Where is the rain?

After three long and rain free months on the farm, things are getting very dry.  Sadly we have lost a few of the younger trees that we planted in April 2018, as all available water has been used or dried up from the ground. We lost around a third of our 30,000 new crops planted this year because of the drought. It’s devastating to us as the process of a tree going from seed to sale is a long one. Before we get to plant the trees a nursery in Kent grow them for four years until they get to around 8 inches tall. We then plant them and it take son average about 8 years before they are ready to be sold. That’s a twelve year turn around. They are sucking as much water out of the ground as they can at the moment. In the fierceness of the heat, the new tender bean shoot growths are just getting burnt off by the sun. It is just getting burnt as it grows basically. At the same time the larger trees now have their roots out and can get moisture deeper in the ground.  For example a 6ft tree has 6ft wide or deep roots and still getting enough moisture to survive for now!!

Our large trees

Regarding the bigger trees that we have for sale they are looking their best ever, vibrant, full and healthy. Fortunately we get better and better every year at growing them and trust me this is a science. So this year we will have the best Christmas trees around and when you visit our pick your own fields I am sure that you are going to have great difficulty choosing the “ONE” as there are so many superb examples.

Reindeer and the heat

The reindeer are now losing the last of their winter coats, which is probably a great relief for them in the current heat, they do experience temperatures like this in their native Finland but usually move to cooler areas but are then plagued by midges. 

At Gower Fresh, we have installed industrial size fans for our reindeer as we do every year, but this year we needed more and they are being used much more frequently, especially in height of the day. However, the herd is looking fit and well and the six new additions are very healthy and growing fast with the amazing care that their mums are giving them.

You might have noticed that our reindeer have recently generated a lot of interest in the media. We had a number of reporters coming to see the herd and the fans we use, and we had few interviews out there. It’s good to have the kind of media coverage that make people aware of our who we are and what we have.