American Soil Farm

07/11/2024

My little helper thought it was pretty cool that we had potatoes "coming out of the ground". He was out there all the way up until dinner

07/10/2024

06/20/2024

We're set up at the gazebo in Valparaiso from 5-7pm tonight. Honey Wheat Sourdough sandwich bread, leaf lettuce, and head lettuce on the table. This is probably the last week for lettuce until we make it through the heat of the summer.

06/14/2024

Happy 249th birthday to the U.S. Army! We thank and honor all those who have served and continue to serve in the .

06/13/2024

Come see us at the Val Farmer's Market tonight from 5-7pm. It's still early in the season for us, but we have leaf lettuce, head lettuce and green onions available.

06/11/2024

We're finally getting around to prepping what will be our high tunnel area for our late season crops this year. We planted cereal rye as a cover crop last November, and once the anthers started to protrude (the yellow stringy things hanging from the seed head) we mowed it down. This kills the plant before it gets the chance to set seed (we don't want the rye to reseed itself while we're growing pumpkins, sunflowers, sweet corn, etc.). The root mass remains in the ground to help retain moisture, prevent erosion, and feed soil microbes as it decays. And you can see we had a nice mat of shredded biomass which will act as a mulch also retaining moisture, regulating soil temperatures, and preventing weeds. This is one of the ways we are growing food without the use of pesticides, and replenishing our soil as we do so. Look out for an upcoming post that highlights the pollinator habitat and how it contributes to our regenerative approach to producing food.