Since receiving the great news about our grant, we have been scouring equipment manufactures and dealerships all along the eastern seaboard. After much searching, deliberation, and deal making, we have our equipment in hand and are getting acclimated to the new manuals and maintenance procedures.
This is the Great Planes seed drill. It offers a planting solution that “drills” the seed into untilled soil, preserving soil structure and biology.
It plants a line of seeds at a prescribed rate depending on what you are trying to plant. For instance, cereal rye is planted at 100 pounds per acre. The machine must be calibrated and adjusted to keep seed flowing
This funny looking implement is the Roller crimper. Its job is to flatten, crimp, and kill plants with its HEAVY chevron patterned blade. This helps us turn cover crops into mulch that protects the soil surface and increases soil biology.
Our new flail mower chops vegetation into tiny, easily compostable pieces that are digested back into the soil. We use this tool for “green manure” cover crops, that are planted with the sole intention of benefitting the soil.