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Rindle Field wetter farming trial

Celery plugs at the Rindle wetter farming trial - credit Lancashire Wildlife Trust

Rindle Field is a pioneering wetter farming (paludiculture) trial, investigating how traditional food crops can be grown on a re-wetted agricultural peatland.

Rindle Field in Greater Manchester was once a potato field, but boggy and unproductive it was about to be given over to growing lawn turf – until we turned it into a pioneering wetter farming trail.

The area was first converted to farmland over 100 years ago by draining the lowland raised peat bog, and was typical of the land use across many of the UK’s lowland peatlands. However, once the answer to feeding our burgeoning industrial populations, many of these areas are now proving increasingly difficult to farm, along with exacerbating the climate emergency.

Small green blueberries bushes against dark brown soil

Blueberries at the Rindle wetter farming trial - credit Mike Longden, Lancashire Wildlife Trust

When peatlands are in their natural wet boggy state they are able to store huge amounts of carbon safely stored away in the peat underground. However, as soon as the water is drained out of the peat this carbon is exposed to air where it oxidises and is released as CO2. In fact 3 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions come from drained lowland agricultural peat. But, by re-wetting the peat and restoring it’s naturally higher water table we can help to reduce these carbon emissions and protect the remaining soil carbon.

3 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions come from drained lowland agricultural peat
Bushy green celery plants

Celery plant at the Rindle wetter farming trial - credit Jenny Bennion, Lancashire Wildlife Trust

But what about the farmers who need to make a living off the land? This is where wetter farming (also known as paludiculture) comes in; raising the water table and growing crops which thrive in these naturally wetter conditions.

At Rindle Field we are trialling just that, growing traditional food crops including celery, blueberries and lettuce. Each is being grown with water tables at 50cm below the surface, 30cm below and at surface level, to see if we can find a ‘sweet spot’ between achieving the most productive crop and the lowest greenhouse gas emissions.

We are working with Liverpool John Moores University to take regular emission readings, along with ageing those emissions to see how deep down the peat is oxidising and degrading.

Find out more about what we’ve been up to at our Rindle Field wetter farming trial

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