We have about an acre of land we’d like to regain from having gone fallow for almost ten years. And, this being New Hampshire, we have rocks. Lots of big, hidden rocks. So hiring a guy to come on in and till isn’t really an option. That, and we are veering toward a no-till, low-till version of farming as we gain a better understanding of the workings of the bacteria and fungus that inhabit our soil and promote healthy, strong crops. So to that end, we are using a pig tractor.
What’s a pig tractor? you ask. Well, it’s a portable pen that our three pigs are slowly moving about over that acre of ground in. As they are moved, a day or two at a time in place, they tear up the ground. We encourage them to root up bushes that have sprung up by hiding a little corn or peanuts in the ground around them. Pigs have amazing snouts, and they can tear up almost anything once they get going on it.
As they move, we are planting field peas as a cover crop, and once the pigs are done, we will turn under the peas and use them as compost to be able to plant our goal crop, a field full of barley. Dad wants to grow his own beer…

