Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
The potatoes destined for goose fat are currently sitting in dry soil, trying to become respectable roasties. The sprouts are out in the east of England, where water has become less a natural resource than a luxury subscription. Parsnips are being asked to grow long, straight and photogenic in ground that has the consistency of a pub car park.
The warning from farmers is real. England received only 3 per cent of its average July rainfall by the middle of the month, following three heatwaves. In much of the south and east, there had effectively been none. River flows were down, soils were exceptionally dry, and 1,327 restrictions were in place on licences that allow farmers to take water from rivers and other sources – almost twice as many as the week before.
In areas that depend on winter-filled reservoirs to irrigate crops through summer, stocks were reportedly down to around 30 to 50 per cent. It is a poor moment to discover that rain is not merely something that spoils a barbecue. Your Christmas dinner is having a difficult July too.