It’s been a full week on the farm. We’ve been sowing extensively — trays filling up, beds being prepared, the season properly underway. But alongside all of that visible activity, we’ve also been doing something quieter. We’ve been putting up bird boxes. Not Just Decoration Bird boxes might look like a simple addition, but for us they’re part of how we grow. We use a mix of boxes with different entrance hole sizes, alongside a few open-front boxes. Each type has a role. Some

One of the clearest lessons from our trial year is that no piece of land behaves uniformly  — even on a small farm. At SAS Little Farm, understanding soil, water movement, and microclimates has shaped nearly every decision we’re making going forward. Soil Is Never Just Soil Our soil is predominantly clay-based, which brings both strengths and challenges. Clay holds nutrients well and can be highly productive, but it also requires careful timing and restraint. Working it at th

Before committing to full production, we spent 2025 using trial beds  to understand how this land actually behaves. This wasn’t about chasing yield or proving a point. It was about paying attention — letting the land give us honest feedback before we asked more of it. Why Trial Beds Matter Every piece of land has its own character. Even within a small area, soil structure, drainage, exposure, and temperature can vary more than you expect. Trial beds allowed us to: Test crops

At Stef & Sue's Little Farm in Barwell, Leicestershire , we’ve taken a deliberate decision not to rush into production. Instead, 2025 has been a learning year  — focused on trial beds, animals, and understanding our land before committing to our first full harvest season in 2026. This blog explains why we chose that approach, what we’ve learned so far, and how it’s shaping everything we’re growing going forward. Learning the Land Before Growing Food at Scale Every small farm