Welcoming our New Walk-behind Tractor

Designed for small-scale farms (and made in Italy by the same crew who build Ferraris 🏎️), this mighty little unit is already transforming how we work the land here at our market garden.

We recently put it to the test and tackled a mixed cover crop that was head-high in places 😅—a mission that would’ve otherwise seen our team spend hours pulling it out by hand, composting, and tarping over to finish the job. Instead, we went over it a few times with this handy machine, and the job was done in less than an hour. Now we’ll let the mulch rest for 3 weeks, and we’ll be ready to transplant our broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, growing strong for an autumn harvest. 🍂

It’s even better to know that this way of mulching is so much more effective for our soil life. All the plant residue goes straight back into the ground, building organic matter, a home for worms and insects, and restoring the life of our whenua. Chop and drop permaculture at its best. 🙌

Mulching: Creating a thick layer of biomass on top of the soil, to help with water retention and create a favourable biome for  the life and soil microbes beneath the surface.

Learn more about the The Ferrari 340 PowerSafe tractor at Active Vista here.