Good morning!
I’ll confess something to you: I'm not exactly a fan of the heat. Imagine that, on top of that, in this job the sun beats down hard for hours... And you end up as red as a tomato.
But hey, what has to be done, has to be done. With sun or without sun, we keep harvesting. Right now we are starting to harvest peaches...
I told you I taste the products beforehand... Well, in this case, does it count as tasting if I tried five peaches? They are so delicious! But be quick, because they are a limited harvest.
We also have Valencian tomatoes fresh from my garden and oranges (though there are fewer and fewer left). Other seasonal gems have also arrived: striped eggplants, mountain cherries...
Precisely, the other day I was chatting with Alexander, one of the cherry farmers. And what he told me got me thinking.
In the countryside, some things don't change... and others seem new, but are actually old. The curious thing is that many of the “novelties” are things our grandparents used to do.
Many farmers in our network cultivate as their parents or grandparents did. Vicent, with his Vivaldi potatoes. Clara, with her zucchini. All with something in common: respect for the natural rhythm of the land.
Going back to the topic, Alexander told me that years ago he made an unusual decision. He stopped tilling the land in his cherry orchards.
(Tilling is turning over the soil where our crops are, a common practice here in the countryside).
Anyway, he said goodbye to the tractor and the plow and opted for something that many at the time called madness. Today, he says it was one of the best decisions he has ever made.
Instead of plowing, he maintains living cover crops: clover, vetch, herbs that are not grown for harvest, but to care for the soil 🌱.
We do something similar in the orange groves: we let some of these “weeds” (which are not so bad) grow because they help more than they hinder.
And what is achieved with that? A lot.
The soil retains its structure. The tunnels of worms and networks of beneficial fungi are not broken. The earth breathes better, retains more water, and fills with tiny life that feeds the trees from below.
In addition, legumes (like vetch or clover 🍀) have a superpower: they trap nitrogen from the air and transform it into natural fertilizer. Without the need for chemicals.
The result? Stronger trees, less stress... and fruit that tastes better. This year, many of Alexander's cherries turned out especially sweet, with a deeper flavor.
And believe me, since we left the "weeds" under my orange trees, a special symbiosis has also been created.
Sometimes we don't think about it, but the flavor also comes from underground.
And that's not all: these covers prevent erosion, conserve moisture, and beneficial insects and birds return.
A small ecosystem is created that takes care of itself. With patience, yes. But also with a lot of intelligence.
Of course, it's not magic. You have to know when to cut the grass, what species to choose, how to manage them... But you just have to see that field to notice that something is working.
I wanted to tell you about it because, in the end, it's a simple lesson: sometimes, the best thing we can do is take a step back and let nature do its job.
And if you are lucky enough to try these cherries we harvested this week, do it calmly.
They don't just have sugar. They carry history, care... and a different way of looking at the countryside.
See you next week and...
Thanks for being there!
A big hug from the countryside,
