11th October 2025

Seldom do we see bare soil in the fields of the Goodnestone Estate which practices nature-friendly farming. Cover crops are extensively planted post harvest. These vary in the seed mixes sown and serve different purposes. This field, on the way to Crixhall Court and the footpath to Goodnestone, is currently sown with kale. As it grows, soil nutrients and water are held in the plant tissues, rather than being drained out of the soil into watercourses. Later in the winter, this field may well be grazed by sheep enclosed with an electric fence. So, agriculturally, the kale is providing winter food for livestock and the sheep droppings will be recycled into the soil to provide nutrients for next years crop. This practice should reduce the need for artificial fertilizer applications.

The public footpath to Goodnestone close to Crixhall Court