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.
....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
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!
