The trees in far field were planted in 1994, chosen for timber, but with some cherries and applies thrown in for good measure.

These photos show these fields before that planting (in 1992), then with the first planting (1994) then a few years later. Look at it now!

The alley spacing here is 12 metres, with hindsight too narrow. That is particularly so given that pairs of trees were planted, with the intention that one of each pair would be removed later. But that never happened. So the tree lines are wider than planned, leaving the alleys even narrow than planned. With only 9 metres for cropping, that is now tricky. The challenge of being first movers!

But what that leaves feels almost like an open woodland – at times the most beautiful part of Wakelyns. When the cherries are in blossom, and then in fruit, it is truly magical.

In the alleys in Far Field in 2022 we grew the YQ population wheat, conceived here at Wakelyns by Martin Wolfe and the Organic Research Centre

Also an alley of mixed cereals chosen by Henrietta for the bakery.

And Henrietta’s homage to the Story of Wheat.

Those alleys were hemp in 2023, expanding from the one alley we grew in 2022 so that Claire and Kitty had more to be working with.

In 2024 they are back in the fertility building ley phase of our organic rotation.

This is probably the most mature and most diverse agroforestry you will see anywhere.

Here also are two of our barn owl boxes.

As for those barn owl boxes: the one up against our western (Green Lane) boundary was number 66 for the Suffolk Barn Project. They are now up to over 1,500 including a couple of new ones for us.

For more information on the fruit trees in Water Field Field look here and Far Field look here.

Come on a Wakelyns Tree Walk to learn more about the trees and how we manage them at Wakelyns. Also download a copy of our “Woodland Management Plan” here.