Nourishing the soil

Our farm produces organically, pursuing various objectives of environmental sustainability.

One of the central policies guiding our agriculture is, precisely, care of the soil in order to avoid its progressive drying out due to the age-old process of desertification, understood both as the advance of the desert and the impoverishment of the organic substance in the soil.

This phenomenon affects many areas of the earth, traditionally referring to African and Asian areas, but Europe is not excluded from this process which, in fact, affects several territories such as some areas of Spain or the regions of Puglia, Sicily, Basilicata and Molise, in Italy.

Green manure is one of several organic farming techniques we use to promote soil conservation and regeneration.

Generally, legumes are considered the optimal planting type to carry out this practice due to their ability to be nitrogen fixers. In 2018, we proceeded in exactly this way, planting field beans. This practice can also be implemented in a different way. In 2021, in fact, we implemented a 'simplified green manure', taking advantage of the spontaneous blooms in the area. We did not plant crops specifically for green manure, but left the spontaneous grassland free to grow and, in spring, we ploughed and buried it as normal to obtain organic matter and natural fertiliser for the soil.

The peculiarity of this practice is that during autumn and winter the soil can defend itself from erosion by sprouting crops and, at the same time, it produces its own nutrients: in spring, the green manure crops are ploughed and buried so that the organic substance decomposing is transformed into humus, excellent natural fertiliser.

In addition to green manure techniques, in accordance with organic farming practices, we add organic fertiliser to the soil every year. This not only brings the traditional elements of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to the soil, but above all it brings organic matter, which is essential for soil improvement.