Bird cherry, a vital component to our farm’s biodiversity; I explain why
Channel: Zwartbles Ireland Suzanna Crampton
Date: 22/05/2023

The beautiful Bird Cherry is Northern Europes only native cherry tree. All other cherry trees are descended from Asian cherry trees. The bird cherry moth is born, lives, consumes leaves then pupates to eventually metamorphosis into a moth at about the same time as baby bats are weaned.
If you’re interested in biodiversity plant more bird cherry trees but DO NOT spray or kill off the tented caterpillars who live most of their lives on their species specific tree. Bird cherry trees through their evolution have developed the ability to have a second growth of leaves.   




Zwartbles Ireland is a small company run from a farm in County Kilkenny in Ireland. We are a regenerative farm which means restoring soils health and regenerating its natural carbon and nutrient cycle with biodiversity of pasture sward with grasses, legumes, forbs and herbs. This also means we farm with nature. Healthy soils are important for healthy environment. So we encourage all life from the microbial to dung beetles, ants, pollinators to flora biodiversity, birds, hare, hedgehogs, rabbits, fox, badger as well as our livestock. This mean we farm in a style of mob grazing and giving fields long rest times between grazings. We have seen a huge increase and return of wildlife including woodcock and snipe in winter months foraging for dung beetle larvae, red squirrel, wood peckers and pine martens. We also have the rare natter bat and previously thought extinct Tawny Mining bees.
We sell, Zwartbles sheep, Zwartbles blankets and yarn made from the sheep, and calendars featuring Inca the World's Smallest Sheepdog and her coworkers. We also sell alpaca yarn spun for our own alpaca. Our yarns are 100 percent natural, grown by our sheep which grazing our small green Irish fields. This wool is naturally sequestered carbon which you can then knit into warm environmental friendly clothing.