Climate Adaptation: Waterway Mix Seeding
In 2024 we experienced catastrophic flooding on our farm. We received a years worth of rainfall in just May and June. You may recall the nearby Rapidan Dam failed, downtown Mankato homes and businesses had flooded basements and many farmers experienced significant crop loss and difficulty accessing their fields. Unfortunately, climate models predict that these types of storms will only happen more frequently as the planet continues to warm.
This year we took action to help adapt our farm to climate change. We decided to take more of our lowest ground out of production and plant a cover crop that consists of a mix of species that can better withstand wet soil conditions. To compensate for the lost ground we took some of our pasture land into vegetable production.
The cover crop mix will provide a variety of benefits to the farm and the environment around us. First, it will help to reduce soil erosion during heavy rainfall events resulting in less soil ending up in the waterway. Second, it will help to reduce the amount of nutrients from our soil that are leached into the waterway. Finally, it will help suppress weeds and be relatively low maintenance - requiring mowing only a couple times per year.
A bit of history on our farm. Before the mid 20th century there was a creek that ran right through our farm. See the photo below. The powers that were decided it would be a good idea to move the creek such that it was square with the section. It wasn’t a good idea. Every time we get a heavy rainfall the creek is formed anew and precisely where it had been. Mother natures wants her creek back.
The green rectangle is where our farm is located. The dark wiggly line intersecting the green rectangle is where the creek was.
Back to the waterway mix. Below is a photo collage of the steps I took to seed the mix including a picture from last year that shows the flooding and if you look into the background of the photo you can see the “creek.” Also, not pictured is the first tillage pass I made to loosen the soil and knock down weeds.
Today, as I write this, it’s raining softly and steadily which will be perfect to get the waterway mix seeds germinated and growing! We can’t wait to see what it looks like in a couple years when it’s well established!
