In 2019 Meadow Farm applied for and received a 3 year grant from the USDA to improve the soil and sequester carbon.
For the first year only we tilled the soil and sowed the cover crop seeds containing a variety of legumes and grasses to nourish the soil.
A rich compost was spread evenly over the seeds to add to the soil and give the seeds a healthy start.
Moxie and Mick enjoyed the results of the next step that spread a nice bed of rice straw over every inch of the the seeds and compost on the 1.5 acre area.
It was truly a “many hands on” project! This is less than half of the land we covered”
Not much muscle really involved in this activity but humor helps the job go easier.
Winter rains came and the cover crop grew thick. Before it went to seed we mowed the fields and left the plants material to return to the soil as organic matter. This increases the capacity of the soil to hold moisture for the new crop to come.
Every year before the rainy season we repeated the process. During the last year (2021) we added the 300′ of native plant hedgerow. These will grow into a dense section of small trees, shrubs and flowers to add oxygen, water and habitat to birds, lizards, snakes and beneficial insects, like pollinators, that help a garden to grow and a planet to heal.
In November of “21 we were so fortunate to host a crew of 10 AmeriCorp young adults to help finish our HSP grant work.
And that will be another story to share!
