Never trust a July sky! Meaning don’t plan on a dry morning just because the sky is clear this evening, July weather can be that dramatic and often unpredictable.
There are sayings and old farmers ‘truths’ for every season. Ian often shares these with us, he picked them up over many years by “talking to old farmers and growers as they kindly passed on their wisdom and experience, encouraging me when things haven’t gone as planned”.
‘if something doesn’t fail, you aren’t trying hard enough!’ probably the saying I’ve heard the most! and also. ‘if at first you don’t succeed try again?’
Or ‘it isn’t all bad, at least you’ve learned something’ and on banging my head against the top of the cold frame.. ‘you won’t do that again’! But of course; I will!
“I find them interesting though not infallible. Indeed they can often contradict each other”.
A popular rhyme predicts wet weather for sure ‘if the first of July be wet, it’ll be wet for two fortnights together… more or less’
As we’ve all had enough of the wet stuff, 10 days dry weather for making hay! While the sun shines – would be nice!
Hay in June, cut too soon, Hay in July, sure to fly! (some people say dry)
There are many traditional ‘sayings’ and wise farmers ‘truths’ not to be confused with golden rules! They are said tongue in cheek and often contain a grain of truth, reinforced by observations over the years.
What will the effects of climate change have on these old sayings? what wonderful turns of phrase will develop in the future? Are we adding to the lexicon? Can you identify any newer sayings?
Tongue in cheek maybe but we are often guided by them. They can be a useful reminder of seasonal tasks when planning jobs for the month.
Ne’er cast a clout til May be out reminds us not to be tempted to plant out softer plants as there is still a risk of frost until early June here in the Tyne valley.
Cut in June Cut too soon. Cut in July sure to die! A reminder to keep on top of the weeds, is one of Ian’s favourites as it is relevant across both grazing fields and our cropping fields. If you cut back plants like nettles thistles and docks in June when they have plenty of leaf they will still have energy to produce a new seed head. However if the flower stalks have appeared and then you cut them down they have used their summer reserves and less likely to thrive and will have less chance to spread everywhere.
One years seed – seven years weed! “reminds me of yet another idiom.”
Cut before rain and you won’t see it again. This one could be a warning or advice don’t cut woody stemmed flowers in the rain, or make sure you cut thistles before rain. “I was told water can get in the stem and rot the plant down to the root. Truth or not I don’t know, it kind of makes sense but I have enough problems without taking extra risk!”
We really like these little ditties, Ian is full of them and he’ll tell you they have been an important aspect of his learning. It is interesting to drill down to their meanings, find out where they came from, do you have one you would like to share look us up on our facebook page and let us know about it or drop us a line.
