Happy Friday!
Today, the students and apprentices are off to the Rodale Institute's Field Day. The Rodale Institute is a well regarded research entity that has been driving innovation in sustainable agriculture for decades. So, it's just us old folks here on the farm today; puttering around on tractors, keeping the wheel turning.
Pictured: Kelsey seeding, while I do the final bed prep. A big part of my farming philosophy is keeping the ground in "living cover" as long as possible. This means have living plants in the soil for as many days during the year as I can - ideally 365. Nothing rehabilitates soil and soil biology as efficiently or as well as living plants. This becomes challenging while "flipping fields" from one crop to the next, but I have worked hard to adapt our practices and equipment over the past year towards this goal. As of 7/12 the pictured field was covered in 6 foot high sorghum sudan grass. On that scorching Friday afternoon, I buzzed the grass down with our flail mower into tiny pieces. Since a few stalks escape the mower, I buzzed it down again on Monday - against the grain. That day, I also disked the field, which is a shallow, fairly gentle tillage. Then, on Wednesday, I used our spader to gently roll the soil over leaving a flat, clean seed bed. Kelsey followed close behind with the seeder. Kelsey and I skipped lunch that day to hustle to get that field planted with fall carrots, beets, and greens before rain that never came. Oh well, we are running irrigation on it now.
Have a great weekend!
Alex
4436903023
Please note that not all produce in your share has been washed, including leafy greens. We recommend you wash all produce prior to eating.
