We break ground in our fields with a silage tarp, which blocks sunlight and prevents air exchange around pre-existing plants.  Deprived of sunlight and carbon dioxide, everything but the perennially rooted weeds will die off and begin to break down.  The moment we peel it back it smells like old hay, a sign of biological activity in the dead grasses.  Occultation, the scientific term for blocking sunlight in this way, will also encourage weed seeds in the topsoil to germinate, but they’ll also die off under the tarp–this diminishes overall weed growth later on.

Next, we use a broadfork to open up the soil, creating macropores–essentially small cracks and fissures–that hold air and allow water to percolate downward more readily.  The broadfork is preferred over tilling the topsoil, as tillage pulverizes the existing soil structure.  It may make the soil easier to work and plant into, but as this top layer settles it condenses into a hardened crust which requires future attention.  Broadforking also comes with the benefit of working the soil without pulling weed seeds into the topsoil where they would germinate more readily.

The next step in our process is somewhat harder to pin down, as it keeps changing.  Forming beds is generally done with fossil fuels and heavy equipment, but we decided from the start that we would avoid bringing equipment into our market gardens and keep our vegetable production human-powered.  This serves three purposes: first, we want to keep our practices non-disruptive and avoid the soil compaction that comes with using a tractor in the field.  Second, we knew that although our capacity for production would be significantly higher with help from fossil fuels, we were also concerned that high production from the very start could lead to overproduction and burnout. Third, by keeping our inputs low we’re able to offer our products at affordable prices. Hence, keeping the operation human-powered was a tidy way to set healthy constraints on our growing operation.  

Human-powered bed preparation can still be disruptive to soil ecology, and we’ve learned a lot trying to strike a balance between having the desired loosening effect on the topsoil for good plant growth versus keeping our inputs low.  A common thread through all of our bed prep has been to amend our clay-heavy, impacted soil with plenty of organic matter to improve tilth and create more nutrient-holding capacity.  For fertility, we want to mimic the kind of plant decay found in natural systems as much as possible, so we use cottonseed meal for nitrogen and mineral additives for a finished, balanced soil.

Our creek-fed pond also plays a huge role in our production. The pond is situated above our fields with a 14ft drop from the top of the dam to the fields below. It has offered us a simple solution to the task of irrigating. We use the farm truck to start a siphon, which becomes a gravity-run drip system. No pump and no electricity necessary! We are very grateful for this water-source and Tom's Grandfather for having it installed.