Cranken

2012-01-24T04:58:00.000-08:00

Work Day 24th July

2011-07-15T07:48:00.001-07:00

Carrying on with bracken trampling from 2 weeks ago and clearing around new trees.
All welcome. 10 am. start. Contact Paul for directions if 1st time.
07870 780522 paul.antonelli@rocketmail.com
Can offer a short tour of other activities happening this year after lunch.

2011-07-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

13th july

Small copper

6 spot Burnet

Soldier beetles

Thanks for IDing these Graham

Small flowers blooming in gateway of 3rd Meadow gateway ???

Worries about ever growing numbers of rabbits took a slight turn on noticing this rabbit scrape that seems to be in use by bees. 3 or so holes being used and about 6 arrivals/departures per minute.

End of June

Fungus growing on old gorse in green lane ???

Thanks for photo Tim

After the rain

2011-05-17T03:08:00.000-07:00

First look round after the end of the dry spell.
One Buzzard chick struggling to keep up with it's parents
Caterpillar below feeding on new sprouting chestnut leaves. ID???

Amphibian below had moved in under plastic mulch sheet where bracken and wind had lifted it and folded it over collected rainwater. ID ???.

The tree guard below had been unwound off tree and ends were covered in rabit sized teeth marks

Some Ash trees that had been left too long in nursery were have successfully been transplanted this winter. The tree below was left as thought to be a sycamore, but definitely not. ???

2011-01-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

In the Nursery all trayed seedlings moved into inner enclosure. Over grown Ash dug out and replanted as a stand in 2nd Meadow. Germination crates to be moved into new 2nd inner enclosure in February, possibly with on a layer of slate, slabs.

2nd Meadow area laid out. To be interplanted in front with Elder and behind with Ash. Remainder of space filled with Alder and Birch. Just Birch with a little space around 4 yr old Plum trees.

Cutting back willow near car park for use as markers in new tree planting areas in 2nd Meadow, Stone Field and Little Stitch.

Hole in from adjacent warren was 20 inches underneath the fence burrowed above a layer of gritty soil. Noticable that the hole started to rise where it came under the fence. Trench cut across and lined with roof slates and filled. Undergrowth cleared away from cornish hedge open warren entrances up to predators.

Finding a completely striped ivy branch in the tree nursery was a clue to why so many seedlings missing.

Snow on ground covered in rabbit droppings reveals just how high rabbit population has grown and damge to trees whereever they can get to bark.

Tree Nursery

2010-11-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

A busy half term, opening up an access into the Green Lane and 2nd Orchard to establish a tree nursery.

View through foot opening to Green Lane and 1st Orchard beyond.

A couple of days of Blackthorn clearance and a couple of boulders later. Big thanks to Darren and Alex.

In amongst that time to walk in 300 young trees lay out a mulch/self watering system. Thanks Sian.

Nursery started off with various woodland collected seedlings and year old chestnuts grown from last years Greenwich Park harvest and this years for germination.

Apple blossom in the 1st Meadow where the trees in the shelter belt had been badly hit by frost the previous week.

In the Car Park fascinated by a particular flying insect that appeared dropping eggs from the air onto the car roof!

2010-10-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

3rd Oct
The sky was clear this morning, so drove to Greenwich Park to see how the chestnuts were doing. Quite a lot of nuts on the ground were not fully grown, but found a few trees that they had matured and some where they were a reasonable size. As it was a windy day the technique of finding a good, unpopular tree and waiting for them to drop proved fairly successful. Recommended to me by an unusually chatty chinese guy of few english words and a jade buddha on a chain round his neck. He actually stayed in one spot, but I collected twice as much by checking out lots of the good trees from last year. Was also able to pick off a few trees. Looks like there will still be plenty for next w/e and an earlier start will help. Rough count for today 700.
PaulA

Whit Ramble Round

2010-05-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

In the Gateway of Top Hay field

Two years since planting the Sibley apple tree now standing 8ft. high in First Meadow.

Crow Meadow ferns amidst thick bluebells with possibly the site’s oldest oak just beyond the in-bloom hawthorn.

Beech tree planted from a pot kept in a Penzance yard until 2003 when Liz thought it a good spot in the shelter of the adjacent gorse. Originally collected as sprouted coteledons from Trevaylor woods by Paul on a walk with Sarah in 1995. Grown on in fish crates with some 80 others for a couple of years at Helnoweth, most planted out into hedgerows there.

Some hand weeding of seed trenches reveal

Seeds into trenches were Ash last Easter, Chestnuts and Birch in the early Autumn. Birch seeds were from the upper branches of a 30 ft. tree taken down in a Surrey garden. Thanks Sue. As well as planting it’s seeds we also made the most of the wood some being made into Besoms for the family including a small one for our new niece Daisy born on the day we felled the tree.

Having taken down two sections of 10 ft we were unable to get a saw behind the remaining pollard. This Spring it unexpectedly began to regrow.

April 2010

2010-05-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

With some help from a friend we put in most of the the 1300 trees we purchased this year. Mostly planted on the Croft which is visible from the road and raised a few comments from neighbours - all positive. Some infilling and extension of the shelter belt started in 2008. Both areas partly visible in the picture below taken from near the car park.

We found also found that Google had updated their sateillite imagery to show the extent of the bracken management mowing last year. Will be able to use this to check the success of trees in shading out bracken in the future.

August 2009

2010-05-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

Bit late going up with these from August 2009. A walk around fields with camera caught the following three creatures amongst more common varieities.

9th April 2009

2009-04-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Some basket making willow planted down near the spring. In the background some other willow planted a few years go by Withy Liz, now ready for cutting and replanting. It's a bit late in the year for this, but with Spring being damp and planting near the stream we have decided to give it a try.

Looking on

15 February 2009

2009-02-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Planting in Little Stitch Field around some 7 year old survivors - Ash and Hawthorn. In the middle of the top hay fields this small enclosure is too stony to maintain as meadow. Put in a mix of Ash Sycamore and oak along the northern boundary.

In the second meadow the willow archway has partially died back, so we decided to trim and replant the willows to form a wider access across the green lane to give tractor access to the The Slope field our worst bracken affected field. Some digger work needed first to flatten historic cattle erosion.

Lots of orange fungi growing around the site, hence the new title image.

2009-01-31T03:26:00.000-08:00

Latest arrivals at Cranken are some Belted Galloway cows. They are feasting on our hay meadow to see how they like it and if it helps the condition of the grassland.

The two year old beech trees transplanted into a lined trench last October have survived meaning the rabbit fencing is working well. We now have on-site storage for whips to go in this February and are trialling two trenches filled with birch and ash seeds. These are for tree stock in 2-3 years. If they work well, more trenches next year and a greater variety of stock. Making more use of this space means we can suppress the bracken that has taken over and be more self sustainable in generating our own supply of tree stock. Could also create a sheltered spot to gather for work breaks in windy weather.

The alders that survived the dry spell last Spring have done well, doubling their height and a good start to the shelter belt for the new orchard. Also being tried is some interplanting of Elder sticks to see if they will root and provide some low level growth to shelter new trees.

17 February

2008-03-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

Tree planting day with West Cornwall Conservation Volunteers and friends.

Apple trees.

New shelter belt through First Wet Meadow and The Slope fields through the middle of a slight valley widening. The idea is to deflect the winds that come up and down the valley warming the microclimate either side making the most of topographical shelter. Main trees being planted Ash and Alder this year. Alder as nursery trees and other natives inter-planted in the future.

Tried planting blackcurrants on outside of rabbit
fence. Turns out Cranken rabbits like eating blackcurrant stems.

10 Feb

2008-03-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

Fox bones in Middle field.

Aphid like bugs with horn on back. Congregated at top of tree guard. On last year's willow gate planting Middle field. Anyone know what they are?

Start of new shelter belt in Slope. Up to animal track leading from 2nd Orchard to rabbit cleared grass patch.