Salad Leaves and Horses Down on the Farm

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and field to barn

# So much to do down on the farm

# Summer, autumn, winter, spring

# Ploughing, planting, harvesting

# With JB and Storm to lead the way

# Come join us down on the farm today. #

Hello! I'm JB and welcome to Down On The Farm. Summer is here.

Farmers are busy outside making use of the warmer days

and there's lots of work to do.

So while I help out on this farm,

why don't you find out what Storm is up to?

In Summer, I love to be outside eating fresh, crisp salad.

Now, you can have it in a sandwich, or with your dinner,

but my favourite way to have it is in a big bowl, all to myself.

At this farm in East Lothian, they grow lots of leafy vegetables that

are used in salad and Farmer Martin has asked if I can help today.

-Hi, Martin!

-Hi, Storm!

Welcome to the farm. We've got a busy day ahead.

We're making 300 bags of salad.

300 bags of salad?!

-That's right. Would you like to help?

-I'd love to.

-Let's go!

So, these are the vegetables that we're going to be picking today.

That's right, Storm.

These are Mizuna leaves and they were only planted a few weeks ago

-but they're ready to be harvested now.

-A few weeks ago?

-So they grow quick.

-They do.

There are lots of leaves to pick,

so James, Saul, Bryony and Hero have come to help us.

Well, these ones look really tall, don't they?

Shall we harvest some of them?

That's a big bunch.

Grab this little clump here. That's it.

I'll slice it off...carefully.

-There we go.

-I've got a big bunch.

A dainty wee bunch for you. Here we go.

Now we need to put all the leaves into bags to make salads.

We mix the Mizuna with lots of other leafy vegetables.

Have you got some pak choi for me? In it goes.

Wow. Excellent.

They look great, don't they?

That'll be a good salad.

All bagged up and ready to go.

Now it's off to the packing shed to put our salads into boxes with

lots of other fruit and vegetables.

When the boxes are ready, they are handed over to the delivery men,

who take them in their vans, straight to the customers' houses.

I didn't realise how much work went into preparing salad.

There is a lot and we do it every day.

You've worked really hard, so here's a couple for you to take away.

Thank you very much. Now, while we relax after a busy day,

why don't you find out more about what bees do in summer?

Summer is a very busy time for bees.

They visit lots of summer flowers to drink nectar,

a sugary liquid made by the flowers.

This gives the bees the energy they need to fly back

and forth to their nest or hive.

Honey bees also collect nectar to make honey.

They store their honey in honeycombs to eat in winter.

Pollen is a powder made by flowers.

It is often yellow or orange.

Many bees gather pollen to eat or to feed to baby bees.

It is very good for them.

This honey bee has collected yellow pollen

in special hairs on its back legs.

These are called pollen baskets.

By filling their pollen baskets, many honey bees

and bumble bees can gather lots of pollen in one trip,

saving time and energy.

Back at home, they carefully store the precious pollen for later.

-In the summer...

-It's fun to look for insects.

We're making a bug hotel.

-ALL:

-Let's go!

A bug hotel is something you can build with different

materials that lots of insects like.

Now everybody, where are we going to put this hotel today?

Can we put it down by the pond?

Why down at the pond?

Because that's where all the minibeasts are.

And why do we need to build it on the flat ground?

So it doesn't tip over.

Just like a hotel for people, a bug hotel has walls

and different floors.

This one is made out of recycled wooden pallets

but you could make one in a shoebox.

Now the walls are ready,

we need to collect things to fill the hotel with.

Bees like plant pots.

We need to collect lots.

-BOTH:

-We're collecting sticks.

We're rolling up cardboard for bugs to hide in.

Great job, everybody.

We've collected lots of nice things for the minibeasts.

Now all we need to do is put them into the hotel.

There are sticks for the spiders and ants...

..tubes for centipedes to hide in...

straw that ladybirds like because it's nice and dry...

and plant pots and flowers for the bees.

Got it in? Well done.

Oh, the bees are going to have a good home there.

-ALL:

-Finished!

Now we've finished the hotel, what can we do now?

-ALL:

-Look for bugs!

That's so big. Whoa!

While we look out for insects visiting our bug hotel,

you can enjoy our poem about flying high.

High in a summer sky, I see birds fly by

As they dart and loop, hover and swoop

I wish I could do that

High in a summer sky, bright kites catch my eye

As they sway in the wind, dip and rise up again

I wish I could do that

High in a summer sky, soaring planes pass by

As they paint the sky white, I smile with delight

I wish I could do that.

I've come to a farm in Herefordshire,

which has a special name. It's called a stud farm.

Can you guess what animals they have here?

HORSE NEIGHS

That's right, horses!

-Hi, Farmer Anne!

-Hello!

-What is a stud farm?

A stud farm is where we breed horses.

The foals go from us and they go all over the world.

Well, it sounds like a busy place. Can I help out today?

Yes, I've got two helpers back in the yard.

-Let's go and join them.

-Fantastic. Let's go.

-Hi, Ella. Hi, Evie. BOTH:

-Hi, JB.

-So, what can I do to help?

We need to feed the stallions.

And what's a stallion, Anne?

A stallion is a male horse that can father foals.

Oh, so they're the dads!

-Yes, that's right.

-And so what do we feed them?

-They eat sugar beets.

-And nuts.

Cool. Well, let's get feeding.

Sugar beet gives the horses energy.

There we go.

The horse nuts have lots of bits to keep them healthy.

So we've got our sugar beets and our nuts.

I think it's time to get mixing, isn't it?

-How does it feel, girls?

-It feels squishy.

Now that that's all mixed up, it's time to feed the horses.

Come on, then.

I think he likes it.

Now that's the boys sorted, it's time to see the girls.

-So do the mums have a special name too?

-Yes, the mums are called mares.

-And the babies are called foals.

-Well, the foals are REALLY cute.

Now we need to go into the field to check the mares

and foals are nice and healthy.

We are safe to do this because Farmer Anne is an expert,

but you should always ask an adult

before going into a field with animals.

So who do we have here?

This is Melody.

And this is Stormy.

-And how old is Stormy?

-She's two months old.

She was born in the spring and she grows up in the nice summer

weather, and she'll have this lovely lush green grass to eat.

And how do we know if they're healthy?

She should have a very shiny coat.

And nice bright eyes.

Well, they look nice and healthy to me.

The other horses are looking healthy too.

The last job of the day is to exercise the show ponies.

They take part in competitions,

so they need to practise to keep the ponies and riders in top shape.

Well done, Ella.

Well, I've had so much fun here today on the stud farm.

-Do you think these guys have been great? BOTH:

-Yeah!

While we go back to the stables,

why don't you find out about being outdoors in the summer?

It's fun to play outside in the garden or park in summer.

When running around, you'll see lots of plants and flowers.

But these plants are stinging nettles

and, if touched, can give you an itchy rash, which hurts.

If you get stung by a nettle, look for a leaf like this,

called a dock leaf,

and rub it or keep it cool, but try not to scratch the rash.

Enjoy being out and about!

On warm summer days, it's fun to eat outside.

Daniel and Holly are getting ready to make some beefburgers with Becky.

It's time to measure the ingredients.

We need to put in flour.

We check it's the right amount with these scales.

Now we need to add some onions.

That's it, perfect.

What's our last special ingredient to make a beefburger?

-BOTH: Minced beef!

-Yes!

Ooh, that's all a bit squidgy, isn't it?

-Is it mixing time yet?

-Yes, I think it is.

Get your hands in and get mixing.

I've got everything from the bottom up to the top.

Let's make this mixture into some burgers.

-We make them into round balls.

-Not too massive. Good boy, well done.

-Squish, squish, squish.

-That's lovely.

This is going to be a good one.

That's it.

Let's squish them into patties.

That's right, Daniel. Nice and flat.

These look great. Let's clean our hands and get these on the barbecue.

-ALL:

-Yes!

Here are the burgers and some colourful vegetable kebabs.

This barbecue is super hot,

so make sure you stand well back

and an adult should always do the cooking.

It's sizzling hot.

I want that one.

The burgers must be properly cooked.

They're ready to eat

when they're hot all the way through with no pink.

-Right then, who is hungry?

-Me!

-Me!

-Who would like some veggie kebabs?

-Me!

-Me!

Can I have some more tomato please?

Why don't you try making some burgers or vegetable kebabs

for a barbecue this summer?

Storm and I had an amazing time today. Did you enjoy it too?

Remember, there's even more from Down On The Farm

on the CBeebies website.

See you next time. Bye!

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and field to barn

# So much to do down on the farm

# Summer, autumn, winter, spring

# Ploughing, planting, harvesting

# With JB and Storm to lead the way

# Come join us down on the farm today. #