Waterland Organics

03/09/2026

This weeks vegshare .Yum. The dishes that can be created from this selection are endless. Everything grown on our farm and picked on the morning of delivery.

14/08/2026

It is very frustrating getting comments like this; it is a reflection of how the people who make these comments view farmers and growers. The inference is we are all too thick to plan or do anything about the situation. The reality is that to cope with circumstances beyond your control and survive you have to mentally arm yourself by making the changes you can and not putting mental effort into those you can’t. To do anything else will ultimately lead to frustration, depression and mental breakdown. This is something few farmers can spend time doing ; there is no paid sick leave, no payment still coming into your bank account; there is only the prospect of further financial hardship. The main issue is deciding what you can change and what you can’t. Correctly identifying the two is key.

Yes, farmers do need to think about adapting to a changing climate. We can’t control the weather, but we can change how we farm. However, the solutions aren’t as simple as people think.

“Just build a reservoir.”

* Yes, reservoirs can store water for dry periods. But building one can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. There are also planning, environmental and regulatory requirements.
* Not all farms are owned. Many, like ours, are tenanted. So it is down to the landowner.

“Why don’t you just irrigate?”

* We do irrigate some crops. But it requires a suitable water source, pumps, pipes, reels and investment. It isn’t practical or affordable for every farm or crop.
* We also need an abstraction licence from the Environment Agency, and water availability can be limited.
* As an example – we rent two farms in South Holland, Lincs. On one, we can irrigate some fields with EA abstraction licences for the River Welland. On the other, there is no water source available. In the Fens, Cornelius Vermuyden built a network of d***s and drains in the 1630s to reclaim land for farming. This network is primarily for water-level and flood management. Some can also provide irrigation water where infrastructure and licences allow, but having a d**e beside a field doesn’t automatically mean you have a legal or practical source of irrigation water.

“Just grow different crops.”

* Which ones?
· Is there a market for them and if not, can one be established?
* Will this weather become the new normal, or will there be wetter years again?
* Crop rotations are planned well ahead, seed is often ordered months in advance, and every crop has a growing season and conditions it needs.

And yes, farmers need to plan, adapt and look at new ways of doing things. We already are. But farming is a long-term business making decisions months or years ahead while working with something none of us can control – the weather.

The answer to a difficult agricultural problem isn’t just saying, “Why don’t farmers just…?” It is much more complicated than that.

Produce & Provide. FarmingUK

30/07/2026

Another batch of moths for ´Moth Week’. I must admit going through the photos I took makes me want to do another moth night!

29/07/2026

Just imagine what the yield would be if we could still irrigate; yes, we have received notification again that we have to stop. It wasn’t surprising as the levels at our extraction point were much lower than when they originally stopped us irrigating. ☹️

29/07/2026

So far , the squashes are enduring the heat and the lack of water.

28/07/2026

I saw a post somewhere that said it’s Moth Week. So, while waiting for 6pm when we can start the irrigation pump thought I’d put a couple up which, a couple of years ago, our good friend Iain caught on our farm with his light box.

28/07/2026

Our wildish marjoram spends the summer attracting wildlife!

28/07/2026

Our farm is full of butterflies and moths. Last time we did a count there were over 40 different species of moths. I was totally blown away! Here’s a few we managed to get pictures of. For some reason, when we get close, they fly away!

27/07/2026

Joy! We are allowed to irrigate on certain nights during the week. Tonight, we irrigated the Waterland CSA brassicas and leeks. It hasn’t been easy but so nice to have a drop of water back on the farm!

20/07/2026

We’ve been banned from extracting water now. Moving the irrigation pump back to the yard away from theft and harm. Our crops in the ground will suffer. Thirsty crows are eating our courgettes, badgers are eating our beetroot because they yearn to quench their thirst. It’s not just our crops that are harmed. Hoping for rain but not expecting any. Could be worse.