Chequertree
Environment, food, farming, gardening, sometimes with a Kentish slant. Side interest in astroturfing & computational propaganda.
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- Large Tort appears to be using Sallow down here in East Kent, it's fairly numerous in some large woods without any Elm.
- My local council has been taken in by this gimmick unfortunately, am curious who sold the idea to them.
- I often get asked about the Miyawaki method of forest restoration, usually by people who have heard extraordinary claims for it. Morales et al. (2025) have reviewed the evidence and found it to be weak or absent. 🌏🧪🌳🌲 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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- I can't help wondering if Mediterranean Spurge is going to start to become a problem at some sites, it seems to be increasing around here.
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- I only ever seem to have small quantities of fruit available to me as most is out of reach, would be lovely to have buckets of them one year to do all kinds of drink and pudding experiments! Good luck with seed, I always failed but a farmer told me he had success by cleaning the seeds before sowing.
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- The only thing I can compare the taste to is some kind of delicious fruit crumble, I love them! Not usually many hanging low enough for me to reach though :-(
- Had a lovely surprise this afternoon, found the rather rare Deptford Pink growing by a roadside on Romney Marsh.
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- Oops!
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- That's right, everyone else seems to know about them already it seems :-)
- Still seeing these beauties in the garden every day, after a late start (presumably due to poor overwintering) they've had a good year again.
- A late Wall appeared briefly in the garden this morning.
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- Super shot!
- The unusual 'white' wilding Apple tree in the village is fruiting well this year. Rather thick skin & somewhat bland flavour so it might originate from a discarded Golden Delicious or Granny Smith core. Interesting enough for me to try top working a piece onto one of my own trees this Winter.
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- Going to try both, also grafting onto one of @ruckingemoths.bsky.social orchard trees as insurance against disasters!
- Yep, presumably seedlings from discarded cores or the many orchards which used to be in the area. Curiously there are quite a lot of thorny young Pear Trees (so suggestive of pyraster) dotted along the East Stour Valley. Quite variable in form so I wonder if they originate from ornamental varieties.
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- No that's a fab tree but it's Pyrus communis rather than pyraster, I mean the one by the roadside on Birchett Lane which has been declared as a real deal pyraster. Used to have a 'V' shape but one of the sides collapsed a couple of years ago, now suckering vigorously. Easiest to find when in flower!
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- This thread has reminded me that I need to check to see if any fruit has fallen from the Orlestone Wild Pear, I want to grow some
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- It's a random seedling (wilding) rather than a named variety so it was just my description :-) I'm sure if it was taken into cultivation the sellers would come up with some fancier name! I really like hunting for decent tasting wild growing apples at this time of year.
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- I thought I recognised the view! If you picked up any other interesting records I know the warden would be interested to have them :-)
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- My local river (East Stour) is dreadfully low, possibly the worst I've ever seen.
- A very pretty farmland bird mix down by the river this year, let's hope it works!
- Finally caught up with some stunning Wasp Spiders in the village this evening. By all accounts they're having a much better season locally after a good few years where numbers have been fairly low.
- Southern Water, I hate you, & I hate the parasitic international 'investment' funds who own you & profit from the disgusting mess you've made of this tiny little river which I love. Pic shows a filthy East Stour River, Kent, several miles downstream of sewage release. Discharging 4 hrs & counting.
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- I always get a gloomy feeling that Summer's more or less over when these start appearing!
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- I've often wondered what species the bait fish are when I encounter this, any idea?
- Four of the spectacular moth lifers that I saw among 160+ species in a Kent wood on Friday night with @mammalmark.bsky.social @dartfordtrapper.bsky.social @ruckingemoths.bsky.social & co. Light Crimson Underwing, Rose Plume, Olive Crescent & Bisigna procerella (Beautiful Silver-mark) #teammoth
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- Previously known as the Kent Tubic I think although I lose track of all these new names people are giving micros :-)
- Thanks so much for coming, glad procerella turned up although somewhat annoyed I left before it appeared given that I haven't seen one yet this year!
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- Thanks, lovely colour
- What's the orange flower?
- A Sussex Emerald was a very nice surprise in the garden moth trap last night. High overnight temperatures encouraging dispersal maybe? Probably 7 or 8 miles from the nearest colony I know of, overnight minimum was a bonkers 20.8C here.
- It's an exceptional year for Apricots here with fruit set bordering on the ridiculous, and to have them ready to eat before June is out is incredible.
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- I'd be very happy with a Heath Fritillary in the garden, wow! Shows how mobile they can be, just a shame that they insist on high densities of a none too common foodplant!
- After an exceptionally dry year these Sticklebacks are hanging on in the last bit of water in this dried up woodland stream in Orlestone Forest. With more very high temperatures forecast and no rain on the horizon their days are numbered.
- Very nice! I would assume Light Crimson breeds in the Blean right next to you? Ringed Border is also a possible Blean colonist, I wouldn't exclude the possibility of a local colony.
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- Numbers seemed good even if they were a bit stunted from lack of water!
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- It had dropped off my radar, I saw it years ago looking spectacular in a Devon garden. Drought tolerant sounds good given how hot and dry it is around here, I'll give it a try! Thanks for the reminder and the lovely pics :-)
- Looks amazing! I presume that's Lobelia tupa?
- Looks like the Orchids are having a poor year on this nice patch of grassland along the railway in the village, I assume the dry Spring meant many shrivelled, but Marbled White and Small Skipper are having a good year. Also v pleased to find Fairy Flax here for the first time.
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- I've found them growing in deep shade with Dog's Mercury/Fly Orchid at Chilham & in shade at Wye w/ Twayblade. In both cases I assume they've come from large grassland populations nearby. They were large plants, I guess responding to lack of light & moister conditions. Wonder what seed set is like?
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- That's sad to hear
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- I think the patchiness towards the trailing edge is another pointer, H/D always looks smarter and paler, plus the slightly 'stockier' appearance. I'd be 100% confident this is H/C and I do get a lot. Heart and Club is just starting to pick up in numbers here now, it peaks a bit later than H/D.
- Looks like H/C to me...if you can see it face on that's the clincher.
- A particularly lovely patch of Columbine in Eggringe Wood, Kent today.
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- I had one singing in next door's front garden this morning, had to do a double take!
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- With an article opening with more HS2 bat tunnel talking point nonsense...have a look here for a summary of what actually happened with the tunnel. www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/04...
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- This seems to be spreading fast around my bit of East Kent
- My first Emperor Dragonfly of the year last week at Waterbrook, Ashford.
- Every parish has an Ivy dickhead.
- Weird parasitic Dodder plants snaking their way through a Kentish meadow.
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- It's amazing how far even large tree seeds can travel. The diversity and patchy structure of naturally regenerated sites is much, much better than anything planted. Planted native woodlands are often rather poor for wildlife in comparison.
- Peacock on a field boundary Chequertree at Bridgefield, Ashford today. A reminder that this site was ancient woodland until at least the 1940s before being flattened for agriculture by 1960. Now being repurposed again as a new build housing estate.
