Cucumbers and Lobsters Down on the Farm

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and fields and barns

# 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. #

COCKEREL CROWS

Hello, I'm JB and welcome to Down On The Farm.

It's summer and that means it's time to get outside

and make sure everything on the farm is working well.

While I get things sorted here, let's find out what Storm is doing.

CHICKENS CLUCK

Today we've come to East Lothian.

It's a little bit wet, but don't worry because we're here

to visit a creature that loves the water - lobsters!

Lobsters are similar to crabs.

They live in rocky areas on the bottom of the ocean

and have big claws.

They are caught by fishermen to be eaten, like other seafood.

When the lobsters are born in the sea only a few will survive

as other sea creatures like to eat them.

Here at this special place called a hatchery, Leslie and her team hatch

lobster eggs and help them to grow big enough to survive in the sea.

-Hi, Leslie.

-Hi, Storm. Welcome to the hatchery.

-Thank you very much.

What have you got here?

This is a female lobster, called a hen.

She has lots of tiny eggs under her tail which she

releases into the water.

These eggs grow into young lobsters, called larvae.

And as soon as they hatch, they are taken to the lobster nursery.

And there you go!

Leslie adds air to the tank which keeps the water moving

because the larvae can't swim yet.

It's a little bit like what happens in the sea with the waves.

-So is this what the lobsters eat?

-Yes, this is red plankton.

This is what they would eat in the wild.

-Shall we get feeding them, then?

-Yes, please!

-So how old are these little guys?

-These are about four weeks old.

Just four weeks? Why are they in this special tray?

Storm, lobsters are cannibals,

which means they sometimes eat each other, so we keep them separated.

That sounds like a good plan.

-But there's one more thing we have to do.

-What?

We have to go and release an adult lobster back into the sea.

Come on, let's go.

We mark a notch, which doesn't hurt the lobster.

If a fisherman catches a lobster with this mark,

they have to put it back.

So what's going to happen with this lobster now?

She's going to go into the seabed.

She'll go and find somewhere to shelter away from other lobsters.

Let's put her on her way.

There you go, little lobster. See you later!

While she finds herself a new home,

why don't you find out what other creatures live in rock pools?

CHICKEN CLUCKS

There are all sorts of wonderful creatures to look out for

in rock pools,

like sea anemones and hermit crabs.

But with the tide coming in and out twice a day,

rock pools are not easy places to live.

At high tide they are flooded with salty seawater,

which may bring predators like lobsters,

while at low tide there can be very little water left.

Competition for food and space is fierce...

so some creatures stay out of the water at low tide.

Limpets stick onto the rocks,

protected from dangers above by a hard shell.

They hold on tight with their special sucker foot.

When the tide fills the rock pool,

limpets slither around underwater eating slimy algae.

They will use their sharp shells to fight off a hungry starfish.

And as the tide goes out again, each limpet follows its own

slimy trail back home to the exact same spot on the rocks.

COWS MOO

In summer, if I am not down on the farm,

I love nothing more than spending some time at the beach.

Today I'll meet a wildlife club that love exploring on the sand, too.

-Hi, everyone! CHILDREN:

-Hi, Storm!

-Andrew, what are you doing?

-We're beachcombing which means

we're looking for interesting things on the beach.

We're looking for nurdles.

Nurdles are small pieces of plastic which wash up on the beach.

Why do we need to pick up the nurdles?

Cos they can make animals ill.

Nurdles are shipped all around the world,

but sometimes fall into the sea and wash up onto the beach.

We need to collect them so the animals don't eat them.

It looks like there's plenty of nurdle hunting over here.

Oh, yes, absolutely.

Do you think there might be some nurdles in the seaweed?

They're quite hard to find but let's have a look.

No nurdles yet, but we have found some sea kelp.

-What about over here? What's this?

-Shells.

-It's an empty limpet shell.

-Can you see through it?

-Yeah.

-That one, can you see through it?

-It's like a mini telescope.

-Hi, guys! OTHERS:

-Hi.

I hear you've found some really interesting things over here.

What have you collected?

We collected some really pretty shells.

What kind of animals live in shells?

-Limpets.

-Limpets have a shell.

This animal doesn't live in the sea, but a snail.

-A snail? Absolutely.

-You can get sea snails.

That's correct. See snails live in a shell, too.

I'm off to look for some more nurdles now

-so continue the good work, guys. Bye!

-Bye.

Beachcombing is lots of fun, but you should always take an adult

and make sure the sea is out.

-BOTH:

-Look, some seaweed!

We haven't found any nurdles today, which is good news for the wildlife.

Now we know the beach is clean

and the tide is coming in, it's time to go home.

We've had a great day.

-Have you all had lots of fun?

-CHILDREN:

-Yes!

We didn't find any nurdles,

but next time you're on a beach, you should look out for them.

And here's a summer poem about having lots of fun on the beach.

We're here at last, I see the sea

Hurry, quickly, follow me

To the beach, across the rocks

Kick off your shoes, peel off your socks

Feel the sand beneath your feet, so warm and dry and soft and deep

Let's build a castle, big and grand

The greatest ever made from sand

I'll race you to the salty sea

My footprints chasing after me

As icy waves break on the shore

We'll squeal but still go back for more.

SHEEP BLEAT

Do you know what this is?

You might have had some in a salad or in a sandwich.

That's right, it's a cucumber.

And I've come here to find out how they are grown.

-Hi, Farmer Joe.

-Hi, JB.

-This is a massive building.

-It's a big greenhouse.

We grow about 1.5 million cucumbers a year

cos it's too cold to grow them outside.

-Do they grow inside in the warm summer months?

-Yes.

We keep them inside to control the temperature.

-Would you like to see how?

-Yes, please.

Farmer Joe uses a special computer to manage

the climate in the greenhouse.

It's a bit like being able to control the weather.

The computer measures how much water is in the air and the temperature.

If it's too hot for the cucumbers, the computer opens the windows.

If it's too warm and sunny,

it closes the blinds to shade the plants.

Wow, that's an incredible system.

Farmer Joe harvests his cucumbers every day.

These cucumber plants grow to about two metres high.

These plants are taller than I am!

Cucumbers start out tiny and it takes just 14 days of growing

until they are big enough to be harvested.

This is a good one here.

I'm getting the hang of this.

-So, Joe, have I got a good harvest?

-Yes, you've done well.

What's in these little white bags?

There are small insects that eat the cucumber plant and damage them.

These are called pests and the bags help control them.

-What's inside them?

-Inside there are spiders that eat the pests.

Oh, yeah, I can see them. They're so small.

The spiders are even smaller than a grain of sand.

Cool! So the spiders help the cucumber plants to grow?

Yes, they do. It's called biological pest control.

I've learnt so much about growing cucumbers today.

Did you know that they're full of water?

So while I enjoyed this juicy snack, here's a tip for

if you're near some water this summer.

SHEEP BLEAT

The beach is a fun place to visit in summer, but it's important

to be aware of the sea changing as the tides come in and out.

When the tide is high, move to a safe part of the sand.

Always make sure you stay near a grown-up who can tell you

if it is time to leave.

Enjoy being out and about!

This is farmer Nick and Amy with their herd of goats.

Goats don't just eat grass. Their natural diet includes

grazing on trees and other plants in the woodland too.

This is our smallholding in South Wales

and we use goat's milk to make goat's milk soap.

And I'm going to show you how.

Our goats are milked twice a day.

This is Millie. She gives

on average gives four litres of milk each day.

Farmer Nick collects all the milk into a big container

and takes it to his soapery.

The milk we've collected this morning from the farm we've now

filtered and now we've got to measure it out ready for freezing.

And that way we keep all the goodness inside.

And now Farmer Nick needs to put on some protective clothes.

When we're ready to make soap, we remove the milk

from the freezer and then we add a chemical to it, called lye.

This helps to dissolve the milk and makes it into soap.

Next, Farmer Nick pours out some oil.

He added the runny soap and then he mixes it all together.

The soap mixture is now ready to be poured into the moulds.

They'll stay in here for about 48 hours, then it becomes hard.

Two days later, the soaps come out of the moulds.

The soap stays on the curing rack for four weeks...

where it becomes even harder.

This batch is now ready to be delivered to our customers.

Storm and I have had a fantastic time today.

If you want to have fun with your own farm,

go to the CBeebies website to play the Down On The Farm game.

See you next time. Bye!

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and fields and barns

# 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. #