Water, water everywhere. Is this the new norm – drought or deluge? I feel it probably is.

I have followed the moon phases for many years to predict the weather and more recently, when to apply foliar feeds and planting.

The moon is currently in a different orbit, the last time this happened was 1724, so I am told.

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About the author

Tim Parton

Tim Parton manages 300ha in South Staffordshire growing winter wheat, OSR, spring barley, beans, oats, lupins and wild flowers as part of a biological farming system. He grows cover crops and grass for haylage across sandy clay loam soils.

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I have a book with agricultural records of the farming year and corresponding weather, with the same pattern in 1724 as this year.

I am not saying that human actions are not influencing the planet, as they very much are, but it is interesting to see weather patterns repeating themselves yet “climate change” being blamed, while a lot of money is being made.

Autumn drilling has finally finished, with one or two crops not enjoying the wet weather and cooler temperatures.

All crops are drilled with added biology – both a consortium of known microbes and a compost extract made from my own recipe.

This is added through a liquid applicator on the drill, ensuring the biology is applied correctly in the rhizosphere of the newly planted seed, releasing nutrition from the soil naturally.

The seed itself is a home-saved blend, which will have (hopefully) between 7-9 million endophytes already in place on the seed, ready to work in harmony with the plant.

This will also be placed with the correct nutrition needed by the plant, enabling optimal photosynthesis, with sunshine converted into sugars, carbohydrates and amino acids, releasing them as exudates.

This will feed the biology, in return for suppling the plant with required nutrients.

Elements are also added to help the plant create a hard cell wall, to fight off possible pathogens attacking the plant.

Whilst I have fed the plant to help it produce primary metabolites, I also feed the plant to produce secondary metabolites, which among other things, also aid the plant to fight off attacks from pathogens.

All this gives the crop the best start in life to aid me to farm without fungicides and insecticides.

After all, all plants have a fantastic immune system just like humans. And, just like humans, plants require the correct nutrition to function at their best.