Sustainable, organic farmers prep and plant for the season’s harvest

East Coventry >> The beautiful fruits and vegetables that will make their way to farmers markets this season don’t just magically appear. There are plenty of steps farmers must complete even before crops are harvested.

For sustainable, organic farmers David and Wendy Ryle of Jubilee Hill Farm, preparation is key this time of year.

The season of a farm doesn’t begin at a market nor does it end when summer is over.

The Ryles are currently preparing soil and seeding the produce they will sell at markets this year. The produce is grown on the 80 raised beds of the farm.

When David started the farm three years ago, he raised all the beds by hand and used animal manure to amend the soil.

“The first year was just brutal,” he said.

David said the raised beds are really a necessity on the small farm because they don’t flood out after rain.

“When we have a really heavy rain, the plants don’t get waterlogged and the roots don’t get locked up with water,” he said.

David said another benefit of the raised beds is the earthworms. He said after a lot of rain, earthworms can usually be found in driveways where they seek higher ground because there was too much water and little oxygen in the dirt. He said after a big rain, the worms come from lower ground to the raised soil beds which provide a lot of nutrients for growing crops.

The castings of earthworms have super rich nutrients for soil, he said.

“You can judge how fertile soil is by how many worms are in a square foot of it,” David said while picking up a handful of soil and showcasing several worms on the top layer of dirt.

He said not only are raised beds important for a productive harvest but it’s also vital to take really good care of the soil used for planting. To help preserve the soil, David varies the crops he grows in each bed from year to year.

“Each plant uses a different combination of the nutrients that are in the soil,” he said.

He said if the same plants are grown in the same spot every year then eventually that soil will be drained of nutrients and become ineffective. He said it’s a science to determine where each plant will grow every year.

David and Wendy use several gardening methods to prepare the soil for seeds. First David uses a large “old-world technology” farm tool called a broad fork. He plunges the long steel tongs into the ground using his foot and works his way backward. He said it’s quite an exercise.

“That’s my next venture, I’m going to start a workout program,” he jokes.

His wife Wendy said the broad fork takes a lot of strength and endurance.

“Seriously, I can do it like three times and that’s it,” she said.

Although not easy to maneuver, the broad fork helps create a suitable soil consistency for planting while still not harming the ecosystem. David said the fork gets air into the soil without trapping or killing the earthworms that provide necessary nutrients to produce.

“Those earthworms are vital to the health of the plants,” he said.

After the broad fork is used, David said a cultivator gets all the chunks and weeds out of the soil. Next a rake is used to smooth everything out so there’s a flat surface to plant on.

David uses poultry manure and kelp in the soil to add nutrients. Kelp is a dried seaweed that enriches the soil, he said. He said when the pilgrims first landed, Native Americans taught them to lay fish with their seeds so the nitrogen would feed the plants.

“Ever since then, American agriculture has always incorporated some kind of fish fertilizer or seaweed of some sort,” he said.

David and Wendy are currently planting several seeds including those for carrots, beets and spinach. He said the plants will be ready to sell at local farmers markets in the coming months. Jubilee Hill Farm is located at 253 Harley Road in East Coventry.