Farm Happenings at Diggin' Roots Farm
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Farm Happenings for May 2, 2020

Posted on April 29th, 2020 by Sarah Brown

What a warm and blustery Spring season! 

Never before have we worked so much ground so early. We wish that we had consulted the crystal ball and adjusted all of our spring seeding by 2 or 3 weeks! It felt like late May yesterday!

In any case, we are appreciating the alternating sun and rain, and taking the opportunity to prep our soil gently, with the rain, without dust, at just the right moisture level. This keeps our soil aggregates intact, improves soil structure and root growth, and provides optimum conditions for organic matter decomposition. Many of the cover crops that were grazed, then mowed, then chopped/harrowed three weeks ago are breaking down beautifully, providing long-lasting, stable nutrients and organic matter for this year's crop of soil micro-organisms.  This is the essence of the farm. We feed the soil to feed the crops, to feed ourselves. There is nothing without healthy soil, and as the years go by, our intention is to continue building our topsoil so that our food does not come at the expense of the land. It takes time, it's not easy (or cheap), but it's one thing we can do to TRY and balance our relationship with the earth.  

Thank you for staying tuned-in, as usual, and thank you all for giving us so much hope and inspiration during this time. We are fulfilled, and filled with purpose because you care! I'm including a smattering of images from the past couple weeks. Check out that huge Redtail hawk on the tractor! Hopefully it's thriving because our vole and gopher population is completely off the rails. Also included are two photos from along the riparian area and down by the pond. It's incredible to see the thousands of recently planted native plants and trees putting on second and third year growth, and so fun to imagine how this landscape will be completely transformed in a decade! From both of those photo locations, all that we could see when we bought the farm (seven years ago), was an impenetrable wall of blackberry bushes. Now, sweet dappled light filters through the canopy to fall on blooming camas, unfurling ferns, old-growth trillium, and a jungle carpet of cow parsnip. Remember that your choice to purchase food from this farm, is a choice to help steward and regenerate this little piece of the planet. Thank you. 

Still on the Rails, mostly,

Conner and Sarah