09/17/2026
We did a bit of a soil experiment this summer! This new plot was tarped off in April and peaking under it today was eye opening. The 2 foot section below the line in the first picture was tilled before we tarped and the larger section above was tarped alone.
We stuck a marker into the tilled soil and pushing as hard as we can barely pushed it in half an inch! You can see in the pictures how cracked and dry the soil looks in this section.
The untilled section on the other hand exceeded all of our expectations. I pulled a handful of soil with just my hand and our marker pushed in a solid 6 inches with little effort!
This kind of soil structure promotes healthy root development, encourages water to actually permeate the soil instead of sitting on top (causing flooding), and possibly most importantly is ALIVE! That’s what gives your food its nutritional value.
I have no regrets switching to no till and I’m looking forward to bringing some of that soil health to market next year in the form of beautiful, chemical free produce! 🥬🍅