Allelon Farm: Blessings

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to all.

Mary Susan

Walter Jeffries said...: Hi Mary Susan,

Thanks for stopping over at our place on Sugar Mountain! I've enjoyed visiting yours. You asked about the garden corrals. Yes, that is exactly what they are. You see, here on the mountain the soil's a bit thin. We have about 1/8th inch of top soil and then 2" to a foot or two of gravel below that in most places. There are pockets of deeper soil but they are few and far between. The ground is also steep and acidic. What we have been doing is terracing the hillside in our home field area. This creates nice flat gardens that catch the rain and stop it from rushing down the mountain quite so fast. That doesn't solve the problem of the soil being poor though. So what we do is fence in a terrace and put the livestock on that area for the winter. We feed them plenty of hay, extra, on the ground. The hay and their manure adds organic matter to the soil. Then in the spring the pigs till it up. We move the pigs out and put chickens in. They smooth the soil and weed it for about two weeks. When we're ready to plant we move the chickens out and presto - wonderful gardens. It actually takes about two to three years of this for the soil to get really rich. With patience it gets there. Each year we add more garden space.

Cheers,

-Walter
in Vermont; Saturday, November 26, 2005 9:31:00 PM