Last year we developed a toolset that allowed us to clear an abandoned baseball field of perennial sod and convert it into a vegetable producing mini-farm. This petrol-free toolset included a low-wheel cultivator made by Glaser and a two-foot wide broadfork. It is quite likely that we used these tools in a more rigorous way then they were intended, (opening new land instead of working pre-established vegetable beds), yet the tools withstood hours of work with only a handful of needed repairs. After last year’s experience we consider the combination of the broadfork and the low-wheel cultivator to be an appropriate toolset for small-scale vegetable cultivation because they efficiently use manual labor in place of fossil fuel powered equipment to prepare vegetable beds.

This blog will revisit our method for preparing vegetable beds in light of the fact that we are no longer fighting against tough perennial sod, and instead, we are removing our over-winter cover crops.

Step 1: Removing Cover Crop

We use a sharp scythe to cut the cover crop off as low to the ground as possible. Once the crop has fallen we rake up the remains and cart it off as a nitrogen input to our compost piles. In the earliest part of spring, we are careful to remove only the cover-crop from the vegetable beds that we immediately plan to prepare for transplant or direct seeding. This allows the other areas of cover crop to continue growing as much as possible in the increased temperatures and daylight hours of spring.

Jason Using Sharp Scythe to Clear Cover Crop

Cover Crop Cut Close to the Ground With Scythe

Step 2: Breaking Ground

After the cover crop has been removed we are left with the gentle stubble of annual cereals and legumes. We have noticed that the loam soil is quite soft and easy to work with, and we attribute this to the fact the area we are working was established last year. A prime consideration at this stage of bed preparation is soil moisture. We want to be careful not to work the soil too wet or we will remove an unnecessary amount of soil as we cut through the stubble of the annual cover crops.

Low Wheel Cultivator Cutting Into Soil

Step 3: Loosening the Bed

After the stubble of the previous crop has been broken free from the soil, the next step is to broadfork the soil. The broadfork is two feet wide and includes five tines that sink into the soil about ten inches. It is amazing how much easier it is to broadfork the soil this season than it was last year. We have changed the width of our beds this year from 5-foot wide beds to 4-foot wide beds. This change has put us into some areas of soil that is similar to last year when we had to combat the sod. Pushing the broadfork into the previously worked sections versus the reclaimed sod sections really shows what one-years-worth of work accomplished for reducing compaction and improving aeration. Again we want to be aware of soil moisture, so that we do not smear wet soil together in the prying and lifting action of the broadfork.

Chris Sinking Broadfork into and Prying Down

Step 4: Cross-cut the sod and rake

After the bed has been forked, there are entire clumps that have been lifted and are uneven. We use the low-wheel cultivator with a 3-tine cultivator attachment to cross cut the bed and thereby remove the clumps. By the time we are finished with cross cutting we have up to five inches of loose soil on the surface which makes a good seedbed. It is also easy to transplant into the newly cross cut bed. If we intend to seed the bed we rake the surface smooth and make sure there is no trash that could interfere with the drill-seeder.

Jason Cross-Cutting Bed with Three-Tine Cultivator

We like this toolset because it clears an area of grass or cover crop and produces a vegetable bed that is suitable for direct seeding or transplant. In this method the soil remains loose and aerated up to ten inches and it does not entail the soil disruption of double digging or rototilling. By making sure to compost the soil and debris that is removed from the area in which you intend to make a bed, you make a good step toward sustainable soil management in which no soil is lost and on-site nutrients are cycled back into the beds in the form of compost.

If you are curious you can click here to check out and contrast our bed preparation method from last year.

Brookside Farm has accomplished an initial goal of getting our veggies to young children and into a local institution! North Coast Opportunities pre-school has agreed to purchase two shares from the CSA at Brookside Farm. The kitchen staff is looking forward to utilizing fresh farm produce and cooking according to the harvest season. It is exciting to see that there is demand for our produce and the goods of a Relocalized food system.

View of North Coast Opportunities Preschool

To meet the demands of the CSA, we set to work preparing our first beds in order to transplant spinach and lettuce and to direct seed onions, beets, carrots, lettuce, and parsnips. We removed cover crops with a scythe, broke the soil with the low-wheel cultivator, loosened the soil with the broadfork, and cross cut a final time with the low-wheel cultivator in order to ready vegetable beds. The following is the sowing dates and area for the crops that we direct seeded.

Direct Seeding Beets by Hand

According to our planting schedule, March was slated to be one of the most active months in the greenhouse. Lettuce, cabbage, chard, spinach, kale, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and tomatillo were on the list of a scheduled 1600 starts. Unfortunately, we had poor germination on many of the starts that were seeded early in the month (kale, spinach, and cabbage). We monitored the Max-Min thermometer in the greenhouse and were noticing overnight lows in the 30 and daily highs in the 70’s. After considering what might have led to the poor germination and we finally concluded that the average soil temperatures and nighttime temperatures were too cold. We utilized the warming temperatures toward the middle of March to catch-up on the plants that did not do so well earlier in the month and continued to sow starts to remain on pace with our greenhouse schedule. By the second week of the month we had sown our peppers and tomatoes in David Drell’s greenhouse. David used electric heating mats to secure sufficiently warm germination temperatures, and by the end of the month we had excellent stands of little peppers and tomatoes awaiting transplant from their seed-flats into four-inch pots. It was amazing to see the difference between plants started with the heated soil mats and those that fended for themselves in the early part of March.

Tomatoes and Peppers in Four-Inch Pots

This month we also began a relationship with a local welder to make adjustments to our low-wheel cultivator and the broadfork. Last year we had a terrible time shearing off the bolt that connected the stirrup hoe implement to the low-wheel cultivator. Kevin, at KLR welding, suggested that he weld a small plate near the back of where the stirrup hoe connects to the frame. By adding the plate excess and needless motion has been eliminated, the implement base remains rigid, and we have significantly reduced the threat of shearing the bolt. We are also asking Kevin to weld reinforced tines onto the broadfork. This should make the tines sturdier and less apt to bend and break off as they did last year.

Glaser Hoe with Metal Block to Limit Excess Movement

Broadfork with Reinforced Tines

As crude oil reaches record highs of $110 a barrel, the connection between the cost of food and the rise in energy prices can no longer be ignored. In a recent statement, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the UN's World Food Program, said the global economy had created "a perfect storm for the world's hungry, caused by high oil and food prices and low food stocks." Sheeran continues, “Higher food prices will increase social unrest in a number of countries which are sensitive to inflationary pressures and are import-dependent. We will see a repeat of the riots we have already reported on the streets such as we have seen in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Senegal."

Sheeran notes that food prices have been aggressively increasing to historic highs and cites four major drivers for this:

1. The rise in oil and energy prices which affect the entire value chain of food production from fertilizer to harvesting to storage and delivering and access to water;

2. The economic boom in nations such as India and China, creating increased demand for all commodities including food and forcing China, which was a major food exporter just a little more than one year ago, to now being an importer of food;

3. Increasingly harsh and frequent climatic shocks like hurricanes, floods and drought, have made for some bad harvests in particular regions like Australia and regions of Africa;

4. The shift to increased biofuel production that has diverted hundreds of millions of metric tons of agricultural output out of the food chain, and has caused food prices to be set at fuel price levels in many places, including, for example, palm oil in Africa which is now being priced out of household reach because it is being set at fuel prices as a biofuel addition.

On the energy front, Sheeran's claim is supported by recent reports coming from farms across the globe. Although farmers appear to enjoy record commodity prices, the recent spikes in the cost of fertilizer and fuel are eroding gains. Not only has the price of nitrogen fertilizer risen 113% since 2000, but also potash has risen from $225 a ton to nearly $500 a ton and increasingly scarce phosphate has gone from $312 to between $800 and $900 a ton this year. The ingredients of these fertilizers are often imported to the United States from other countries and these resources are mined and processed using markedly energy-intensive processes that consume diesel and natural gas.

In other news, the world’s largest poultry processor closed a U.S. processing plant-cutting 1, 100 jobs. The processor blames record feed prices and U.S. ethanol policy for the current industry-wide crisis. Even if you are a vegetarian, the implication of this news is still hard to hear, as it is illustrates the fact that agribusiness is designed to grow food in a way that creates high profit. Once the profit margin is challenged the corporate producers of food may simply quit the job of growing food.

These trends should be clear indicators to all of us to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources and begin to support those that are willing and capable of producing food, fuel, and organic fertilizer close to where we live. Click here to see if there is a CSA or farm in your area.

Soybeans hit a 34 year high as drought, increased demand from China, and falling U.S. stockpiles drive prices.

Check the article: Soybeans Rise After Government Cuts U.S. Inventory Forecast

Now, take a look at this graph.

Source: www.biodiesel.org

Notice the change in U.S. biodiesel production from 2004 to 2005 and from 2005 to 2006 and you will see drastic increases in production. Between 2004 and 2005 biodiesel production tripled, and the estimate for 2006 is more than double 2005! A majority of biodiesel in the U.S. is derived from soybeans. During this time, U.S. stockpiles have been diverted to make increasing amounts of domestic biodiesel.

We are facing increasing global demand of soy for livestock rations, food, cooking oil, and now fuel. Check this out:

Source: http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0608-adm.html

Archer Daniels Midland has a plan to increase the production of soy-based biodiesel in Brazil. Where is all the land coming from to make soy-based biodiesel? You guessed it, the rainforests-or at least what used to be rainforest. The operation was slated to begin August in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Sadly, Mato Grosso is the site of some of the worst deforestation in the world, and while projected crop production looks rosy, it is far from clean, green fuel.

The trouble with planting crops in what used to be the Amazon Rainforest is that the soil is incredibly low in organic matter. Once the soil is stirred up (as a result of logging and cultivation), the soil biology quickly consumes the organic matter. This forces farmers to adopt a no-till system of farming that leaves crop residue on the surface and uses herbicides to kill the weeds as the next crop is seeded. No-till cropping systems try to preserve the organic matter in order to prevent the soil from quickly turning to dust. As you might expect from agribusiness it relies on substantial fertilizer inputs to prop up weak soils. While production of soy in Brazil may lower global soy prices, (for at least a short time), it is creating the biofuel nightmare that we are all afraid of! Think about it for a moment... Imported biofuel from Brazil, grown in what was once a rain forest, which utilizes huge amounts of artificial chemicals and genetically modified seeds. ....Terrifying, don't you agree?

Biofuel initially appealed to “greens” because it seemed to be a cleaner option. In some cases biodiesel can be made locally to be utilized by local consumers. From an agricultural standpoint, biodiesel still appears promising as an energy source to support farm s that will grow the world’s food. However, as consumers, we must be careful and temper our demand for liquid fuels with an understanding of the current state of the climate and the global food system. In short, we are faced with a dwindling food surplus and increasing demand by developing nations, while at the same time the climate is screaming to get our attention.

As always, we need to think about the way we use liquid fuel and oils and we need to prioritize the ways in which we use these scarce and vital resources. It is our responsibility to make choices for the future, and that means considering what is safe for the earth and the climate. Constant Growth is a False Assumption and if we do not choose to take the implications of climate change, food, and energy security seriously, we will be forced to address these issues when we have far fewer options to work with.

For those who want to read more you can click here to read the article: "Switch to Corn Promotes Amazon Deforestation". It is from the recent December 2007 volume of Science.

I want to link to an article written by Ann Keller, director of new services for the American Farm Bureau. The short article discusses the upcoming expectations for fertilizer production and demand in the United States and is titled: Harvest Season Thoughts Turn to Spring Fertilizer Prices.

In short, global supplies are expected to be tight because developing countries are competing for fertilizer in order to secure yields. If supplies remain tight, it is going to cost farmers more money to fertilize their crops. As this article notes, many countries-including the United States, cannot produce enough local fertilizer to supply their farms. Again, since fertility has to be imported, the food system is threatened by rising energy prices for transport and freight. This highlights an intrinsic vulnerability in the global food system which does not seem to have much flexibility to absorb disruptions in necessary imports of fuel, food, and fertilizer.

Here are some noteworthy quotes from the article:

--“The U.S. imported about 57 percent of its nitrogen last year, compared to 31 percent in the 1999/2000 growing season. One reason for the import increase is rooted in the price of natural gas, nitrogen fertilizer’s key ingredient. Trinidad, a tiny island in the Caribbean, has an abundant supply of natural gas, and it manufactures anhydrous ammonia more cheaply than the U.S. Trinidad is expected to be this country’s largest supplier of anhydrous for some time to come, while other popular nitrogen fertilizers such as urea are imported from Russia and Eastern Europe.”

--“While the U.S. is a major manufacturer and exporter of phosphates, stocks are relatively low at this time. If disruptions in the manufacture or distribution of these fertilizers materialize, then the probability of spot market price spikes increases. More than 90 percent of the potash fertilizer used in the U.S. is imported, the bulk of it from Canada but also some from Russia and the Congo. Given recent flooding that affected the production of potash, this also suggests supplies may be tight in 2008.”

Over the weekend a group of thinkers working with Post Carbon Institute have been discussing the mineral content of rain. Often when we discuss minerals and rain we are talking about the manner in which minerals and inorganic nutrients are readily leached from the soil. Leaching is when minerals are not able to hold in the soil and are thus washed out by the natural flow of groundwater. A soil’s tendency to leach is influenced by the way that the soil is tilled, cropped, and fertilized.

For instance, inorganic fertilizers provide crops with plant available nutrients in the form of chemicals like nitrate (NO₃^-). The problem is that nitrate readily washes out of the soil if the plants are unable to utilize it before heavy rains. Many farmers are beginning to realize that heavy fertilizer application in the fall amounts to a waste of money since a majority of the nutrients are lost by spring due to sever washout by winter rains or spring snow melt.

Leaching of minerals also occurs when soil is left bare to face winter rains. In this case, leaching is accompanied by a loss in top soil from the process of erosion. Imagine rain drops as tiny explosions on bare soil, blasting minerals loose, collecting in water particles, and flowing away as surface runoff.

Fortunately, farmers do not need to resign to the fact that rains always mean a loss in minerals and nutrients. By cover-cropping and the addition of compost, a farmer can protect the soil from direct rainfall and increase the organic matter in the soil in the form of root biomass. Roots and organic matter create a healthy habitat for soil microbes that play a key role in mineralizing soil nutrients and forming soil aggregates that resist leaching.

One great benefit to having a diverse soil food web of fungi, bacteria, and protozoa is because organic minerals are “sequestered” in the biomass/bodies of microbes and recycled through in their metabolic processes. Instead of washing out of the soil, the minerals actually become the body of bacteria and fungi! In a series of food chain and energy exchanges the minerals in the soil are converted from one form to the next; changing from plant detritus to the body of a soil organism, then to metabolic wastes of that organism and into plant available forms of, and then consumed and incorporated into the body of another soil microbe. All these changes occur in and around in the rhizosphere (root-zone) of plants, and demonstrate an interconnected web of energy and nutrient cycling and nutrient retention.

Also consider the fact that bacteria and fungi create a natural glue that sticks to everything. Through the production of “glomulin”, nutrients are retained and soil aggregates are formed. As organic matter is decomposed, the biology in the soil help to form stable negatively charged humic (humus) molecules which bind together with positively charged cat ions, electrically holding minerals and preventing them from leaching. Important cat ions retained in colloidal humus particles include: calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and copper.

As you can see, there is a lot happening below the soil, and farmers and gardeners have an opportunity to utilize cover crops, compost, soil biology, and appropriate timing of fertilization to prevent soil erosion and leaching of nutrients.

Broadcasting a Cover Crop of Crimson Clover in October to Protect Bare Soil from Winter Rain

Recently Sown Cover Crop of Legumes mixed with Rye and Barley Provides Root Biomass and Use Boilogy to "Fix" Nitrogen from the air

Unseasonably dry weather in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have farmers concerned about next summer’s yields. Over-winter wheat, sown in October and November is still awaiting rain before going dormant for the winter. Common practice is to sow grain and allow autumn rains to germinate the seed early in hope of establishing a healthy stand before the winter freeze. However, there are alarming reports that scant November precipitation has seed lying in the ground un-germinated. With global grain reserves at their lowest in half a century poor germination is sure to disappoint--likely spelling lower yields.

A lower yield from the U.S. makes many nervous as current demand is outpacing yield and domestic and international grain reserves continue to decline. When tracking the recent spike in prices of major agricultural commodities you will find that global demand for wheat is increasing due to the simple fact that a majority of nations do not have surplus and must import. Drought, disasters, lack of domestic production, and the falling value of the U.S. dollar are driving the demand to import surplus U.S. grain.

For instance, Bangladesh is intent on purchasing 500,000 tons of grain after the recent cyclone destroyed their stockpiles and crops. Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, India, and Pakistan are also looking to purchase grain this month-and it is no surprise why. These nations have dense populations that cannot grow enough food within their own land-base to support the nutritive and energetic demands of their citizens. These issues are compounded by rising energy prices and shipping cost. Crude oil continues to flirt with $100 a barrel, and there is little flexibility for importing nations to avert paying higher prices for ocean freight.

As this discussion revolves around global food and energy security it appears that politicians appear focused on their own careers. The tensions between demand and supply are increasingly influenced by climate uncertainty, advancing population, and global petroleum dependence.

We have an opportunity to take these issues seriously by making connections locally to provide for ourselves in the places we live. This effort is called Relocalization. Visit the Relocalization Network to link with groups in your area working to address these issues and build strong, self-reliant communities.

Also, check Bloomberg’s report: Wheat Rises as Drought Hurts Crops in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma

Google has announced a new strategic initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources in order to obtain energy cheaper than that produced from coal. As energy prices and carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, Google is setting both an environmental and economic example by investing their capital to secure their business and their community. The ambitious program is called “RE<C” or (Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal) and aims to demonstrate that large scale renewable energy installations are cheaper than coal. Larry Page, co-founder of Google says: "With talented technologists, great partners and significant investments, we hope to rapidly push forward. Our goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades." (One gigawatt can power a city the size of San Francisco.) Presently, Google is working with two companies that have promising scalable energy technologies:

eSolar Inc., a Pasadena, CA-based company specializing in solar thermal power which replaces the fuel in a traditional power plant with heat produced from solar energy. eSolar's technology has great potential to produce utility-scale power cheaper than coal. For more information, please visit http://www.google.com/corporate/green/energy/esolar.pdf.

Makani Power Inc., an Alameda, CA-based company developing high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies aimed at harnessing the most powerful wind resources. High-altitude wind energy has the potential to satisfy a significant portion of current global electricity needs. For more information on Makani Power, please visit http://www.google.com/corporate/green/energy/makani.pdf.

Click here to read the Google Press Release related to this exciting initiative.

Soybeans Rise to 19-Year High as China Plans More Purchases

By William Bi and Madelene Pearson (Nov 15. 2007)-Bloomberg

“Soybean futures for January delivery rose as much as 3.75 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $10.8325 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest since June 1988, and traded at $10.775 at 5:57 p.m. Beijing time. Most-active futures jumped 62 percent in the past year after U.S. farmers planted the smallest acreage in 12 years to sow more corn.”

``In this market, the risks are that any problem will see higher prices; those fears will remain as we go into 2008, as there's just too much demand around.''

This article summarizes the current commodities market of both soy and wheat. Each crop has seen over a 50% jump in price in recent months as the world is pressed to expand food production and climate uncertainty affects crops across the globe. We have seen the price of major agricultural commodities reach record highs in 2007 due to large portions of U.S. cropland diverted to corn and because developing countries are coping with increased demand for better diets. Since many countries around the world find themselves unable to expand domestic production they are forced to import agricultural commodities from the U.S. While global import and export is a quick short term plan to stave off starvation, it is likely to spell trouble in the coming months and years as crude prices reach record highs nearing the $100 a barrel, making ocean freight transportation more expensive and thereby increasing the imbedded cost of food even further.