Starting a veggie garden: Step 1

Today, we turned over the hay fields, the first step on the way to a field-sized veggie garden. It’s quite exciting to watch a big tractor and moldboard plow slice the ground into strips and literally turn over the top layer of soil.

Moldboarding is an efficient, chemical-free way to clear the hay crop (in our case, the hay is mainly grass), especially when it’s done in the fall. The moldboard severs the roots and exposes them to the killing cold of winter. At the same time, the grass is turned under, buried so that it can decompose and add valuable organic matter to the soil. This type of plowing we do only once, after this step, we try to disturb the topsoil as little as possible. Come spring, it will be time for Step 2, tilling the field to create a smooth bed for seeding, and the market garden will be off and running!