Tag: soil-health

On Tuesday, October 29, I went to the meeting of farmers with all of the various agencies involved in attempting to help. A representative from one of the agencies reported it could be five years before some “programs” to assist farmers would be implemented.  Despite this, I will say I left that meeting feeling relieved that we no longer have to deal with animals and their feeding and housing as so many other farmers do.  Strange where one can find positive feelings!

We did get the internet back on Wednesday, October 30.  And my very first phone call that came was from the USDA asking if they could come out and test our soil. Three people in three vehicles arrived on Thursday, October 31 at 9:00 a.m. and did just that!  We were told not to incorporate the MUD into our soil until we got the results back just in case further testing is needed. We still do not have the results of those November 5 soil tests.  One tractor has come back from repair and the second has been towed in.

We do have a major rock field in a couple of the garden areas parallel to the creek (and water flow). We were told our planting methods allowed most of our top soil to be retained which is a very good thing! The fabric held soil in gardens perpendicular to the creek. Also, the dense staking of our peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes seems to have help retain the soil. Our deep-rooted cover crops did a good job of holding ground in our areas not tilled and those sections are “greening up” nicely which is a sign of healthy soil. Once again we are relieved, as apparently, it could have been worse.

We and our neighbor have been concentrating on rebuilding our road to our houses. Robert has been doing some work in the gardens each day.  Interestingly, it was still quite wet and muddy even five weeks after!  We are going to need heavy equipment to remove debris and big trucks to haul that debris away. I will update as I know more.

This weekend we found this in one of our blueberry rows. Perhaps we can locate the owner! The 500-gallon LP tank which landed in the front field was claimed after three weeks, so there is hope.

Thank you for all of your well wishes. We realize Helene has been a stressful time for everyone and we are not alone. We all must look for the Blessings we do have during this upcoming Thanksgiving Season and be grateful for them.