We have been BUSY on the farm over the past couple of weekends. With the weather warming up there has been much to do and too few hours, as always happens this time of year.
We’re working on catching the blog up to the progress, but we wanted to share a big step with you that we finished yesterday. If you’ve been by the farm any time over the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that the main garden in the front has been fallow and covered with big trash bags. Those trash bags were actually bags of leaves that have been collected from farm boxers, friends, and cheerful neighbors of Colchester Farm.
Those leaves get spread out onto the soil and then ground in using the tractor. Decomposing leaves are one of the best soil additives in the world. Not only do they add vital nutrients, but earthworms also love them. Any garden with happy earthworms is a good garden! If you’ve ever had a chance to observe the soil at Colchester, you can’t help but notice how rich and beautiful it is. Tha’ts because every year hundreds of pounds of fallen leaves are incorporated in, building the excellent soil that nourishes our veggies.
It’s a sure sign of the coming season that this garden is now prepared. Once the weather warms up just a touch more, we’ll be able to start planting in there. We can’t wait!
First the bags were opened and dumped into the beds:
Second, the leaves were spread to an even thickness (this is the fun part!): 
Next, Ron came in and dumped several loads of compost into the beds, then went over them with the tiller a few times to incorporate all the added goodies into the soil:
Taylor even got a lesson on the Kubota!
The final step was evening out the beds, which was done in a snap. With all the helpers, it was finished in just a few short, fun hours. Now the beds will sit for a few weeks while the worms go to work breaking down all those leaves and getting it ready for us to work in.
