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Our Growing Practices
We strive to address the social and environmental injustices that our current food system perpetuates. By stewarding land responsibly, we can localize our food system, protect resources, and reduce our reliance on supply chains to access food.
Our practices reflect our mission to nourish and empower our community. We are USDA Certified Organic through Baystate Organic Certifiers. We follow all USDA Organic standards that prohibit the use of dangerous synthetic chemicals and sprays and complete annual site inspections, testing, and detailed audits of our records. In addition, we are Real Organic certified, which means that we focus on practices that promote biodiversity, protect the local watershed, and protect soil structure, as well as create a safe and humane environment for workers and livestock.
Resiliency through biodiversity.
In order to grow food in the future, our food system needs diversity in everything from types of food producers to diversity of microorganisms in our soil.
On this farm, we grow over 50 types of fruits and vegetables on just about 3 of our 8 acres. This means we have to steward the land responsibly and leave the soil better than the way we found it while also reducing inputs. We select all of our crop varieties carefully to maximize our small space and provide the best flavor. We also use methods such as precise succession planting, tunnels, and shade cloth to ensure we are providing reliable food throughout the season. In addition, we work to create a living system on the farm that encourages biodiversity at every level. This is achieved through pollinator plantings, living mulches, and our 2 acres of woodlands.
Soil Fertility
Our soil fertility is monitored by regular soil testing. If needed, natural sources of nutrients such as compost, blood meal, bone meal, pulverized seashells, along with strategic cover cropping are used. Most importantly, we spend our winters creating precise crop plans that follow a strict crop rotation to naturally protect soil fertility.
Controlling Pests
Pests are controlled through physical barriers such as deer fencing and insect netting as well as the occasional bug squishing! Our crop rotation also functions to prevent pests and diseases from building up in the soil. In addition, we start most of our crops in the greenhouse so that our plants have time to develop into vigorous seedlings before being planted outdoors. This method allows our plants to better tolerate pressure from pests, diseases, and even weeds.
Protecting the Soil
To protect the soil and prevent erosion, Ramblin’ Sol Farm uses reduced tillage methods that limit how often the soil is worked and includes perennial buffer strips that soak up excess water and nutrients during rain events. We also utilize tarps and landscape fabric to reduce weed pressure and prepare our soil for planting. All of our cultivation (weed control) is done using hand tools, which reduce the compaction and disruption that our tractor would cause.