Is it hot over there?
When people call the farm to order flowers they often ask - 'What's the weather like over there?'. Yes, it's a very stereotypical British small talk starter but it's often asked as people want to picture the islands in their minds.
I'll admit to occasionally telling an exaggerated untruth: that the sun is sparkling on the water as white fluffy clouds scud across with dolphins acrobatically leaping through the waves. I do only do this when I'm sure the caller will pick up on my sarcasm and knows full well it's blowing a Force 8 and raining horizontally!
This summer the weather question has been, 'Is it hot over there?'. Certainly not as hot as some parts of the mainland but it has been hot for Scilly. We nearly always have a sea breeze, which keeps the temperature around the mid-20s °C. Unless you are in a very sheltered spot, it's relatively easy to cool buildings by ensuring the air can flow through. And of course we are super privileged to be just minutes from the beach and a cooling dip.
Our scented pinks grow really well when it's hot and sunny, so during the heatwaves we've been picking loads. However hot, and especially dry, summers do bring farming challenges and as our climate changes, we need to factor that in to our planning.
We're responsible for our own water supply, which has always focused the mind when it comes to water conservation. All our scented pinks are grown in troughs with trickle irrigation. It's a really efficient way to irrigate because it's so targeted. Once the flowers are picked, they're brought swiftly in the cold store to cool down. The electricity for the cold store comes from solar panels on the roof.
Image: Hot dog cooling off (Brendon White's cool photo of Phyll had to go somewhere)
Where it becomes a bit more challenging is the temperature outside; for both humans and animals. The windbreak hedging that protects our winter scented narcissi so well from storms also stops a cooling sea breeze, which can make some fields particularly hot to work in.
We have adopted a low polytunnel design that means we can raise the sides to allow any breeze to flow through, whilst still giving some protection from the harshest overhead sun. We've also planned to make sure our stocking density doesn't put too much pressure on our grazing area even in the driest weather. And our no-fence grazing areas are set to include shady patches for the cows.
