Earlier this week I borrowed a seven-shank chisel plow and plowed the entire acre. This implement breaks up compaction 18″ down without turning the soil over. Less compaction creates an environment that is root-friendly due to better drainage and aeration. One reason I like the chisel plow for primary tillage is because it minimizes the number of weed seeds brought to the surface. And we all know what that means.

I began to prepare the first seven beds by tilling the top two inches of the soil I’d just plowed. The first veggies to be planted will be peas: sugar snap and field peas. The sugar snap peas will feed us. The field peas will feed the soil by fixing nitrogen and providing organic matter when they are tilled under sometime in July.

Want a chisel plow of your own? Me, too. Click on the Market Farm Implement link (to the right under Seeds, Supplies and Equipment) to look at chisel plows and other must-have agricultural implements.