Kale is wonderfully nutritious for the soil.  The pictures show us rotovating in the old Kale crop that has ‘bolted’ or flowered to prepare the land for the next crop potatoes.

By rotovating in the kale like this, we need less artificial fertilisers and less chemicals for the potatoes because the kale reduces the occurrence of the potato cyst eel worm (a big problem in potatoes).  Kale also improves the quality of the potatoes skin so there are less lumpy or ‘scabby’ bits on the outside of the potato making it more pleasant to eat too.

We use as little artificial fertilisers as possible and are always looking for new ways to reduce it even further.  This year we are trying out compost from recycled green waste from gardens.  Not only does it reduce our need for artificial fertiliser but it reduces plant diseases so fewer fungicides are needed.  It also increases our soils humus content, which means that we are putting carbon dioxide into the soil and taking it out of the atmosphere – in scientific terms ‘carbon sequestration’.  Giving us some real benefits to the environment and to maintaining the quality of our land.