The picture from last year (2015) shows our cowpeas in the West Veggie Garden doing pretty well…
Look at the soil in between the plants and in the walkways. See the sandy soil in the orchard just past the garden. Now see the same rows in the West Garden with this year’s cover crop of cowpeas.
Notice the mulch in the walkways. The soil looks much richer in texture thanks to the mulching and the cover cropping and crop rotation we’ve been doing. It’s important not to till the soil, but cut the plants off at the base so that the nutrients remain in the soil around the roots.
There are relatively few sandy soil patches on the property now. The chickens are meticulous about scratching around and moving the mulch. They dig down into the soil to find bugs and to take dust baths. We have to replace the mulch in the barnyard area almost everyday!
