March 12, 2021
When the ground freezes at night and thaws during the day, the topsoil expands and contracts leaving tiny fissures in the soil. The fissures are only there for a few weeks each spring, and only a few hours each day, but we make good use of them by “frost seeding” our pastures.
In the morning when the ground is frozen and contracted, we scatter pasture seed on the surface. The seeds fall into the cracks and are subsequently covered up again, later in the day, when the soil warms up and expands. It's a magically effortless way to add clover and other beneficial plants, without having to disturb the soil, or all the happy microbes that live there (and that resent being disturbed). Keeping microbes happy after all, is one of our most important tasks. Because when the microbes are happy, the worms are happy, the soil is healthy, our pastures are lush, and our sheep are well nourished and content.
In fact, I like to tell people that Anne and I are sheep farmers- or pig farmers depending on the audience, but honestly we are really just microbe farmers and worm ranchers. Someday I think we humans will come to understand the complexity, the necessity and might I even say “sacredness” of the soil beneath our feet- the stuff we now refer to as “dirt” and sweep aside without a second thought. But until that time, I'll continue to refer to us as sheep farmers, as there's not a lot of panache, in calling oneself a worm rancher...