Flowers of the Corn

Scattered acoss the landscape as if painted by an artist, colourful wild flowers adorn our crops, and we believe that's a sign of good farming. (Don't call them weeds!) 

Poppyfields burst out of nowhere - how do they do it? Seeds can lie dormant in the soil for many, many years. When we cultivate the earth, that is the trigger for the seeds to germinate.

Working with Nature

A crop field should be healthy ecosystem. When soil is full of life it holds onto fertility and uses nutrients efficiently. That is good for farmers and for the environment.

Below ground, a mass of root activity provides habitat for things like fungi, worms and springtails. Above ground, each plant supports its own range of passengers - tiny beetles, caterpillars and bugs. All this wild food helps farmland birds such as Grey Partridge, Lapwing, Linnet, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting, Meadow Pipit and Skylark.

The benefit for nature is a major reason for us to farm ecologically. As organic farmers we don't spray chemicals to kill off wild plants - we actually want them here.

Star plants

Common poppies are bold, bright and stand out a mile during June and July. But amongst them we might also find quite rare flowers. Unusual arable plants here include Field Gromwell, Prickly Poppy, Cornflower, Venus's-Looking-Glass,  Dense-flowered Fumitory and Dwarf Spurge.

These little gems are part of the living heritage from ages of farming, which provides the right conditions for these plants. Because of the excellent diversity, Sheepdrove Organic Farm is a site of UK-level importance for arable flora conservation.

Find out more about arable flowers from Plantlife.

If you love wildflowers, please support our organic, no-spray farming! Shop with Sheepdrove or book our Eco Conference Centre for your next event.