Fruit cakes, brownies, lemon drizzle and sponge cakes.....

Some visitors came from as far afield as London and the youngest of the walkers was aged six.

It turned out to be a  relaxed and sociable occasion with visitors admiring the plat and taking an interest in the display of photos that showed the progress of restoration work so far.  On display also were letters from schoolchildren who had visited during the year as well as old maps of the plat dating back to 1871.  Visitors were most generous in their donations to the ongoing work and the afternoon raised a good sum which will go towards the autumn and winter work.









FOOTNOTE!
Readers of country lifestyle magazines can find our plat featured in the August issue of 'Country Homes and Interiors' where their regular item, 'My Kind Of Country',  features GJ at home, on the plat, at the Shipbourne Farmers Market and elsewhere, complete with beautiful photography of all these familiar places.

Cobnut Plats Safari

 On July 21st we'll be holding a fund-raising event for on-going work on the plat.  Details are below including telephone and phone number for further information and a map.

           Ightham Mote Plat:- Restoration Walk

           Please contact Gillian Jones for more details or just turn up

           Email: snow.drops@yahoo.co.uk Telephone: 01732 761 466           

Join us for an afternoon of walking or cycling from 1pm on Sunday 21^st July

visiting the beautiful cobnut orchards (plats) of TN15 AND TN11

-   Ightham, Ivy Hatch, Stone Street, Plaxtol   -

Start your walk anywhere, finish anywhere and visit as many or as few as you like.

Then join us for Tea and Cakes from 4pm at Ightham Mote Plat in Ivy Hatch

A number of private and commercial properties have opened up their plats for you to visit and learn a little bit about the history of Cob Nuts in the area. A number will have their owners or a volunteer present to provide some background.

We suggest a minimum donation of £5 (Under 10’s go free) and any sponsorship money you raise towards the project. This can be donated to any of the volunteers or at the Ightham Mote Plat

Please help us estimate numbers by letting Gillian know if you intend to join us  - or you can still just turn up

To receive a map please email: snow.drops@yahoo.co.uk

A          Ightham Mote Plat             The Restoration Project               

                      1300 Cobb Nut trees planted 100-150 years ago over Approx. 8 Acres leased from the National Trust and in the process of being restored by local volunteers. Open on request for School visits and outdoor activity days.  There will be Tea and Cakes available between 4pm and 5pm and a tour of the plat and a talk on the restoration project and local wild flowers.

                      Access            Access by foot or cycle only via farm track off High Cross Road and through right-hand gate.  Follow line of trees down to the open space and the shed at the bottom of the plat.

                      Guide              Gillian Jones

B          The Dell  Private Residential Plat
Ancient plat at the beginning of the restoration process

                      Access            From Stone Street – take track marked (footpath no. MR425) do not take the drive way for Dell House. The path will lead past the Plat (aprox. 300m). The path then drops very steeply down to Mote Road. The reverse route is also possible

                      Guide              Juliette Evans

C          Bewley Lane House           Private Residential Plat
A traditional plat hidden away down a quiet lane. Organically cultivated and with a variety of interesting flora.

                      Access           Signs will be posted on the day

                      Guide              Owner/volunteer

D          Cob Orchard          Private Residential Plat

                      A small traditional plat with 57 fine old trees, incorporated into a garden setting

                      Access            Signs will be posted on the day

                      Guide              Volunteer

E          Beech Tree Cottage           Private Residential Plat
The Plat was probably planted about 200 years ago when the house was built to provide a cash crop for the tenants.

                      Access            Turn left along Sandy Lane from Coach Road. Beech Tree Cottage is about 50 yards on the right after the white sided bungalow

                      Guide              Carole or Richard Holden

F          Oldbury Farm House         Private Residential Plat
Traditional old cobnut plat, cared for organically, with ‘Pick Your Own’ available at harvest time.

                      Access            Follow Common Road across the A25 and onto Spring Lane
Turn left at the end of Spring Lane onto Oldbury Lane and then first right (50m). Oldbury Farm House is on the right

                      Guide              Dr Meg Game

G         Badgers Plat          Private Commercial Plat
Commercially run plat, planted within the last two decades, with nuts harvested annually for Cob Nut oil and other specialist products.

                      Access            From Stone Street – take track marked on the map (footpath no. SR126). The plat is at the top of the hill on the left before the path drops very steeply for about 500m onto Mote Road. The reverse route is also possible

                      Guide              Jonathan Green

Of bean poles and other matters

Thinking up new ways to raise funds is a challenge and more are needed for the summer maintenance, especially mowing and keeping the brambles under control.  Fortunately a large quantity of hazel rods had been put aside and advertisements for bean poles, placed in parish magazines, allotment notice-boards and general word of mouth all helped. We sold a good few bundles raising about £100.

Our first customer was an Ivy Hatch resident.

collecting beanpoles at the end of

No sign of spring but the sun is shining

Our next customer, from Plaxtol, needs the hazel rods not for growing beans up
but for her foundation
year art and design project.
She decided that the young wands
would also be ideal

Dad lends a hand

We  were delighted to welcome a second group of students from K College on the last two Tuesdays of April.  They arrived in the College mini-bus and pitched in with enthusiasm.

Tutors from K college

Building the bonfire

We were so lucky with the weather on both occasions and were able to enjoy potatoes baked in the embers of the bonfire, well-buttered and smothered with grated cheese and baked beans.  Excellent!

We are grateful to the K College students and their tutors.  With their help we were able to complete almost all of the clearing and burning of the accumulated winter's work.  We hope they will join in again next autumn when the work starts again. 

  

One more 'Nutters'  morning got the pile of holly alongside High Cross Road cleared away, then it was back to 'wanning' again.

Fortunately we had the most perfect spring day this week and got through another of couple of rows.

Spring At Last!

As I write this in May the flowers on the plat are in full bloom.

Primroses between the rows

Carpets of violets

Bluebells in the woods

April was a busy month, with two school visits. First to come was Shipbourne Primary.

  

SHIPBOURNE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Teachers, classroom assistants and  helper Mums accompanied the entire school - all 56 of them - Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children.  I was especially pleased to welcome them as my own children are 'old boys' of this school and I have fond memories of that happy time.

The children arrived on a damp and misty morning

They split into groups to visit six different points on the plat for a variety of activities and exploration  guided by a volunteer.  The children joined in the activities with enthusiasm.

At the end of the morning the children were ready for their packed lunches.....

 And the volunteers lined up for a photo-opportunity.

Then it was time to leave

....and there was plenty of energy left for a run down the hill....

....before setting off on foot for a muddy walk, past Ightham Mote and across the fields to Shipbourne.

The teachers reported that all returned safely, tired - especially the little ones - but happy with their day.  The children sent lovely thank you letters and told us about the things they had enjoyed most on their day at the plat.

IGHTHAM SCHOOL

Later the same week we welcomed  'Chestnut Class' 

from Ightham Primary School, children of Key Stage 1.

Susanne, who designed worksheets and guidance notes for both school visits, had the children fascinated by mini-beasts, fungi and rabbit holes.

 


The children from both schools collected treasures and trophies which included nuts that had been nibbled by mice or squirrels - and by the end of the morning the children could tell the difference.  For some children the experience of weaving a bug hotel with Tony was the highlight of the day, for others it was finding a hawk-moth with Penny,  looking at spiders' webs and a wasps' nest with Carole or making a guess at the number of nut trees on the plat with Richard. We think they all found something interesting and memorable to give a special bond with the natural world.

Look what I found!

Counting heads!

Soon it was time to line up and count heads before returning to school and we hope they will come again!

A SAMPLE OF THE THANK-YOU LETTERS AND DRAWINGS FROM THE CHILDREN

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LETTERS!

Thanks also, and especially, to Susanne for preparing the ground for the visits with guidance notes, worksheets and activities. They are resources which we now hold for use and adaptation for future school visits.