La Grelinette

In English, the broadfork…which puts another tick mark in the column that everything sounds better in French. For Bezold Farms, 2021 is the year of the broadfork and the silage tarp, bâche d’ensilage.

Libération! The process goes like this: Cover a section of the market garden with silage tarp. Weigh it down with sandbags and leave it alone for weeks depending on the extent and type of green growth covering the soil. Remove silage tarp which has killed the green growth. Broadfork a bed to prepare the soil for planting. No turning of the soil which is better for the soil organisms, the micro-herds. It is gentle on the nature of the soil and kind to the broadforker. Birds cannot be heard when the internal combustion engine is grinding away. And broadforking goes easy on the broadforker since it is a natural, rhythmic motion that relies on the tool as a lever, a familiar simple machine.

The broadfork works in our market garden because the organic matter in the soil has been increasing for years since organic principles were used before we earned our organic certification. The difference between what the soil was before and what it is now is astonishing. But the effect of the silage tarp is not to be dismissed. Covering the soil with a silage tarp or landscape fabric will eliminate the green growth, including grass, when left in place for enough time. And the soil will be different from what it was before it was covered. It will not miraculously become fertile, but it will miraculously become dig-able.

French is a most appropriate language for the market garden. Thanks to Eliot Coleman, Bezold Farms learned years ago about the French maraîchers and French intensive gardening. The story continues at Ferme du Bec Hellouin chronicled in the book, Miraculous Abundance, which is an inspiring tale for anyone who eats.

2021, l’année de la grelinette! Hand tools are freeing us at last.