There is a Zen-like quality to tilling a field: a combination of relaxed yet focused attention that is required to drive a tractor, pulling its tiller and bed-shaper, in a straight, even row down the field. Gazing ahead, one sees a mix of leaf-mulch and a few rugged weeds that have managed to poke through it; glancing behind, one sees the fertile brown earth turned up, eventually, after two or three passes, taking on the smooth, slightly crumbly texture of chocolate cake. Only instead of candles, as in a birthday cake, we will soon be planting vegetables: spring greens, at first, along with radishes, green onions, and brassicas: kale and turnips, broccoli and cauliflower.

Right now, those plants are in seedling form, growing and gathering strength in our germination chamber. And our new apprentices, Peter, Kat, and Ashlee, are busily preparing the garden to receive them. That includes pulling the stalks of last year’s dead plants, raking mulch, and spreading compost. It also includes learning Zen and the art of tilling a field. It is true that “no-till” gets a lot of attention these days, and rightly so in some respects. Tilling disturbs the structure of the soil, and the burrows of worms and other invertebrates. But in an operation like ours, free of chemical herbicides, it is also one of the best ways to keep weeds in check and prepare the soil for planting. Although alternatives exist, they would be either prohibitively labor-intensive, or prohibitively mechanized.

And so we till up the good earth, releasing the rich smell of newly-dug soil, and experience the almost primal sense of satisfaction that comes from tilling a good, straight bed, with proper spacing. And we look forward to the planting to come, and after that the long season of growing and harvesting – especially the 22 weeks of our CSA season, when each week will see shareholders come out to the farm to join in the harvest, and take home with them a bag typically bulging at the seams with seasonal produce. But before the harvest comes the preparation, and that’s where we are now. Seeding, planting up, composting, tilling… all the myriad tasks that go into making Spoutwood’s community supported agriculture gardens the source of bounty they are.

It’s been a long winter. It’s good to be getting our hands in the good earth once again.

Tom Harbold

Education Coordinator

Spoutwood Farm