Nurturing our land
One often hears about being ‘custodians of the land’. We don’t believe that here at CROP. We are not the watchers, the managers nor the owners. We are partners, inextricably linked in a beautiful dance outdoors… observing, thanking, giving, receiving.
Where possible, we try to mimic nature as much as possible and we are also sustainable at heart. We often joke and say we spend more time on the soil than on the flowers, and that is not far from the truth.
We use the ‘No Dig’ method, preferring a broadfork to aerate the soil to maintain soil structure and microbial populations. Organic fertilisers and homemade composts stimulated with Bokashi help to supercharge the beds, as does Biochar, which we believe is a game changer for plant health and growth. We also use biological means of controlling insects when populations get too big, e.g parasitic wasps from Bioforce. It just feels right using nature to control nature.
We experiment with landscape fabric and without it (weeding is a pleasure with it) and often plant heat loving varieties in the fabric with good success. When we don’t use landscape fabric, natural mulches are used instead and include sheep dags and ‘compromised’ hay bales. We love to use the neighbouring farms’ waste products to retain moisture, protect from drying winds and continue to feed the soil.
This past couple of years, we’ve been experimenting with living mulches and green manures, trying to keep living roots in the soil for as long as possible.
Weekly foliar spraying is always the aim, but it’s a difficult practice to keep up religiously so we don’t beat ourselves up too much about it if it slips sometimes! In fact, we’re often surprised just how little extra the flowers need if the soil is just right for them.
