Aka, "gin liqueur."

Hi Matt. Yes, that's right, the sloes add flavouring to the gin (really great flavouring I should add!) and you can also do the same for other spirits like vodka. If you want to make an alcohol from the sloes themselves then try sloe wine which is one of my favourite berry wines. I'm always surprised at how such an unpalatable sour fruit to eat raw can make such tasty wine and gin.

Hi. Thanks for your question. Cobnut trees can be coppiced in the same way as common hazel. However, whether you want to coppice a cobnut tree or not depends on what you hope to get from it. Coppicing is generally to produce wood products for fencing, hedging, poles etc and to improve woodland biodiversity by letting more light in to the woodland floor. Whereas cobnuts trees are more often grown for their nut production. If you want to grow your cobnut trees for the nuts then a lighter form of pruning rather than coppicing is better. Over Winter to early Spring, cobnut trees can be pruned by removing dead and diseased branches, and any unwanted suckers. If the tree is very dense then branches can be thinned out and those remaining can be trimmed to a more manageable height. The benefit of pruning like this is that the cobnuts will be larger and better quality, and easier to pick than if the tree is not pruned at all. We've got a film in the making at the moment that looks at cobnut production through all the stages to processing the nuts so check back here over the next few months :-).

Maggie thank you for your comment. I have such a vivid image in my mind of you, your husband and grandparents weaving and making crooks together- really beautiful. It is indeed lovely to see traditional crafts being taken up by younger generations.

Hello, thanks for your question. Pruning all kinds of fruit tree can be beneficial to the tree, both in terms of maintaining its health (e.g. removing diseased branches, increasing light and air flow through the tree etc) and also for fruit production. If you've got fruit trees in a small space then pruning can also help with controlling the size of the tree. In the UK there is a risk of silver leaf fungal disease which affects stone fruit trees, such as plums and cherries. So to reduce this risk it's best to prune stone fruit trees between May and August. However, other fruit trees like apples and pears can be pruned in both summer and winter as they are not at risk from this fungal disease.

Hello. Thanks for your question. A couple of universities that specifically focus on mycology research are the University of Helsinki (www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/mycology-and-bryology/research) and Cranfield University (www.cranfield.ac.uk/centres/magan-centre-of-applied-mycology). More generally, universities tend to offer more general courses but postgraduate students can specialise within those courses on lichenology, mycology etc. Have a look at opportunities in biological science, botany, ecology, and natural and environmental science faculties. The University of Nottingham, Bristol University, the University of Newcastle and Durham University might give you some ideas of what is on offer. Beyond universities, there are a few organisations that may offer short courses or ideas on where to study this field: The Lichenologist journal (www.cambridge.org/core/journals/lichenologist/information/about-this-journal); the Field Studies Council (www.field-studies-council.org/); the British Lichen Society (britishlichensociety.org.uk/); and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (www.rbge.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/staff/cryptogamic-plants-and-fungi/). Best of luck in your search!

You're very welcome. Thank you for the fantastic work you do

Hi Maddie, that's great, we're really pleased we were able to help and that you liked the film! There are plenty of other films on the channel around making food and foraging that you might like. All UK based but hopefully still applicable in Canada! This is a nice foraging one kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJbCmpR_lpWgja8 plus we have two on pruning fruit trees, in summer and winter that might be of use kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4Cmk4qogrydd8k kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXiZaWl9aJd2oqs

Hi, most of my Tawny Owl nest boxes are in use all year. They do use them to roost in throughout the year. You can clean them out if you wish, I normally do this every few years or so.

Hi, the first nest box you mentioned is a bit low. They should be at least 14 feet above ground and higher in some cases. Barn owl nest boxes are absolutely fine at the back of a barn as long as the owls have a direct passage to the entrance hole of the nest box. In the second box, you mentioned can owls access the nest box inside the Barn, or is it only accessible through slits in the side of the Barn.

@@projectnestbox Thanks for the reply, the second box is in the same open barn, but further back so it could access either by the front open doors or via the aforementioned slits, which are approx 30-40cm in height

My only concern is the low position of the nest boxes. ​@@Karkawry1970

They are very underrated

😂😂😂😂

Unfortunately, this happens all too often 🙁

@@projectnestboxAs well as losing the barn owls there has been a marked drop in the number of swallows during the summer, I no longer hear the tawny owls in the woodland nearby and the number of buzzards in the area has plummeted all of which has allowed a marked rise in the number of rodents and other pests in the area.

​@daveturnbull7221 it really is a big worry. This year has been my worst year in terms of 100's of failed clutches. The lack of insects is alarming.

That's the problem for owls and swallows, any farm outbuildings are converted into accommodation these days, there is an obsession with developing everything.

​@pauldurkee4764 very true, unfortunately

Thank you for your lovely comments

I'm really sorry to hear this. If badgers do return to your woods see if your local badger trust has a vaccination programme which may reassure the farmer that culling isn't necessary. The Government has also just announced a new TB eradication strategy to end the badger cull (although the ban isn't immediately in place) and reduce the incidence of bovine TB in cattle which will include more research into the disease and the development of a cattle vaccine. So hopefully this disease will be better controlled in the near future for both livestock and wildlife. Here's the link to the Government announcement: www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-end-badger-cull-with-new-tb-eradication-strategy

That's a great question. Although badgers have sometimes been blamed for hedgehog decline in the past, research has indicated that this isn't the case and highlights that hedgehogs and badgers have coexisted together for 1000s of years and the hedgehog decline is relatively recent, and has also been occurring in places where there aren't badgers. Hedgehogs and badgers do eat similar food, so in places where there has been habitat loss then the two species may compete more for food. Badgers eating hedgehogs is rare but may occur when there is high badger density and a scarcity of food such as during summer droughts. However, research has indicated that the biggest threat to hedgehogs is the loss of habitats due to agricultural intensification, reduction in hedgerows, and the decline in the number of insects. Here's the link to a summary of the research findings: www.badgertrust.org.uk/post/badgers-and-hedgehogs-separating-fact-from-fiction-in-british-native-wildlife. And for some more detail on the status of hedgehog numbers here's www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/new-state-of-britains-hedgehog-report-issued-today/.

Lived in west Somerset for years, hedgehogs were rare, three years into the cull they started to appear dead on roads, a significant increase to say the least, seven years ago moved to the Highlands no badgers our side of a main river, since then they crossed the river through general expansion, over population and no control, I won't say that the urchins are gone but I've seen a few inside out skins, I like badgers and think all ancient deciduous woodland could and should accommodate a large or a few smaller setts, however with no main predators besides the motor car, these versatile destructive greedy creatures need regulation.

I have just picked a few bunches prematurely. I couldn't wait. I'll leave the rest til after a frost.

@@saturnfive3496 Good question! The fruit has its own hormone to ripen however, air circulation, sunlight and warmth helps develop the sugars which affects the overall taste and quality of the fruit 🍎

🙏

Absolutely 💯 nothing should go to waste 👍

We don’t recommend using healing application with a good clean cut the tree should be able to heal nicely.

​@@victoriaholden1518thank you:)

Thankyou 🙏

Hi. Thanks for your question and it is all rather confusing! There is likely to be a variety of different definitions and there's probably some regional variation too. In the simplest terms, jam is generally regarded as being made using the whole of the fruit which is crushed or pureed. Jelly uses the juice of the fruit and is smoother in texture than jam. Marmalade describes a spread made just from citrus fruits (including the peel) but can have the fruit pieces removed in the final product to make it smooth or with the fruit pieces left in. And then there's chutney, pickle and relish ...!

@@WOODLANDSTV right??? Chutneys-WHAT IS THAT 😳🙄😝thank you for elaborating 🙏🏻❤️

@@lindabuck2777 Use Google... lots of recipes.