March
Spring sees the daffodil harvest, accompanied by a rush to get the flowers off to the train station so they can be delivered to towns and cities across the country within hours of being picked. Alex and Peter Ginn go to Dartmoor for the annual pony trek, and use the occasion to purchase one of the beasts for the farm. However, before their new pony is fit for work, he needs to be trained, and the farmers hire American horse whisperer Mike Branch for the job. Meanwhile, the arrival of new lambs is followed by a pleasant surprise for Ruth in the run-up to Mother's Day. It is March and Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn greet the long-awaited arrival of spring. It is time to bring in the daffodil harvest. During it's heyday in the early 20th century, the Tamar Valley was the largest producer of early daffodils in Britain - the result of the region's mild climate combined with the arrival of a railway, which meant produce could be delivered to towns and cities across Britain within hours of being picked. The team takes their daffodil crop to the train station and gets to grips with the workings of the Edwardian steam-powered railway system. Ruth's daughter, Eve, arrives on the train to spend Mothering Sunday on the farm - an important occasion in the Edwardian calendar. For the many daughters who worked away in service, it was the only time in the year when they could get time off to return home. Alex and Peter fertilize the potato crop - which requires 10 tonnes of well-rotted horse dung. They also go up to Dartmoor for the annual pony trek - a time when wild ponies on the moor were rounded up. They select a new pony for the farm. The pony needs training before he's fit for work and Mike Branch, a specialist trainer from Tennessee, arrives. He's following in the footsteps of American farmer John Solomon Rarey, who in the 19th century found fame and fortune in Britain with his revolutionary method of taming wild horses. Instead of 'breaking' the horse physically, he used the technique now known as 'horse whispering'. After a bumper daffodil harvest and having seen all the ewes successfully give birth to their lambs, the team are in high spirits for the celebration of Easter - which means feasting, a special church service and surprise for Ruth.
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S1 E1
September
In September they begin with the basics. They set up home in one of the cottages, where the first task - after cleaning - is unblocking the chimney so they can get the range working in order to cook. They prepare for the arrival of their first livestock - a flock of sheep and a ram called Cyril, and Ruth cheers up the cottage by making a rug out of rags. And she cooks her first meal on the range - a sheep's head stew. Alex builds a hay rick to store feed for the animals over winter; while Peter heads to Bodmin moor to carve a stone feeding trough. And they must plant crops. The high acidity of the soil makes it infertile for growing crops, so the top priority is neutralising the acid with fertilizer - and for this they must make deadly quicklime. They will need literally tonnes of the stuff. It is a hazardous and gruelling - but essential - job.
S1 E2
October
In October, the Edwardian farmers branch out into new ventures like market gardening, all-year-round egg production and beef cattle. After acquiring a beef herd, the team bring in a bull. They also begin training the shire horses for a year of work in the fields. And they take on a pair of goats who prove to be more than a handful at milking time. Morwellham Quay's market gardens were once one of the nation's largest producers of strawberries, until abandoned half a century ago. Now the team attempt to bring them back to life. Cider was a vital part of the Edwardian rural economy, so Alex and Peter attempt to follow in this tradition by making it on an industrial scale - using an Edwardian cider press and a ton of apples. Ruth preserves supplies for the winter: she pickles apples, salts a ham and smokes bacon. Peter visits a cooper and learns how to make a barrel, and Alex launches a chicken enterprise. Finally they see in the winter with Halloween - Edwardian style.
S1 E3
November
Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman are in Morwellham Quay in Devon - once home to one of the busiest ports in Britain. They will be attempting to bring it back to life as it was in its Edwardian heyday. It's November and to prosper as Edwardian farmers, Alex, Peter and Ruth need to get to grips with the technologies of the age and use Edwardian science to set up an exciting new venture on the farm. Alex and Peter want to grow oats, essential as feed for their livestock, and potatoes, a reliable source of income. But first they must plough the land. Most Edwardian farmers still relied heavily on horse power, but new technology was on the horizon. A travelling salesman makes a dramatic entrance bringing a piece of the state-of-the-art machinery from the Edwardian age - the world's first tractor, the Ivel. Ruth prepares for the arrival of the farm's pigs by restoring the farm's pig sty privy - an ingenious construction combining a pig sty with a lavatory so that pig waste and human waste could be composted in one place. After introducing the pigs to their new home, Ruth grooms them. Peter embarks on building a trout farm and populating it by using revolutionary fish-breeding techniques that were new to Devon's Edwardian farmers. And Alex wants to maintain the farm's hedgerows - but first he'll need to learn how to forge a Devon billhook using water-powered technology. After all their hard work, Ruth cheers the team up by making sloe gin and acquiring an Edwardian musical novelty - a gramophone.
S1 E4
December
Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman are in Morwellham Quay in Devon - once home to one of the busiest ports in Britain. They will be attempting to bring it back to life as it was in its Edwardian heyday. It's December and, as winter sets in, Alex, Peter and Ruth face the challenge of earning a living in one of the hardest months of the year. They'll have to profit from their livestock, leave the farm in search of part-time work and head to the coast to reap the ocean's bounty. With poverty rife in the countryside, Edwardian farmers often had to find additional work away from their land. Alex and Peter follow in the footsteps of Tamar Valley farmers who traditionally took advantage of living between the North and South Devon coasts to profit from the county's other great industry - sea fishing. Ruth follows the growing number of Edwardian women who entered domestic service. She goes to a grand Edwardian stately home, Lanhydrock House, where she encounters luxurious novelties such as running water, electric lights and even prototype vacuum cleaners. But when Alex and Peter have little luck on their seafaring fishing expedition, Ruth has to prepare a poor man's Christmas lunch.