Spring Farming

Spring...a photo tour of the farm and Spring farming!

The new land is proving to be a great case in point for why communities should protect farm land. The previous farmer did nurture the soil, as evidence by the many worms and great soil condition. But when that farmer left, nature took over trying to protect the soil by covering it in couch grass. The couch did its job, sent out vigorous runners which hold the soil and keep it from blowing away. But the vigorous runners are hard to eradicate.  Instead of decomposing and adding condition to the soil, when tilled, they just break into small pieces which all sprout again.

To get rid of the pieces, we need to hand weed...hoeing does not help.  And so we crawl along the planted rows...and we know that this will be the case for the summer. This is organic farming!!  But we also know that each year, this land will only get better. Not only will it be more weed free, we will also build the nutrients in the soil, build its microbial activity, boost its capacity to store water.  And we are grateful for the fresh, nutrient rich food we are harvesting along the way for our family and many more.  Thank you to all of our CSA members for supporting this type of land stewardship and local food production!!