25/09/25 Bumper crop of damsons, dahlias, water management workshop
Description
This year's baking heat has had a beneficial impact on damsons and dahlias.
The Lyth Valley in south Cumbria is known for its damson orchards, a dazzle of snowy white blossom in spring and this year creaking under the weight of a bumper harvest. It's such a bumper crop that some growers have more damsons than they know what to do with.
In Gloucestershire dahlia growers are enjoying a good growing season. These bright autumn flowers originally come from Mexico, and their popularity here as a cut flower is growing.
Weather patterns are changing, and farmers in the usually dry eastern counties of England are having to adapt to more sudden and unpredictable downpours. This water runs off the land, and rather than giving crops a drink, it ends up on country lanes taking precious soil with it. We join a water workshop in Norfolk where farmers are learning how they can do more to contain and re-use water.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
United States
