Vegetable season is right around the corner. As you probably know, we work with several fantastic local vegetable growers. Beech Creek Orchards, 411 Farms, Riverview, Rise-NShine, and the Mennonites at Delano Community Farm to name a few. However, even though we are primarily livestock farmers, we like to grow a few things too. This year we are incorporating a new tool into our vegetable production. Last year I found a deal on a nice used plastic layer. Using plastic mulch is helpful to eliminate weed pressure and also helps retain moisture in the soil. I don't love the idea of all the excess plastic, so I found a biodegradable version that we are trying out. It works like this:
- Once the soil is tilled and ready, this machine pulls dirt to the center and forms a bed.
- An irrigation line is inserted just under the soil.
- The mulch is stretched over the bed and held down tightly by the rear press wheels.
- Two discs at the rear of the machine throw a little dirt on the edges of the mulch to keep it stretched tight and to keep it from blowing away.
The machine does all of those things in one pass. I made a short youtube video to let you see it in action, but I am having a little problem embedding it into this email. Hopefully, I can get it to work, but if not, I'll leave a link to our youtube channel here. We are so looking forward to bringing you loads of fresh veggies this year. We have a couple of new ideas regarding how they will be offered, so stay tuned and get ready for the growing season.
