Mrs Down's Diary
"I've gone against every bit of advice I received with this crop of barley," John said as we sat and had our drinkings at tea time by the combine. "And it's the best barley crop I've grown in years."
"Firstly I grew it from farm saved seed, which at 60 a ton works out a lot cheaper than the 200 plus for certified seed. Then I let the sheep graze on it for a fortnight last winter when the crop was looking a bit proud ( the mild autumn last year had made the crop too forward). Which is an old fashioned pracxtice that no-one now recommends. Finally I didn't apply the final fungicide at ear emergence ( when you can see the head of corn above the flag leaf) which the crop consultant advised. But look at it. A fantastic crop."
For full feature see West Sussex Gazette August 2.