SPRING CHECK-IN AT THE EAGLE PEAK GARDENS
Spring is here! The pollinators are out, the cover-crops are in bloom, and our first round of baby plants have been transplanted into 1gal pots. Last week I took a quick visit up to our Eagle Point Ranch to see how our gardens were looking in anticipation of our late spring planting. To see the beautiful photos click here! and Here!
In the fall of 2023, our tractor was broken and we had quite a time sourcing the parts we needed to fix it. Needless to say, we missed our opportunity to overwinter our cover-crops for a spring bloom. Last fall, however, things went a little more according to plan and we were able to sow down a “cocktail” mix of vetch, mustard, daisy, and clover. This is a common cover-crop mix here in Mendocino County that most of the Bio-Dynamic vineyards (including our own) use between rows of vines.
Typically cover-crops are grazed by sheep or mowed down before the plants can go to seed to prevent them from spreading. The roots form dense networks which help increase organic matter, reduce compaction, and increase overall nutrient retention. Besides sequestering carbon and “fixing” nitrogen in the ground, our cover crops are a passive step in improving and maintaining soil health in our gardens. Healthy and robust soils are the first step in producing the full-spectrum terpene profiles that set sun grown apart from the rest. I am also very much looking forward to keeping some of these for our kitchen as mustard greens, clover, vetch, and their blossoms are edible!
Another key element in planting cover-crops is to prevent topsoil loss. When row cropping it is essential to maintain year round soil cover (although with the way we farm we are lucky enough to have no trouble with this). When soils are bare for long periods wind and rain can literally blow or wash away precious topsoil. Topsoil loss in its extreme can lead to “desertification” where soil can completely lose its nutrient content resulting in “dead” soil. Our farming ethos is centered around creating “living” soils, ones that are full of beneficial bacteria and fungi, that cohabitate to help keep our cannabis plants healthy against various fungal and pest pressures. Later in the season, I hope to write more about this process, what we are specifically doing to harness natural biology to keep our plants healthy and our use of compost teas and other essential amendments.
If you are interested in learning more about cover-crops there are a lot of great resources, including this link from SARE
As a closing antidote, I got so excited over the sight of one of our gardens completely carpeted in daisies that I drove right into a muddy section of the road and sunk my truck in a good foot and sinking. I had to call for our OG work truck “Old Gold” to come to pull me out and ended up having to remove a fence to be able to get around more muddy roads. In the end, it was well worth it- and I will be walking from garden to garden in the future!
