Soil Preservation

This summer was a busy one. We had lots of help but we had lots going on. The beds that produced our harvest were tended to weekly. But there were other beds that got neglected and overlooked. Not on purpose; but there are only so many hours in the day. We don't spray any toxic chemicals at the farm so what do we do to help control weeds?

Solarization is the process of "tarping" a bed and letting the heat from the sun increase the temperature of the bed. The tarp also acts like a shade blocking the light and water from reaching the soil. Over the next 2-6 weeks the weeds will be "starved" and will die.

The next step is planting cover crops. We use high quality cover crops from True Leaf Market. (Buy it through this link and we get credit.) The cover crop prevents erosion, increases bio-mass (green manure), increases natural biological activity, attracts beneficial insect, helps soil structure, plus many more benefits. Once the cover crops are tall and before they flower, we will terminate the crop using the same solarization method. We will then either plant another cover crop or plant right into the terminated crop. This process will increase moisture retention, provide beneficial nutrients, etc. so we will be ready for our spring planting.

Smith Construction made great progress this week and we’re hoping to pour the concrete necessary for our storage building on Tuesday. We’ve also spoken with the greenhouse company and they will have a team on site in October to build the greenhouse. Things are coming together. We’re excited!

Have a great weekend!

J&J