When it comes to the soil, we are serious about building fertility and organic matter. In order to produce nutrient dense and delicious food, we focus on incorporating compost into our permanent beds nearly every time a crop is removed. We prep the beds, adding compost and other amendments, and then after the crop has run its course, we add more compost. Our go to for this task is a 1946 Farmall Cub that pulls a modern day compost spreader purchased from a local Amish equipment dealer. The spreader is conveniently the same width as our bed tops (30"), which means that instead of using wheel barrows, 5 gallon buckets, and our bodies, we can take it easy from the seat of the Cub (and oh how our backs thank us!). Travis has logged dozens and dozens of hours so far this season doing just that -riding the compost train. In the picture above, he is spreading a freshly sifted load of black gold onto beds that we recently pulled our garlic from. Soon we will plant a cover crop onto these bed tops, which will eventually be cut, covered with a silage tarp, and left to break down until next spring. This will provide food for the soil and all the life that lies therein. You may think this is a lot of work just to improve the quality of the soil, but the time and energy we put into making and spreading compost is worth every bit. Experience tells us that by building soil that we will reap the rewards of bigger harvests and better quality produce without the addition of synthetic inputs. This is good news for you, because it means there is more delicious food coming down the pipe. Our plan is to keep the train running!
