Crop Rotation at Canara Farm

Hi and welcome to the latest blog from our very special market garden, at Canara Farm, Mylor. We hope you enjoyed our previous feature about the squash varieties we have currently growing. Today Pete will be talking about the crop rotation practices at the farm.

'' The scale of agriculture we have on the farm relies on the use of heavy machinery. Certain tasks I have to preform involve plowing and forming plant beds and this is done using a counter-rotating rotavating machine. We use crop rotation methods to protect the condition of our soil and to manage weed and pest control. ''

'' All of the instruments we use on the farm create a pan or hardened area which can affect the soil around 10 inches below the surface. It is always a good idea to care for your soil to prevent erosion and to maintain good drainage. A natural method of achieving this is to grow grass and clover. ''

'' Areas of our farm land are given a grass and clover break. The roots from the grass and clover penetrate deep into the soil and create natural cracks in the earth. This enables good drainage and better hydration for the next crop to be planted. They also add nutrients to the soil, release hidden minerals located deep within the ground and protect the soil over the winter. ''

'' This technique is an organic practice that I like to use and I have seen improved long term results from resting the land. The process involves taking 25% of your potential productive land and setting it aside for the benefit of the remaining 3 years. It’s a long term process which revives the condition of your soil and results in high yielding quality grown crops.''

We hope you have enjoyed reading about the crop rotation practices on the farm and we look forward to sharing more with you. See you soon.