CHA PTER 6

No-Till for Micro Farms:

The Deep-Mulch Method

A
note about part 2: In the remaining chapters, I’ll explain in detail
how we applied the principles from part 1 to set up our new
1/3-acre farm—for readers looking to start a micro farm and for
serious home gardeners looking for ideas to improve their growing. Schum-
acher repeatedly said: “First must come the work—intellectual effort. Then
the word must become flesh.”1 This is the flesh.
I’m not intending to offer a comprehensive guide for market gardening.
Rather, these are the absolute essentials. Here’s what you really need to
know to get started.
In chapter 10, I offer a plan for selling $20,000 from your backyard,
with specific crop-growing advice. This chapter takes the methods in this
book and condenses them to an even smaller, more approachable scale.

• • •

In part 1, I argued that a key to getting small is to simplify—to find the most
straightforward solution to any problem. The biggest change we made in
our production when we shrank our farm was to simplify our growing using
the deep-mulch method.
Here’s how it works: To start new plots, lay down 4" of good compost
right on the surface (assuming the ground is already worked up). Don’t till
it in. Just rake it smooth and grow right into it. Every two years, or as your
crops indicate the need, add another 1" of compost.
Simple. That’s it. This is the best way I know of to grow high-value
crops at a low cost on a small plot of land. It is a straightforward solution—
powerfully effective but with few steps.
With deep mulching, you suppress weeds, create friable (loose) soil,
and give plants a source of minerals for years. The method harnesses the

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Rachel harvesting greens. Greens in this picture are grown on 4" of compost,
made from local leaves that we placed and left directly on the surface.

power of biology in the soil to rejuvenate the rhizosphere, the zone of soil
around roots—it is a way to farm like a tree. The only tools required are a
shovel and a rake. The method replaces trucked-in fertilizers like kelp, fish
emulsion, and calcium with local leaves. It passes the Swadeshi test.
Below, I’ll show how to farm with the deep-mulch method. In the next
chapter, I’ll show the two-step bed flipping approach that complements
deep mulching. Both are no-till practices that incorporate new understand-
ings of soil science to grow better crops with less work.

Building Plots with 4" of Compost

Building plots with deep levels of compost costs more and takes more time
initially, but the benefits pay off. I’ll discuss this approach assuming 50'-
long beds, but the principles are simple and can also be applied to 4' × 8'
raised beds. Applying deep compost only makes sense on tiny farms—it is
impractical to cover large farms with so much bulk material.

STEP 1 : WORK U P EXIST IN G GR OU N D.

If your garden is already worked up, then skip ahead to step 2. Otherwise,
you will need to terminate existing vegetation and loosen the ground first.

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Step 1 on our farm was to mark out plots and loosen the ground with a tiller.
Photo courtesy of Adam Derstine.

In most cases, the best approach is to mow vegetation as low as possible

and then till it. This first, and maybe only, tilling will clean the field and create
an initially loose soil structure. Three or more passes with the tiller might be
required to ensure the vegetation won’t grow back. But to be sure, wait two
weeks after tilling to see if any grasses sprout. Don’t skimp here. You don’t
want to cover living grasses with compost—the grass will find a way through.
If the land you need to loosen is a perennial pasture, then plowing might
be required first. Plowing will rip up the deep and tenacious roots found in
these pastures more effectively than tilling. After the sod has been flipped,
wait until it has dried—typically within a week—and then till or disk until
the ground is smooth. Both tilling and plowing are tasks that you can hire
out to a landscaper if you don’t have access to the equipment.
Another option: Terminate existing vegetation with black silage tarps.
Terminating with tarps can take a few weeks or a few months depending on
the weather. Don’t hurry—grass must be completely burned down. Silage
tarps are thick plastic sheets used for multiple purposes in agriculture.
They are UV-resistant and come in a variety of sizes. For terminating vege-
tation, use a size that covers your entire plot, if possible. The tarps kill
vegetation by depriving it of light and by cooking it. Make sure the edges are
pinned down well; for this purpose, we use sandbags placed about every 6'
around the edge. If the ground is firm after you’ve removed the tarps, then I
recommend using broadforks, digging forks, or a tiller to loosen it.

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On very small patches—say 1,000 square feet or less—existing vegeta-

tion can be terminated by laying down cardboard covered with 4" of
compost. This is more cumbersome than tarping or tilling, and I don’t rec-
ommend it unless you have a handy source of cardboard. Also, compacted
ground underneath the cardboard might be impossible for some plant roots
to penetrate.

STEP 2: ADD TH E COM POST.

To add the initial 4" of compost, even on tiny plots, I recommend the use of
a skid loader or a tractor with a bucket. Alternatively, if you are buying
compost, ask the driver to dump—but not drive—directly onto your plot.
Next, grab a sturdy aluminum scoop shovel or compost fork and spread
the compost as evenly as you can. We’ve found that this is a fun group project—
perfect for visiting school-age kids—because it is rewarding to see the
compost build up. Simple tasks like this are opportunities to weave the local
community into your farm.
An option is to use wheelbarrows to move compost around the plot.
However, we don’t like the compaction that wheelbarrows leave behind. On
a tiny farm, less than 1 acre, spreading by hand is manageable.
We never drive heavy equipment on our plots because the equipment
will compact the ground, making it difficult for roots to penetrate. If the
ground is frozen hard, however, equipment weight doesn’t matter. In fact,

We use the deep-mulch method in greenhouses and in the field. Here we are spreading a
deep layer of compost in a greenhouse.

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we sometimes add compost in the

middle of winter because we can drive
all over our plots with our skid loader.
If you want to spread deep mulch
over an acre or more, you’ll need
a compost spreader. Some growers
use manure spreaders. Community
Machinery in Sackville, New Bruns-
wick, manufactures compost spreaders
designed by Broadfork Farm in Nova
Scotia. We sometimes use a compost
spreader attachment on our skid
loader. The implement is made by
Ideal Welding in Middlebury, Indiana.
A flap in the bottom of the bucket
opens up, letting compost fall out in
small amounts. An auger inside the
Adding compost in the winter, when
bucket stirs and breaks up clumpy the ground is frozen, will not compact
compost, making it easier to slip the soil. The compost stays unfrozen
through the opening. These machines due to its internal heat.
can be found online.
Never till in the compost. Think like a tree: Leave organic matter on the
surface and let it decompose. If you till the compost in, you weaken its nat-
ural structure and you move valuable minerals from the compost to below a
depth where plant roots can reach them. Also, tilling brings weed seeds up
to the surface. We have performed side-by-side tests of beds with compost
tilled in and compost left on the surface. Crops consistently performed
better when we left the compost alone.
For this step, go ahead and cover the whole plot evenly. Don’t worry
about paths just yet—that will come later.

How to determine how much compost you need

To determine how much compost to move onto your plot, I recommend
using the calculator created by Green Mountain Compost, found at www
.greenmountaincompost.com/compost-calculator. Per 1,000 square feet,
you will need 12.4 cubic yards of compost to achieve a depth of 4". For our
15,000 square foot plot, we used about 200 yards of compost.

Why 4" ?
Because compost at 4" deep is capable of smothering most weeds. Also, 4"
compost can be worked without bringing native soil up because most hoes

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H O M E G A RDEN ER MO DIFIC ATION

How Home Gardeners Can Use the

Deep-Mulch Method
The deep-mulch method is the best sys- chunks are fine, as I explain on page 121.
tem to use in a home garden. The hurdle Ideally, you can have the compost
to overcome, for many, will be making dropped right onto your garden.
the decision to invest in enough com- Spread the compost evenly over the
post to cover the entire garden by 4", but whole garden, using a wheelbarrow and
it is worth it. Remember that with deep shovel. There is no need to create raised
compost, you will never again need to beds unless you want raised growing areas
invest in fertilizers and amendments. to reduce bending over or to improve
The deep mulch will retain water well, drainage in a low area. You can cover
dramatically reducing the need to irri- pathways with cardboard and wood
gate. Also, yields will immediately chips, if you prefer the look, or leave
increase. All these factors make the them in compost.
investment easily worthwhile. What if all you have is a postage stamp
I recommend asking the farmers at of a yard? Build a deep-compost garden
your local farmers market where to bed! Simply lay down a large piece of
source good compost. Really, the compost cardboard and build a frame from 2" × 6"
you use does not need to be perfect—it lumber on top of it. Then fill the frame
can be made out of many types of material with compost. That’s it. You can plant
(though avoid straight manure), and straight into the compost.

and other field tools won’t penetrate below 4". Most importantly, this depth
creates an ideal soil structure for most plants.

What kind of compost should I use?

When buying compost, localize. Many municipalities now make and sell
compost. If you are making your own (see page 119 for instructions), use
materials sourced close to home. Use mostly vegetative carbon (C), or
“brown,” material, like leaves and straw, with little or no animal manures
(or other “green” material), because too much animal manure can over-
load soil with nitrogen and phosphorus. Also, compost with a high
carbon-to-nitrogen ratio will have a higher amount of fungal activity. We
stick with the leaf-based compost because, as I said earlier, the leaves are
local and free.
In our experience, for optimum plant growth, compost should be used
within one year and about 80 percent finished; at this stage, the compost is

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How Deep Mulching Improves Soil Chemistry

Deep mulching improves soil chemistry pH was off, nutrient levels were low, cat-
because good compost is high in nutri- ion exchange capacity (CEC)—a measure
ents—like magnesium, potassium, and of the soil’s ability to absorb nutrients—
calcium—with a balanced pH (between was abysmal. After adding 4" of compost,
5.5 and 8).2 Before we added our deep nutrient levels and CEC registered above
mulch, our soil tests showed bleak results: average and the soil was pH-balanced.

How Deep Mulching Improves the Physical

Structure of Soil
Deep mulching improves structure by
adding fluffy material to the soil surface.
You essentially bypass problems associat-
ed with sandy or clayey soil. Soils retain
an optimum structure for growing plants
for many years as long as you don’t till
and break apart the fungal networks that
hold it in place. Tilling compost is like
cutting framing members out of a house—
the house will come crashing down.
On land that is very clayey or very
sandy, I recommend applying 6" or even
8" of compost. Deeper levels of compost
can also improve drainage in low areas. I
have never seen benefits beyond 8" deep.
In most cases, 4" as a minimum is the On some beds, we added as much as 8" of
right amount. compost to improve structure and drainage.

at its peak, ready to unleash minerals for many seasons. If you buy old com-
post, you are just paying for heavy bulk material because its minerals will
have likely leached away.
Compost for gardening does not need to be “potting mix” perfect. A bit
chunky is fine as long as you can run a seeder through it. Chunky compost
will finish breaking down within a season of application. Don’t burden

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yourself. Trees don’t pulverize their

dead leaves before using them; you
don’t need to, either.
Do avoid compost that is matted
and slimy. This indicates it was poorly
made, without sufficient turns. There
is a difference between a rot pile and
a compost pile.
Important tip: Compost for deep
mulching must have zero weeds.
Weedy compost will bog down your
farm, potentially for years. Test first.
If possible, bring a small load to your
farm and grow a bed of crops in it. Did
weeds grow out of the compost? Do
plants appear healthy? If you don’t
have time for this field testing, then
fill a potting tray with compost and
Deep compost on a garden plot. Com-
post for deep mulching does not need
set it in a south window or in a germi-
to be “potting mix” perfect. Chunks and nation chamber for two weeks,
small sticks will break down over time. watching for weed germination. The

Lettuce seeds germinating in deep-mulch beds. Don’t till compost in; leave it on the sur-
face and grow right into it.

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composting facility should be able to tell you if there are weeds in the mix,
but we have learned the hard way not to always trust what we are told.

A doable, minimalist method for making compost

If good compost is not available for sale in your area, don’t despair. Compost
for deep mulching can be easily made on-farm as long as you have access to
raw materials and a skid loader or tractor with a bucket, and it is typically
ready within one year.
We use a version of Steven Wisbaum’s “low-input composting system”
to make our compost. Wisbaum is a professional composter with decades of
experience; you can read more about his approach online.3 The low-input
composting system takes a simple is best approach, and the compost it pro-
duces is higher quality than any we can buy locally.
In brief, the system relies on a “small number of well-timed, thorough
turns.” No fancy equipment is required other than a tractor with a bucket or
a skid loader. Again, this is a way to farm with few tools. We turn our piles
just three times before they are applied to the field. Here are the two steps
that we use.

1. Collect raw materials.

To find low-cost composting ingredients, start by calling your local street
department or local landscapers. Municipal street departments can tell you
where to find leaves. Spent grains from breweries can often be had for free.
Other low-cost ingredient ideas: grass clippings, poor-quality straw,
moldy hay bale “seconds,” and leftover produce from grocery stores. Some-
times entire fields of hay are cut and discarded if the hay is too wet to bale and
store. This is an excellent way to turn waste into a useful product. I’ve found
that local truckers, who haul bulk
material on a daily basis, are the best
resource for finding low-cost compost-­
making ingredients.
As a general rule, bulk material
will decompose to about one-fourth
its mass. If you require 100 yards of
compost, collect 400 yards of raw
material. However, because raw
materials come in a variety of weights
and shapes, shrinkage can vary widely.
It’s best to build one large heap
rather than several small ones. We We arranged for the city to dump
build one heap each year. Our heaps leaves for free on our property.

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are about 9' wide, 6' tall, and 50' long. The limiting factor is your equipment:
Build piles as tall as your equipment will allow. The reason for tall piles is to
create a large core—the center of the pile where the composting action
takes place.

2. Turn three times.

According to Wisbaum, piles should be turned for four reasons:

a. To mix drier, less-digested outer material with wetter, more-digested

inner material and ensure all ingredients spend time in the core, the
biologically active area within the pile.
b. To restore pile porosity, that is, to loosen it, which introduces oxygen
and increases microbial activity.
c. To break up larger clumps.
d. To even out moisture in the pile.

Timing turns is critical. In our case, we collect leaves in the fall and turn
them the next summer—once each in June, July, and August—because sum-
mer is when the outer material in the pile tends to dry out. Turning in

We keep weeds from creeping into the compost by skim tilling around the pile.

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summer circulates material

from the matted inner core
HOM E G ARD ENER
throughout the pile, keeping
M OD IFICATION
the piles evenly moist.
We’ve found that with this A Minimalist Method
method, our leaf piles are suffi- for Making Home
ciently broken down within Garden Compost
about one year after the leaves
were delivered. This compost is To make compost for a home garden, I
a bit chunky compared to com- recommend this approach. As the season
mercial compost, but we can still goes on, collect your garden scraps into a
direct seed and transplant into pile—4' × 4' is a good size. Cut up woodi-
er parts—like kale stems—with a machete
it, after it is spread. By spring of
as they go into the pile. In the fall, collect
the following year, compost in
all the leaves you can and add them to the
the field is broken down com-
pile. The leaves add “brown” matter, or
pletely and has transformed into carbon (the vegetable scraps are mostly
rich, dark garden soil. “green”). Ideally, create alternating lay-
Another reason to turn ers of browns and greens, like a cake; this
compost is to heat it up. Sus- helps the pile heat up. You don’t need to
tained temperatures above build sides out of wood or other materi-
131°F (55°C) will kill weed al, unless you want to for aesthetics.
seeds and pathogens. We don’t Next, turn the pile with a digging
monitor pile temperatures fork. One turn per year, with a small pile,
is usually enough. The compost should
because our leaf piles are weed-
be ready in 9 to 12 months. Since you are
free to begin with. However, if
constantly adding scraps, I suggest cre-
you are trying to turn weedy ating at least two piles so that one
grasses into compost, make “finished” pile is always ready and wait-
sure the piles heat up to 131°F ing. The compost can be rough when
for three days or more. The best you apply it. Chunks, small twigs, and
way to heat a pile, besides turn- leafy bits are fine, so long as you can
ing, is to add fresh manure and/ plant into it. It’ll continue to break down
or water if the heap is dry. in the garden.
A key advantage with the
low-input method, beyond time
savings, is that fungal networks
within the piles remain more intact. This more hands-off approach lets
nature do the work. As Wisbaum writes:

Scientists and farmers alike are increasingly appreciating the

role that fungi play in maintaining the health of the soil/plant
ecosystem. Therefore, since turning destroys hyphae, which

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are branching filamentous structures that serve as the main

mode of vegetative growth for fungi, compost piles that are
turned less frequently will have higher fungal populations
compared to piles that are turned more frequently.4

This is a case where a slower, simpler approach achieves more.

Why we stopped using cover crops

We stopped growing cover crops because, with the deep-mulch method,
our soils have all the fertility they need. Also, our beds are full of crops
from March until October, if not later—there is no room for cover crop-
ping. As the next chapter explains, we leave old crops—roots and all—in
place as much as is practical; our decomposed crops feed the soil and help
to build soil structure, as a cover crop would. In this way, less work equals
more fertility.

Skim-Coating Every Two Years

We skim-coat our deep-mulch beds with 1" of compost every two years, or
more frequently if crops indicate the need. Fall is an ideal time for skim-coat-
ing. Adding fertility in the fall is another way to farm like a tree—it is a way
to work ahead.
A fall application gives the compost a few months to break down further
before being planted into, and the compost helps stabilize soils through the
winter, acting as a sort of winter jacket. That said, with our tight crop rota-
tions, we don’t always have time in the fall to top-dress all beds, so we add
compost in other seasons, but we do as many in the fall as we can.
This top-dressing supplies fresh food (carbon) for soil microbes, keep-
ing microbial activity high. In our experience, it is not necessary to apply
more compost than this, as long as you’ve started with a thick base of mulch
and as long as you compost your spent crops in place, a practice I’ll describe
in the next chapter.
For this skim coating, we use the same compost that we use to build
beds. We dump a bucket at each end of a bed and then spread the compost
evenly across the surface with a shovel. Sometimes we fill a garden cart
with compost, remove the back, and let the compost drizzle out. The cart
straddles our beds, so there is no compaction. In winter, if the ground is
frozen hard, we will spread compost across the surface with the Ideal
Welding bucket attachment, straddling beds with the skid loader. We skim-
coat beds in the greenhouses by hand or with the aid of the garden cart.

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We use a garden cart with the back removed to dump compost. Then we
spread the compost to a depth of about 1" with a bed rake.

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This Ideal Welding skid loader attachment features an auger to spread com-
post. A flap at the bottom of the bucket opens up. This attachment only
works with relatively dry compost.

I want to emphasize this point: Compost replaces the need for

shipped-in fertilizer. You don’t need minerals like gypsum and calcium
trucked from far away or costly sprays like fish emulsion. Composting done
right can be a complete fertility management system.

Laying Out Plots

For decades, market gardeners commonly grew crops in long rows because
this facilitated the use of mechanical cultivating equipment. In 1989, Eliot
Coleman’s New Organic Grower advocated instead for using 12"-wide path-
ways separated by 30"-, 60"-, or 120"-wide growing areas. This growing-­bed
system quickly took off as the modus operandi on small-scale market farms
because it allowed for a wider variety of crops to be grown and rotated in
and out of a small space. It also produced less compaction because foot
traffic was limited to pathways.
A plot is simply a group of beds lumped together. Growing in
beds—creating uniform growing areas the same width and length for
repeated use—is an excellent way to practice the principle of “standardizing
work.” Here are eight tips to simplify plot building and maintenance.

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What’s in a Teaspoon of Soil

As of this writing, scientists estimate have begun to map out these interactions
that a single teaspoon of soil contains in more detail, deepening our knowledge
50 billion microbes (50 billion!), includ- about soil biota. It is outside the scope of
ing 10,000 different species of organisms. this book to explain this soil science in
Incredibly, 1 acre of soil can contain a ton depth, but for good summaries of this
of active bacteria. Deep mulching keeps new research, I recommend Jen Aron’s
these life-forms optimally active. articles in Growing for Market magazine
The interactions between these (growingformarket.com); Jesse Frost’s
microbes and plants are complex and useful guide, The Living Soil Handbook;
still mostly mysterious. However, espe- and Dr. Elaine Ingham’s foundational
cially in the past 20 years, soil scientists work at soilfoodweb.com.

1. Build plots no wider than 100'.

Plots should be designed for ease of access. You want to quickly get to your
beds to tend and harvest crops. Our plots are never wider than 100'—about
15 beds lumped together—so we can quickly encircle a plot on foot.

2. Choose a bed width that you can straddle or easily hop across.
A standard bed width on market farms is 30", in part because Coleman
promoted this width and also because 30" can be easily straddled by most
people. We use 42"-wide beds because it gives us an additional 12" of grow-
ing space. In our greenhouses, our bed widths are wider—54"—to maximize
space even more. Optimum bed width is up to you, but in general wider is
more efficient as long as you can easily step across the growing surface.

3. Choose a bed length between 50' and 100'.

Ideal bed length is also subjective, but a good rule is to stay between 50' and
100'. Beds longer than 100' require too much walking from end to end. Beds
shorter than 50' aren’t big enough for efficient production. Important note:
Keep all beds the same length so that row covers, drip tapes, and tarps can
be used interchangeably.
If you are designing a farm and think you may eventually use a paperpot
transplanter, I recommend 75'-long beds. Beds at our new farm are 75' in order
to minimize waste of the paperpot chains: A 42"-wide by 75'-long bed accom-
modates two chains at 6" spacing. We grow many of our core crops (such as
cilantro, basil, and lettuce) using this system, as I describe in appendix A. Also,

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Overhead view of a Clay Bottom Farm plot. Tiny-farm plots should be small enough to
easily access crops but large enough for sufficient production. Photo courtesy of Adam Derstine.

our largest greenhouse is about 150' long, so when that growing space is
divided in half, bed length in the greenhouse matches the field.

4. 12" pathways are best.

In the deep-mulch system, compost is spread uniformly across the entire
plot. Thus, paths between growing beds should be as narrow as practical.
Most anyone can walk on a path 12" wide. The one exception to this rule on
our farm: For greenhouse tomatoes, we widen paths to 24" to accommodate
a harvest cart.

5. Slope beds and pathways downhill.

When laying out beds, take slope into account. You want to use the 12"
pathways between plots as drainageways—water should run off the beds,
into the paths, and away from the garden. For optimum drainage, slope beds
and pathways downhill. If beds are oriented the wrong direction, across the
slope, water can collect in the paths during heavy rains.

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A Simpler Way to Manage Pathways

I recommend leaving pathways clear, We’ve found that the most efficient
without adding mulches like straw, grass approach to pathway management is to
clippings, wood chips, or cardboard. At shallowly cultivate them early and
the scale of a home garden, wood chips often—before you even see weeds—with
and other mulches create a tidy appear- Hoss fixed-blade sweeps attached to a
ance and, for many, work well. However, wheel hoe. The Tilmor E-Ox electric
on a market scale, these mulches make it wheel hoe also works well for this job if
more cumbersome to remove weeds your pathways are wider than 16". I love
when the mulches break down. Also, this tool already, and I have used it for
mulching with these materials adds only a season. I describe these tools in
work and cost. Remember, simple is best. chapter 8.

To initially establish pathways, we use an aluminum scoop shovel and walk backward,
pulling the shovel along to create a smooth path. The goal is to mark an area for workers
to walk, not to create a raised bed.

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6. Use walkways as drainageways.

Likewise, walkways—the mowed areas around your plot—should be designed
with drainage in mind. Walkways should be slightly lower than the garden
plot. This will happen naturally once you add 4" of compost to the plot.
If your walkways lack adequate slope or slope the wrong direction, I
recommend tilling them up and reshaping them. In 2021, we tilled a walk-
way in the fall, reshaped it so that it carried water away from the garden,
and seeded it with grass in early spring. We use 6'-wide grass walkways
between our plots, sufficient for driving a golf cart.

7. Permanently stake the corners.

Essential tip: Pound permanent steel or wood posts into the four corners of
your plots once you have them staked out. Plot boundaries tend to shift with
time, and permanent corners will let you reestablish the edges as needed.

8. Edge every season.

There are three reasons to keep a clean edge between garden and yard.
First, a clear demarcation helps you know where to spread compost. Sec-
ond, a clean edge keeps weeds from creeping in. Third, it just looks better.
Every season, we string mason line between our four corner posts and edge
our plots with a battery-powered edger (see page 156). This can also be
done by hand with a straight-bladed shovel but will take much longer.

Getting Started with Deep Mulching

at Clay Bottom Farm
A few days after we bought our new farm, I pounded in wooden temporary
stakes to mark the corners of our two growing plots and of our first green-
house. Then I tilled the plots about 4" deep with a 34-horsepower Kubota
tractor and 60" tiller attachment in order to break through the pasture grasses
and other perennials. In retrospect, plowing first would have done a better
job because the pasture was full of deeply rooted, stubborn perennials. A few
butterfly weeds and Canadian thistle continue to push their way through our
deep mulch. We pull these out by hand as soon as we see them in the spring.
Then we added compost from our old farm to these new plots, topped
with compost that we purchased from a local environmental center. Work-
ing piecemeal but methodically, it took two seasons to eventually cover all
growing surfaces with at least 4" of compost. In a few places, to even out
the grade or build up extra-sandy spots, we covered the soil 6" to 8" deep
with compost.

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The first plot that we covered was the ground on which we planned
to build our first greenhouse. By laying compost on the surface, we were
able to build up the ground inside the greenhouse so that water drained
away easily.
Next, we built a fence whose posts mark the boundary of our growing
area. The fence is made with salvaged wooden posts, spaced about 20' apart,
with a line of electrical horse tape spaced 6", 12", and 18" off the ground to
discourage groundhogs and 4' and 7' off the ground to dissuade deer. The
fence is not fool-proof. An occasional deer or groundhog will find its way
through, but the fence (and our farm dog, a cattle dog) stops most of them.
The electric charger is plugged into a timer that turns off the fence during
the daytime. We mounted a switch that controls power to the fence near the
door to our house, so we can easily turn it off manually as needed. Proper
fencing is an excellent way to prevent waste.

The posts of this fence also mark the corners of the plot. This electric fence
is only energized at night. We can easily step through it to access plots.

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 Setting Up a Lean Micro Farm

The biggest mistake we made, as we built our plots, was to underesti-

mate the amount of drainage they would need. During the first year on our
new farm, Goshen experienced a 100-year flood. Many homes and busi-
nesses were ruined, and water ran through our farm for days. The deep
compost soaked up rain like a sponge; but in a corner of one plot, the water
collected because it had nowhere to go. Plant roots became waterlogged,
and many died. In response, we reshaped pathways to carry water away
faster. We also more intentionally shaped the pathways and connected
them together, forming a sort of shallow canal, to direct water around
greenhouses and plots to a retention pond that we dug at the south end of
our farm. In that low corner, we added another 2" to 3" of compost. Now,
we don’t have water problems in that corner.
In summary, to start high-production beds quickly, lay down thick
compost made from local ingredients, and let biology get to work. This will
simplify your fieldwork for years to come. With this one step, you suppress
weeds, hypercharge the soil biosphere, and supply plants with nutrients for
many seasons. Deep mulching is the gateway to a high-profit micro farm.

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