Soil health plays a crucial role in plant production. After every Nitrogen heavy crop, it is important to increase the nitrogen levels of the soil again.

This year I planted a large tomato crop, now although nature didn't play nice and I lost the majority of the harvest, in the end, these plants still played their part in depleting the absorbable nitrates present in the land.

And now, it is my turn to put back what my crop has taken out of the soil.

In order to restore the nitrates in the soil after a nitrogen-heavy crop such as tomatoes I will plant some legumes.

Legumes alone is not what fixes the soil. It is their symbiosis with a naturally occurring bacteria called rhizobia that really gets the job done.

Legumes such as peas and beans live in symbiosis with rhizobia bacteria. The rhizobia bacteria does a great job at absorbing nitrogen from the atmosphere and converting it into usable nitrogen that plants can easily absorb. This is done by the bacteria inhabiting the root nodules on the legume's root system. Once the legume dies, the nitrogen is slowly released back into the soil.

For my legume crop, I have decided to go with pigeon peas due to their hardy nature and the multi-faceted plant utility.

Pigeon peas are a great food source the peas are high in protein and other nutrients which makes them great for the dinner table. But on a sustainable farm, diversity is key, and the great thing about the pigeon pea is that the entire plant can be used as livestock feed. so while this plant works towards repairing the nitrogen levels in the soil, it also provides sustainable food for the house as well as the animals.

Getting ready to plant

Some of the pigeon peas from a previous growth were left on the shrubs to plant ripen and dry. Once the pods were ready they were harvested and dehulled.
Once the land was cleared and ready for planting the peas were soaked in water overnight to boost the germination rate and then planted directly into the soil about 1.5 meters apart.

The seeds were planted 1cm deep into well-drenched soil.

Although irrigation is in place, we planted the seeds during rainfall which spared us any initial irrigation. As young plants, the pigeon peas will be watered sporadically on dry days to help them establish and grow into healthy plants. But after that, these plants will receive very minimal watering and we will be relying on the natural rainfall.

Crop rotation is a great way to keep your soil health thriving, but that alone is not enough to keep the balance at an optimum. It is also important to feed your soil with fertilizers sporadically to give it the necessary boost it needs.

For this, I prefer a combination of natural options and make use of homemade vermicompost, compost, fermented plant materials, and available manure.