CAPAY HILLS ORCHARD

Soil Health: Almond trees use a lot of nitrogen, but adding nitrogen alone is not proper soil management. First, in autumn we spread 50.000-150,000 lbs. of organic compost on the orchard floor. The purpose of compost is to build soil structure, add nutrients (such as nitrogen, potassium, etc.), increase soil water-holding capacity, improve soil aeration and cation exchange, supply organic material for beneficial soil organisms, and stabilize soil pH. We also add chicken manure from an organic grower and gypsum, mined in Nevada. After those inputs, we complete a light rototill to prepare for our cover crop. We use specifically chosen annual plants (Mustard, beans, radish, clover, vetch) which will aerate the soil with deep roots and/or inoculate the soil with nitrogen fixing roots and add organic material to the soil. In spring, sheep graze the orchard and deposit manure for the next year. In 2015, with the drought ever-present, we inoculated the cover crop seeds with a naturally-..

Primary location: Esparto United States