Field crop with white flowers now - any guesses ?

[nickdub]

Driving through NW Herefordshire yesterday I noticed 5 or 6 large fields in different places where the plants were producing all white flowers - it looked very much like the farmers were growing a crop of cow parsley from a distance. Being lazy I didn't bother to stop and scramble over a hedge for a better look, but now I'm thinking perhaps I should have made the effort, as I can't turn anything up on Google even as a sensible suggestion to what the plants were.

Nothing obvious like peas or field beans BTW, as I would have known them even from the car.

[mothhawk]

i'm assuming you'd recognize potatoes, even though it's early for them to be in flower, so could it have been a flower farm growing for the cut flower trade? There's one near Blakemere, not far from Hereford, there may be others.

[nickdub]

No not spuds.

These fields were on different farms too over about 10 miles or so - most off the Hereford to Kington stretch, but one the other side of Kington. Looked a bit like a white flowered version of flax.

From the look of it I'd say the plan was to cut the crop at some stage later in the year, possibly for seed.

[veggiechicken]

Could it be Meadowfoam | Yara UK

Limnanthes alba.

[burnie]

Genetically modified albino rape seed?...................................arghhhhhhhhhhh...........or may be not.

[Jungle Jane]

Maybe it’s a covercrop like buckwheat?

[nickdub]

Could it be Meadowfoam | Yara UK

Limnanthes alba.

Certainly a possible VC - new to me.

[nickdub]

I did wonder about that - certainly the look is about right, but it seemed unlikely from what I could tell of its hardiness that it would be flowering at this time of year in the UK.

[mothhawk]

Driving through NW Herefordshire yesterday I noticed 5 or 6 large fields in different places where the plants were producing all white flowers - it looked very much like the farmers were growing a crop of cow parsley from a distance.....

... Looked a bit like a white flowered version of flax.

You're confusing me - did it look like cow parsley or flax? They are not very similar.

Perhaps it was a seed crop of carrots. After all, someone must grow carrots for seed.

edit: no, that's not likely, Herefordshire is clay, isn't it?

[mothhawk]

Genetically modified albino rape seed?...................................arghhhhhhhhhhh...........or may be not.

Actually, it could well be - Latest News | Agronomy Services for Crops in Dorset, Somerset, Devon & Wiltshire | Pearce Seeds LLP

[nickdub]

You're confusing me - did it look like cow parsley or flax? They are not very similar.

Perhaps it was a seed crop of carrots. After all, someone must grow carrots for seed.

edit: no, that's not likely, Herefordshire is clay, isn't it?

You get a lot of clay in Herefordshire certainly, the soil is based on the old red sandstone.

I got an impression of the colour of the flowers which reminded me of cow-parsley - the height, about 3', and the lank type of growth reminded me a little of flax. Flax however is a crop itself that I'm not overly familiar with, so maybe I'm wrong on that point.

I can imagine one field of carrot seed - 6 or 7 in a 10 mile stretch of road seems "unlikely"

[nickdub]

Actually, it could well be - Latest News | Agronomy Services for Crops in Dorset, Somerset, Devon & Wiltshire | Pearce Seeds LLP

I'd say it didn't seems as dense a crop to look at as one expects rape to be, ie all packed in tight together - this stuff looked rather more wispy.