Spring is Here!

I have been spending my days in the greenhouse, starting flowers, vegetables and herbs. Both for the farm and to sell. It’s becoming easier and easier to believe that my first planting date in the field was scheduled to be March 31. Each day I have been walking the fields, observing the soil. I can see the remains of last years crop sitting on the soil, protecting its surface and breaking down, adding organic matter to the soil, as well as pore space to improve water infiltration. I plan to purchase some silage tarps this spring, so that I can reduce my tillage of the soil. The silage tarps will block out the light, killing any young germinating weeds and helping to accelerate the break down of organic matter to form a usable seed bed without tillage. In market garden circles, it is called occultation. After removing the tarp, I would apply compost and lightly harrow the land before planting. I am also watching to see when the soil is ready for me to plant cover crops. I have some spring biomax seed I want to plant into land set aside for later crops of beans and corn. This will provide extra organic matter, bring nutrients to the surface of the soil for use by my crops. increase moisture retention of the soil, and provide food for the microbiome. I have so many plans and hopefully I can make the time to complete them all!