Clearing Land in the West

Our family took an extended vacation to the west this summer. We spent several days in Idaho and helped friends clear some forest land for their future garden plot.

The soil of the west seems very different than the soil where we currently live. Of course it was dry the time of year we visited. The soil in some areas of the west seems very fine, and perhaps of high clay content. It would readily make billowing dust with each foot step. In disturbed areas that were dry, it seemed there was 6 inches of fine dust powder.

 The forest we were clearing was almost entirely conifer. There was a mix of young and old trees in the span. Based on several days of work on it, I estimated that there were about 20 trees in a 20 x 20 foot grid. We were able to process around 4 trees per hour not counting the stump. These 4 hours included the felling of the tree with a chain saw, getting it dislodged from nearby trees and on the ground, de-limbing it, and rounding the trunk to specific lengths for stacking. The effort involved in working with the stump is much as in the East. The larger the stump, the more effort required to pull it out of the ground. With light to medium equipment, I would estimate that you could extract a stump and hour.

So to total this up: for a 20 x 20 plot, you would need to spend 5 hrs removing the trees, 1 hr for stacking the logs, 20 hrs to remove the stumps and smooth the ground. If you could keep this up, to clear a 90 x 90 garden plot would take around 10 weeks.

Our experience in the West matched what we found when we cleared land in the East. The more machine muscle you can put into the process, the faster it can be done. Now is the time to get available land cleared and ready for garden production, while you have the potential of getting large equipment in to assist in the hard tasks such as stump removal. It is possible that in some areas you could swap the equipment work for the trees / lumber removed from the land, lowering your costs.

Spring Planting

The days are ticking down toward spring planting. This is exciting! I would like to outline the steps our farm undergoes in late February to get ready for spring planting. We start planting seeds indoors on the week of March 8th. This is based on our zip codes last frost date. We generally have our last frost around May 3. We don't set out tender plants till May 10 (and then look at the 10 day forecast just to be sure). Remember that frosts can sneak up on you on clear sky nights without weather forecast warning. I have even seen light frost with 10 degrees safety margin in the forecast.

If you have not yet obtained your seeds, now is the time! Following are the seed companies we have used over the past several years:

• Johnny's Select Seeds
• Baker Creek Seeds
• Harris Seeds

It is also time to setup your start trays in which you will start your transplants. We use recycled 4x8 foot drop ceiling light fixtures (4 bulbs), placed on 4x4 inch blocks which lifts the light fixtures just above the trays. The light should be as close to the plant as possible to give the maximum light exposure. If your plants are tall and leggy, they do not have enough light.

We have used grow heating mats in the past. I found that if I cover the light fixture with a blanket, the heat of the light fixture warms the under contents adequately as measured with a soil probe thermometer. Be careful if you try this. Make sure you don't have too much heat creating a fire danger. I set up several test configurations on my seed starting setup, and measured the temperatures obtained. The variables: no light or added heat, light on, heating pad and blanket cover. All of these measures were taken on the same light unit, at a room temperature of 60-70 degrees. In my testing, I found:

1. Soil at room temp, no light or heat added    60 deg
2. Heating pad on only                                    80 deg
3. Heating pad on covered with a blanket       86 deg
4. Light on only                                               62 deg
5. Light on covered with a blanket                  82 deg
6. Light on + heating pad on                           84 deg
7. Light on + heating pad on + blanket            96 deg

When we plant, we want to remember the goal is a progressive harvest, and this means not planting all of the cabbage for a single harvest, but progressive plantings. Elliot Coleman, in the book Four Seasons Harvest, suggests this schedule on page 88:

• Beans - every 2 weeks
• Beets - every 2 weeks
• Carrots - every 2 weeks
• Celery - twice: early spring, and 3 months before fall frost
• Corn - every 2 - 3 weeks (some varieties vary in length so keep this in mind)
• Cucumbers - two or three plantings: at month intervals
• Lettuce and greens - every week or two, extending the entire season
• Peas - twice: early spring and midsummer
• Radishes - every week
• Spinach - every week during spring and late summer
• Summer squash - two or three plantings at month intervals

We have created charts for planting dates based on the projected last frost date in spring. I will describe how we have constructed our chart, and then you can modify the specific dates based on your last frost date. I will only list the first planting of a variety here, though remember the suggested schedule above related to progressive plantings.

In the chronology below, the word "start" means seeding a transplant tray to start seedlings in side under lights. "Transplant to soil" means taking some of these seedlings and transplanting these into their final location in the garden. "Plant in soil" means we seed directly to the garden. We do not notate seedling transplants to larger pots indoors, but in several cases, this is needed. We have eggplant inside a long time before we set it out, as an example. We largest pot we use inside is 1 gallon.

Eight weeks before last frost date (Mar 8), we start the cold crops: cabbage, cauliflower, kale and lettuce.

Seven weeks before last frost date (Mar 15), we start egg plant and broccoli. Eggplant is a slow growing, warm loving plant, but it needs a long growing time to get it to harvest, so we start some really early. Onions can be planted in soil.

Six weeks before last frost date (Mar 22), we plant in soil: arugula, spinach and peas. 

Five weeks before last frost date (Mar 29), we start endive and turnip. We transplant to soil: cabbage, cauliflower. Plant in soil: radishes. 

Four weeks before last frost date (Apr 5), we start peppers and tomatoes. We plant in soil: beets and potatoes.

Three weeks before last frost date (Apr 12), we transplant to the soil: broccoli and lettuce.

Two weeks before last frost date (Apr 19), we start beans. We plant in soil carrots and chard.

One week before last frost date (Apr 26), we start cucumbers, summer squash and melons.

Week of last frost date (May 3), we start okra, another warm loving plant that we will transplant to soil in 4 weeks.

One week post frost date (May 10), we start pumpkins. We transplant to soil the beans. We plant corn and a successive planting of beans into soil.

Two weeks post frost date (May 17), we transplant to soil cucumbers, summer squash and melons.

Three weeks post frost date (May 24), we transplant to soil peppers and tomatoes.

Four weeks post frost date (May 31), we transplant to soil the okra and pumpkins.

While the seedlings or transplants are being established in soil, more diligent effort with weeding will be required. As soon as the plants are large enough to withstand some side dressing of mulch, apply this and add to it as you are able. This will do wonders for controlling your weeks, and lessening your hoeing work.


Soil

I wanted to have you think about the soil you use for your starter trays. We have used commercial starting mixes with good results in the past. Some references talk about using pasteurized soil, where harmful bacteria have been killed, but not so hot that the organic material is turned to charcoal. Be aware that if you use untreated garden soil, you may have more problems with damping off when used in a greenhouse or starter house application. I don't have a lot of experience pro or con, but pass on the word of caution from others.


Hardening off

When plants are started inside or in a greenhouse, the plants are tender. If placed directly outside, they may be burned and die. In our experience there are two key issues: light intensity and stem strength. New plants that have been inside have been shielded from the full intensity of the sun, and if the plant is directly transplanted outside with no hardening, the plant may be set back by leaf burn. Stem strength is also an issue, as indoors the plants are not subjected to wind stress, and stem strength develops based on need. I have sometimes set an oscillating fan to blow across the plant trays. I set plants out in the middle of the spring day that is sunny and warm for a limited amount of time. This time I increase an hour a day leading up to the date we transplant to soil.


Transplanting

When you are ready to transplant to soil, you will want to mark out the transplant bed in advance. We use a transplant trowel which is perfectly shaped to open the soil to receive the new plant. Take care to adjust the roots and rootlets to prevent root ball. Gently firm the soil around the plant, as this will improve capillary action to bring water to the roots. Generally you will want to plant the seedling at the same soil depth as they were grown prior. An exception is tomatoes, which will root out of a buried stem. There may be benefit to transplanting to the base of the first leaves.


Resources

• First and last frost dates for your zip code (web)
• Water Your Seedlings with Chamomile Tea to Prevent Damping Off (web)
• Safe Seed Resource List (web)

Is Organic Better?

I am going to make a guess that most people interested in this blog would agree that organic foods are better for you, and I fully believe this. I want to review the basis for locally grown, organic foods, and review the facts that we can substantiate of why organic foods are truly better for you. Note it is not as simple as we may at first think. As we start this article, think for a moment about how you define food quality.


So how really do you measure food quality? It is not an easy question to answer. We do have some principles we can use to help qualify the quality of our food.

Quality indicators of food:

• Food should be free from decay.
• Food should be completely ripe when picked. Foods may appear to ripen if picked early, but vitamin and nutrient values will never attain the levels possible if the food was allowed to vine ripen.
• Food picked from your own garden is the ultimate in freshness and ripeness.
• Once food is picked, some nutrients such as vitamins start to decline. Commercially processed food sits 5-14 days in transit before you could purchase it in the market.
• You need some raw foods in your diet. Cooking destroys 35% of the isothiocyanates you would have gleaned from the raw food. You need cooked greens also to get the volume of nutrients you need. (Juicing greens is a way some have increased volume intake of raw greens.)
• Growing food yourself allows you to select vegetable varieties with more flavor and nutritional content. Commercial growers primarily select varieties that withstand weeks of shipping.
• Phytochemicals are lost in long term storage and/or preserving. These nutrients would best be gained in immediate consumption of fresh raw foods.
• Having mineralized, fully ripe foods before consumption or preservation is perhaps more important than the specific method of preservation of the food. One study concludes that fresh, frozen or canned foods have comparable vitamin and nutrient content.
• Water soluble vitamins can be leached from the foods if boiled. Steaming is preferred. Save and ingest any residual water from the cooking process.
• Some hold brix levels as a good food quality indicator, but I suggest caution. The sugar content is a concentration value of sugar in water, so the hydration of the plant has a drastic effect on the brix reading. In one anecdotal experiment: carrots which were forgotten in a large walk in cooler, were found wilted and shriveled. These were were tested and showed higher brix reading than fresh organic carrots picked directly from a nutrient dense growing plot. The taste and quality comparison did not align with the brix reading.

Joel Fuhrman MD suggests there are 4 categories of high nutrient foods. We need to think of our diets being composed of a mix of all of these categories.

1. raw vegetables              - snow peas, cucumbers, tomatoes
2. fresh fruits                     - apples, grapefruit, berries, melons
3. cooked greens               - string beans, cabbage, asparagus
4. non-green vegatables     - eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms

Joel Fuhrman MD has also made a listing of foods by nutrient density on a comparative scale of 1000 (nutirients / calories). He suggests we ingest a significant volume of our calories from foods that have a nutrient score higher than 100.

1. Kale                         1000
2. Collards                      916
3. Spinach                       886
4. Bok Choy                   839
5. Romaine                     462
6. Boston                        412
7. Broccoli                     395
8. Artichoke                   352
9. Cabbage                    344
10. Green Pep                  310
11. Carrots                       288
12. Asparagus                  280
13. Strawberry                 254
14. Cauliflower                 269
15. Tomato                       197
16. Cherries                      197
17. Blueberries                  155
18. Iceburg                        132
19. Orange                        130
20. Cantaloupe                  120
21. Apple                            91
22. Peach                            88
23. Kidney Beans                84
24. Green Peas                    84
25. Sweet Potato                 81
26. Soybeans                      74
27. Tofu                              69
28. Mango                          61
29. Cucumber                     59
30. Oatmeal                        55
31. White Potato                 53
32. Brown Rice                  49
33. Salmon                         48
34. Skim Milk                     43
35. Grapes                          40
36. Corn                             37
37. Avocado                       36
38. Banana                          36
39. Walnuts                         35
40. Almonds                        33
41. Chicken Breast              32
42. Low Fat Yogurt             31
43. Apple Juice                    30
44. Eggs                              29
45. Feta Cheese                   25
46. Whole Wheat Bread      25
47. Whole Milk                    23
48. White Pasta                    22
49. White Bread                   21
50. Peanut Butter                  21
51. Swiss Cheese                 18
52. Ground Beef                   17
53. Potato Chips                   13
54. Vanilla Ice Cream            6
55. Olive Oil                          2
56. Cola Drink                      0.6

So, we see that we need a variety of foods, and to focus on foods that are nutrient dense. This excludes processed foods and animal products as a valuable part of our diet. Research is clear that ingestion of animal proteins increases disease risk.

An interesting article in the NY Times, by Mark Bittman, suggests that for most Americans, this entire question of organic food quality is a mute point.

"The truth is that most Americans eat so badly -- we get 7 percent of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is “sweets”; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese -- that the organic question is a secondary one. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat." (web)

Some foods from conventional farming are laced with more pesticides than other types of food. If you wanted to limit your pesticide intake, the following foods would be good to get as organic:

1. apples
2. celery
3. strawberries
4. peaches
5. spinach
6. nectarines - imported
7. grapes - imported
8. sweet bell pepers
9. potatoes
10. blueberries - domestic
11. lettuce
12. kale / collard greens

So how much of your diet is made up of real food, vs edible food like substances? How important is eating organic to you?  I would raise an even higher bar: How much of your own food do you grow? Let's talk about it.


Resources:

• Is Organic Better for You? (web)
• Organic Food - Is 'Natural' Worth the Extra Cost? (web)
• Maximizing the Nutritional Value of Fruits and Vegetables (pdf)
• Nutritional Quality of Organically Grown Food (web)
• Organic grower products & resources (web order)

Following is a list of assumptions and/or assertions I would like to evaluate in a future article(s). If you have information to back up or disprove any of these assertions, I would be interested in dialog with you.

1. Soils are being depleted by modern commercial farming practices, and therefore foods grown on these depleted soils are not as nutritious.
2. Commercial food processing often adds salt and fat calories at the expense of minerals and vitamins.
3. Organic foods are free of pesticide residues, while conventionally grown food, especially food from other countries, carry significant pesticide residues.
4. Pesticides in and on our food has adverse effects when consumed.
5. Organic farming processes present compelling advantages over conventional farming in environmental,  ecology, and soil biotic composition.
6. GMO organisms have been touted as the tools to feed the world, but they are actually a smoke screen for a very small number of companies to control the food production of the world.
7. GMO seeds to not increase yields. They only facilitate large mono culture crops.
8. Conventional farming techniques damage the soil and render it lifeless and susceptible to erosion.
9. High brix (sugar content) is a significant food quality indicator.
10. Healthy plants resist pest attack.

Recommended Nutrient Levels in Soil

The average acre foot of soil weighs in at 4 million pounds. This is a lot of material in the top 12 inches of your soil! Remember it is a lot easier to purchase farm land the way you want it (in soil constituents) than to try to modify it later. If you have clay soil, then you need to learn to garden in clay soil. It is impractical to consider adding enough sand or loam to significantly change the soil in a large area. Note, take care even in small plots, as sand mixed with clay could form a product very similar to concrete. We can amend the soil to the proper nutrient levels, and that will be our focus on this article.

The chemical nutrients desired can be measured in parts per million. This is how your soil analysis will be measured from the lab. If your objective is 40 ppm and you have 4 million lbs of soil (in 12" of soil over an acre) then you would ideally have 160 lbs of that specific nutrient. (40 ppm x 4 m lbs = 160 lbs). If your lab test identifies you have 37 ppm in the soil, then you could calculate your field has 148 lbs of the nutrient present. (37 ppm x 4 m lbs = 148 lbs). The difference between the goal of 160 lbs and what you have as 148 lbs would be 12 lbs of that nutrient should be applied and mixed into the soil at a depth of 12 inches to reach the optimal nutrient density in the soil.

So, lets review some of the quantities suggested for soil nutrients. Table 1 represents the suggested totals from Bob Gregory, a farmer with extensive agriculture experience. Table 2 is the best I have found from various sources to note deficiency. This table is hard to nail down, as different plants need different levels of the nutrients, but it is an interesting point to compare with. The 3rd table has notes and toxicity levels of the nutrient. And again, toxicity is per crop and hard to nail down.

Table 1: Desired nutrient levels

N             40
P              40
K             220
Mg           180
Ca            2000
S              20
Zn            10
Mn           40
Fe            20
Cu            2
B              2
pH           6.5-7.0
Organic    3-5%



Table 2: Deficient nutrient levels

N          
P              10
K             30
Mg           30
Ca            400
S              10
Zn            2
Mn           10
Fe          
Cu            0.5
B            
pH        
Organic  



Table 3: Notes

N          
P            
K          
Mg        
Ca            Ca : Mg = 6:1 to 7:1
S              N : S = 10:1 to 15:1
Zn          
Mn        
Fe          
Cu            Toxic above 40 ppm
B              Toxic above 4 ppm
pH        
Organic  



Remember that additions are not 100% of the active element. You have to calculate the weight of the calcium in a bag of calcium carbonate, and use that percentage of the bag weight to calculate how many pounds of material you should evenly apply.

Table 4: Common nutrient amendments and the constituent nutrient %

Ammonium nitrate                         34% N
Ammonium Sulfate 21-0-0-24S    21% N          + 24% S
Urea 46-0-0                                 46% N
Soft rock phosphate                      15 - 25% P    +    30% Ca
Single super phosphate                  18 - 20% P + 12% S
Tripple super phosphate 0-45-0    45% P
Potassium Sulfate 0-0-52              52% K           +    18% S
Magnesium Sulfate (epson salt)     24% Mg         +     4% S
Calcium Carbonate                       38% Ca
Hydrated Lime                              54% Ca
Dolomite                                       22% Ca          +    11 Mg
Calcium Sulfate (gypsom)              79% Ca          +    12% S    - does not alter pH
Elemental Sulfur                             90 - 100% S                       - lowers pH via biological reaction
Zinc Sulfate                                   36% Zn           +    16% S
Manganese Sulfate                         24% Mn         +    15% S
Iron Sulfate                                    36% Fe           +    11% S
Copper Sulfate                               25% Cu          +    11% S
20 Mule Team Borax                      11 - 14% B


Finally remember that the rates of application that we calculated where based on an acre field. If you have more or less, then you will need to adjust the total needed by this ratio. 1 acre of land is 43,560 square feet. This is about 208 ' x 208 '. Take your garden size in square feet and divide this by 43,560 to get your % of an acre.

When applying amendments, make sure you mix the minerals in well. A turn over plow is suggested. Apply 1/2 of the amendment to the soil, and plow to 6 inches and then add the remaining 1/2 of the nutrient, and then turn over the entire 12 inches with second pass. If you use a disc or chisel plow, the effective mixing will be 1/2 of the plow depth.


Resources

• Nutrient Management for Commercial Fruit & Vegetable Crops (pdf)
• Lowering soil pH (web)
• Soil pH modification (web)
• CEC and Albrect's Formula (web)

Taking a Soil Sample for Analysis

A soil test will provide a quantitative analysis of your soils chemical components. This test can inform you as to amendments you should make to place your soil in the optimum condition for growing food. Crops removed from your garden required nutrient inputs to grow, and unless you are composting wastes back into the field, there is a net loss of nutrients. The sustainable farmer wants to replenish nutrients to hold the soil at the optimum levels. Before we can amend, we need to know where we are starting. You would not just pour gas in your car, not knowing if there was room in the tank or a need for it. Our goal is to provide balanced, healthy soil for crops. Chemical balance is where pH, and mineral quantities are optimum. Some nutrients is too high a concentration could adversely affect production, so there is a precise level of each nutrient to be achieved.

In this article, I am dealing with chemical balance, but I want to always acknowledge that this is one of three areas defining healthy soil. There is also physical characteristics, and biological components that are also crucial. Organic matter, both fresh and decomposed, are needed for all three of these factors to yield a healthy soil.

How much of a mineral is needed? Well, it is not as straight forward as you would think to answer this question. Various plant types may require unique nutrient characteristics. For example, blueberries like a more acidic soil than most other plants, and their plot should be amended with this in mind.

Plants utilize nutrients via their roots, and various plants will reach different depths of soil. There is a fascinating set of root diagrams for various garden plants in the book: Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon. Even through some plants may stretch roots deeper, we usually amend soil to the depth that we can till, since we need to be able to mix the amendments to a uniform spread. I suggest a depth of 12 inches. This gives a good bank of minerals for current and future crops.

Rather than a non-calibrated home test, I suggest sending your samples to a high volume lab, where their technique would be proven, and their tests are routinely calibrated, and therefore highly consistent. If you are interested in a recommendation, I use A&L Labs, and this company has regional centers around the country. Some A&L Labs offer the "S3" test as a complete workup, others you have to specify "S1 and S3". In 2011, a "S1 + S3" costs under $20 per sample. Either way make sure that you get the complete test, as clarified below.

Aspects of the quantitative analysis you want:

S1: Organic matter, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, magnesium, calcium, soil pH, buffer pH, Cation Exchange Capacity, Percent Base Saturation of cation elements.

S3: Sulfur, Zink, Manganese, Iron, Copper, Boron

Note that other labs may call these same tests under different test identifiers, but these are the mineral tests that you want.

To take a soil sample, you need to extract a representative average of soil to the depth you want to amend. You can do this by digging a hole, and getting a clean sample with a stainless steel spoon. Take care that your sample does not become contaminated by the shovel used to dig the hole. I suggest removing a column of soil in the hole with the spoon, and then take a second clean sample in the same area. Draw the spoon from bottom to top, and collect a uniform sample through the depth you want to analyse. Place the soil directly into a soil collection bag. (The soil collection bags can be ordered from A&L free of charge. You can also request the transmittal forms at the same time.) You should have several samples from around your field to get a good average. You could test a field of under 2 acres by just taking several representative samples from around the field, and mix them into one submission bag. Large fields of 2+ acres could be sampled by grid or zone. If you are going to amend your fields separately, then you need to take separate tests to be able to specify the needs of each more specifically. If there is some natural feature of the land that makes you think it has a different soil type or characteristic, you may want to sample that area separately, taking a sample for the various zones of your field.

Some farmers take the top 6 inches and the bottom 6 inches from several samples in the field and they submit the lower samples in one bag, and the upper samples into a different bag. There are soil probes which make the process of collecting a pure sample easier. You just press the probe into the soil, and pull it out. The core sample can be scooped out of the open cylinder, and deposited into a sample bag. If like me you want to sample 12 inches deep, I suggest a soil probe with a foot pedal to assist in penetrating the soil.

With the test results in hand, you will be able to come up with a plan on how to exactly amend your field. The lab may offer recommendations of treatment, but the formulas I will present to you may or may not agree with the Labs amendment suggestions. You can get the results for comparison, but I would not consider the suggestions as authoritative. In an upcoming article, I will present the desired quantities for your soils.

It is suggested that you add lime to your soils in the fall or early winter (as long as the ground could still be worked). You do not really want to place your amendments at the time of planting. Lime takes several weeks to months to react with your soils to impact pH. 

Now, let's get some soil samples!

Improving Your Soil

Soils become depleted with pounds of produce being grown from your ground. It is logical that removal of produce needs to be balanced with replenishment of nutrients that have been required by the plant and produce. As we initiate sustainable farming, we want to replenish the soil to an ideal mineral content. Minerals are finite, physical substances. When these minerals are depleted, the soil will not produce as well. The idea of can be expressed as the law of the minimums. If one critical mineral is deficient, it will limit the entire production of all mineral inputs to that minimum level available. God has given plants the marvelous ability to extract what they need from the soil. But low nutrient levels make the plants work harder, and yield along with disease resistance declines.

Now is the time to build and replenish our soils through amendments, mulches and cover crops.

1) Amendments are nutrients added to the soil and blended to depth for a uniform mixture. Minerals are from rock sources, raw or refined. Traditional farming amendments have been calculated to a depth of 8 or 9 inches, perhaps based on the depth of their plow. I suggest amendments down to 12 inches depth. There is no need to amend for more soil than you will be able to adequately till, so keep this in mind when calculating your amendment values.

Some nutrients are more soluble than others, and some will drift down, especially in sandy soils. In this situation, nutrients could be drawn out of the reach of vegetable root zone. Some nutrients do not have much mobility in the soil. I will go into great detail on mineral testing of your soil and amending it in future posts.

2) Mulches are materials not blended into the soil, but set atop soil. The advantages include moisture retention, sunlight shielding which in turn keeps weed pressure down, softer rain incorporation into the soil, less soil compaction, encouraging earthworm activity, prevents soil saturation, percolation of mulch nutrients into the soil below. Some mulches like wood chips should not be mixed into the soil, as it would decrease the available nitrogen in the soil, it being tied up in the bacterial breakdown process. Let the mulch decompose on top, and share their goodness to the soil through gentle seepage. Heavy mulching lends itself to a no-till methodology.

Planting of seeds is best done in the soil, so if you have mulched your field, pull away the mulch in the furrow for planting. When the crop comes up, dress the plants again with the mulch to cover the ground.

Mulching may encourage mice and other vermin, so take care that this does not cause problems in your farm.

3) Cover crops are a way to increase nutrients to your garden area, and can be done on your garden plots as an over winter crop or as a rest period where you leave a plot fallow. Alfalfa is a perennial crop that can stay strong for 6 or 7 years. Regular cuttings of alfalfa can provide mulch and amendment material for your fields. Alfalfa has deep roots, and pulls nutrients from deep below. Alfalfa can be cut before it goes to seed, and as such it makes wonderful mulch.

It may be well to compost cover crops to retain nitrogen from being lost in the atmosphere. A covering of soil with its bacteria could capture the released nitrogen, binding it for later use.

Coverings are God's natural plan of nature. Only where man has disturbed the soil will you find bare soil. The Bible records that after sin, man began to till the soil. (Gen 4:2). God is very specific about covering the human form, and looking at nature we see plants actively covering the earth, wherever possible.

Improving soils involves more than just chemical nutrient balancing, but also physical and biological characteristics.

No matter what soils we have to work with, we have promises from the Lord for His blessing to grow food. Following are quotes of encouragement.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chron. 7:14 

"Human beings were to cooperate with God in restoring the diseased land to health, that it might be a praise and a glory to His name. And as the land they possessed would, if managed with skill and earnestness, produce its treasures, so their hearts, if controlled by God, would reflect His character." BLT 253.3

"You are not working alone. When you are tempted to become discouraged remember this. Angels of God are right around you. They will minister to the very earth, causing it to give forth its treasures." SpM 447.2

With this encouragement - let us join our angels in working our land for His glory. If you do not have land available to feed your family fruits and vegetables, now is the time to procure, even at a sacrifice, such land. God's plan for us is to work the soil, and perfect our characters in the process.

Kneel in your garden, and ask God for wisdom on what to do next. Ask for His leading on what amendments, mulches and cover crops to use. Ask how to best lay out the garden plot. Ask for His blessing that you can learn how to produce more food that ever thought possible, that you might offer the "5 loaves and 2 fishes" to be miraculously multiplied for the blessing of others around us.

I have prayed these prayers on my land, and while there, I have prayed for you. May God strengthen you to sacrifice to follow his leading. May your focus be on how God will use your land to be a blessing to others.

Land

Land is the foundation of farming. Is is the capacity to feed yourself via crops. Land grows the wood lot which offers wood to heat your home, water and food. Land provides an environment of growth and development for your family. Farmers, gardeners, yes all of us love our land. As I have grown older, and perhaps wiser, and I have moved around the country several times, I realize that the land we own is truly just ours for a short time. We are stewards of the land we own. If time will last, our land will surely outlast us.

My interest in land has grown as I have wanted to enlarge our family garden enterprise. Without tillable land, we can have interest but may be limited in our production potential.

How much land can you work effectively can be calculated by the number of people working the soil, the type of crops, your environment and soil type, how intensively you will grow crops, and what machinery will assist you in the farming process. One farmer friend in West Virginia estimates that one person can handle from one to two acres of vegetable garden without mechanical equipment. Techniques can be employed to improve efficiency, and over a period of years, weed pressure is decreased.

For those looking for land, the key criteria are: 1) room for crops in tillable land and room for nutrient fields of cover crops and crop rotation, 2) wood lot with enough trees to sustain your wood heating needs, 3) available water.


As I have looked for land, I have added these criteria (from a list made in 2010):

• 20+ acres
• Water available
• Land suitable for food production
• Wood lot suitable for heating and cooking
• Remote, with lower immediate population pressure, but have outreach potentials
• South facing land for crops, north facing for fruit trees
• Opportunities for nature / hiking / camping in the greater community
• Some elevation change would be preferred for a basement walkout, root seller, and water gravity flow
• All acquisitions be dept free
• Scenic vistas would be enjoyed

I do not know what to suggest for the quantity of these three root criteria. A large part of the equation is how many people you will be having work in your enterprise. For an independent family farm, by current guess at a minimum would be 20 acres. A promise from inspiration: "God can bless twenty acres of land and make them as productive as one hundred..." 5T 151.3 The context of this quote is that we need to guard against amassing or hording land in greed. Other references balance this with the encouragement for schools and sanitariums to obtain as much land as possible as a buffer around the institution. Some of these recommendations specify into the hundreds of acres.

One thing is clear, we do not want to make our land our idol. We should ever be ready to heed God's call or public coercion to abandon it. If we amass a fortune of time and wealth in land, surely it would be hard to leave it. In these last days of earths history, we should heed the Biblical counsel to "remember Lot's wife."

I know of a CSA farm in middle Tennessee which comprises over a hundred acres, supports four families plus interns, and of this total they have under 10 acres in tillable production. Another CSA farm that focuses more on large machinery has 1200 CSA customers, and utilizes around 150 acres of production. So the volume parameters are very diverse, depending on the situation and plan.

In upcoming posts, we will deal extensively with amending your soil to achive a perfect balance of nutrients and physical and biologic qualities for growing excellent crops. It should be noted that land weighs in at 4 million pounds at the top 12 inches of soil, which is your effective gardening depth. With this kind of volume, it is impractical to think of changing a soil type. You may be able to nudge the organic matter in your soil, but you will not be able to change a clay soil to a sandy soil of vise versa. It is simpler to purchase land suitable for crops than to work in vain to try to change it.

Some encouragement from inspiration related to your land:

"In God's plan for Israel, every family had a home on the land, with sufficient ground for tilling. Thus were provided both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, and self-supporting life. And no devising of man has ever improved upon that plan." MH 183.3

"Many do not see the importance of having land to cultivate, and of raising fruit and vegetables, that their families may be supplied with these things. I am instructed to say to every family and every church, God will bless you when you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, fearing lest, by unwise treatment of the body, you will mar the Lord's plan for you." MM 296.6

"To parents who are living in the cities, the Lord is sending the warning cry, Gather your children into your own house; gather them away from those who are disregarding the commandments of God, who are teaching and practicing evil. Get out of the cities as fast as possible. Parents can secure small homes in the country, with land for cultivation, where the children will not be surrounded with the corrupting influences of city life. God will help his people to find such homes outside the cities." RH July 5, 1906 Par. 30

 May we claim this last promise for ourselves. If you are longing for land for cultivation, and to live in a rural environment, this promise is for you to claim. God will answer!