When Pennypack Farm took over farming this land in the spring of 2003, it had been growing conventional corn, grains and pumpkins for the previous 20 or so years.  As organic vegetable farming requires an entirely different kind of soil than do these crops, considerable amendments and organic matter were added - and continue to be, on an annual basis - to optimize the soil for growing food.

It has been well established in the scientific community that most farm crops - including fruit, vegetables, and grains - have lost approximately half of their nutritional value since World War II.  And in some cases, particularly regarding trace elements, the amount is less than half or nonexistent.  There are two very simple reasons for this - one is soil erosion.  With the advent of large farm tractors occuring after WW 2, vast stretches of ground could now be tilled up and planted, often twice a year.  At the time, many farmers were not aware of soil conservation practices and the result was a washing away of the fertile topsoil that had been there for generations.  Once this precious ground was gone, farmers began farming the subsoil underneath which was not as productive.  And thus begn the cycle that continues today, of adding ever increasing amounts of chemical fertilizer and pesticides to compensate for poor soils.  And finally, unfortunately, the lack in the soil is passed through to a lack in the crop.

The second reason for this decline in food (and soil) nutrition is intensive farming and the failure to replenish soils with the necessary amendments on a regular basis.  Most accounts of farming pre-WW2 - where most of the work was done by hand, horse or oxen - suggest that the land was treated more gently and not farmed as intensively as today.  Farmers were likely to rest fields where crops had most recently grown and move production to well-rested ground while growing hay or just letting last years vegetable patch sit fallow for a season or more.  Economics were different in those days and we spent nearly 30 percent of our income on food compared to less than half that today.  Farmers in those days were not as pressured to produce quantity and could afford to give the land the time it needed to rest in between vegetable and animal growing cycles.  

The result of all this has been 50 or 60 years of the soil (and food) losing its nutritional value.  What we and other small sustainable farms around the country are trying to do is reverse this trend - to put the nutrition back in the soil and back in the food.  Each year we get our soil tested and add amendments as indicated by our soil testing lab.  These amendments are entirely organic and in most cases are mined or come from sea floor deposits.  Some of the compounds we apply on an annual basis include nitrogen (usually composted chicken manure), potassium sulfate, sulfur, calcium, gypsum, iron, manganese, zinc, boron, copper, and molybdenum to name a few.

In addition to the fertilizer blends, we spread composted leaves and grow cover crops.  Cover crops add biomass to the soil when they are turned under in the spring and their root systems improve soil quality.  Some cover crops also fix nitrogen which allows us to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer we apply.  In 7 years of farming the main field, we have nearly doubled the organic matter content through these practices.  Having high organic matter content in the soil is vital for stimulating the growth of the biologicals in the soils - worms, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and beneficial insects.  These biologicals then help make the nutrients above more available to the plants.

 While we do not have the acreage to rest ground on a regular basis, by maintaining the practices described above, we are continually improving our soil and the food that comes from it.