Among them: flowerpots whose color warns when the soil is drying out, blackboards using water instead of chalk that could be erased by a pulse of heat, and even cars that change color in the rain.

In 1847 the farm's founder, Sir John Lawes, described its soil as a heavy loam resting on chalk and capable of producing good wheat when well manured.

First, it poured industrial quantities of lime (pulverised limestone or chalk) onto the soil to reduce levels of acidity.