Once Upon a Farm - February Newsletter

Author

Sam Once Upon a Farm
March 01, 2026

🌱 The Backyard Farm Update

Welcome back to another month at Once Upon a Farm!

I don't think the weather has made up its mind about anything this summer. We've had cool stretches that had me wondering if autumn had come early, then days so hot and still that the chickens spent the afternoon panting in the shade under the plum tree. Wind, rain, sun, more wind. I've given up trying to predict what's coming next and I'm just working with whatever the day gives me, which is probably the more honest approach to farming anyway.

The gardens are well and truly in full harvest mode now, and the balancing act has begun. Some of the early crops are finished — the first beans are done, a few of the tomato plants that went in early have given everything they had and are looking pretty sad about it. So I'm pulling those out, clearing the beds, and trying to stay on top of what's still producing at the same time. It's that stage of the season where you're simultaneously harvesting, preserving, and tidying up, and none of those things ever seem to happen in the right order. I always find myself standing in the garden with an armload of ripe tomatoes, looking at a bed that needs clearing, and another one that needs picking, and just having to choose. You can only do the next thing.

The chickens know what time of year it is. They've been watching me clear those beds, and they are very keen to get in there. Late summer is one of their favourite parts of the year because they start getting access back into the garden beds I've been keeping them out of all season. It's a reward for both of us, really — they get all the bugs and weed seeds and leftover vegetation, and I get garden beds that are cleared and fertilised without having to do much of the work myself. I'm planning something a bit different this year though, which I'll tell you about in a moment.

🤔 Pottering Ponders

I've been thinking a lot about experiments lately. Not in the lab-coat sense of the word, but in the farming sense. The kind where you have an idea, you try it, and you pay attention to what happens.

This autumn and winter, I want to try running a proper cover crop and chicken grazing rotation through the garden beds. The idea is pretty simple — once a bed is cleared, I let whatever seeds are present germinate (from the horse manure, from plants that went to seed, whatever is there). I give those greens a few weeks to grow, then I let the chickens in to graze them down. Then I shut the chickens out, let it all regrow, and repeat. A cycle that keeps turning through the cooler months.

I've done versions of this before, but I want to be more intentional about it this time. What I'm curious about is whether this repeated cycle of growth, grazing, regrowth, and more grazing might actually be better for the soil than just one cover crop sitting there undisturbed all winter. When the chickens graze and scratch, they're adding their own manure, they're working the plant material into the soil surface, they're stimulating the soil biology. And then when they're shut out, the roots start growing again, feeding the soil life from below. It's a pulse — grow, graze, rest, grow, graze, rest. I don't know if it will be better. That's why it's an experiment. But I think the logic is sound, and it's the kind of thing I can only learn by doing.

There's something I find deeply satisfying about approaching the farm this way. Not following a rigid plan that someone else made up, but watching what works in my specific patch of dirt, with my specific flock, and my specific set of circumstances. It takes years to really understand a piece of land, and I'm still learning mine. I think that's part of what keeps me going out there every day — the knowing that I don't know everything yet, and that the garden will keep teaching me if I keep paying attention.

🌍 What's in Season?

Northern Hemisphere — Late Winter

The days are getting a tiny bit longer now, even if it doesn't feel like it yet. This is the month for dreaming and planning, and for those of you with a bit of space indoors, it's time to start some seeds.

Planting: Start tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant seeds indoors under lights if you haven't already. Onion seeds too, if you grow from seed rather than sets. In milder climates, you can direct-sow peas and broad beans outdoors now, and get cool-season greens like lettuce and spinach going under cover. If you've been meaning to order seed garlic for autumn planting, now is a good time to start looking for suppliers.

Harvesting: If you have winter crops still going — kale, leeks, stored root vegetables, winter squash from the pantry — keep using them up. Sprouting and microgreens are a great way to get fresh greens on the plate when the garden is quiet.

Simple Recipe — Roasted Leek and Potato Soup: Take a few leeks (use the whole thing, green parts and all), a few potatoes, and roast them with a bit of olive oil and salt until they're soft and starting to caramelise. Blend with stock until smooth. A bit of cream if you're feeling fancy. It's the kind of thing that uses up what's in the garden or pantry and tastes like you put far more effort in than you did.

Southern Hemisphere — Late Summer

Down here, we're riding that wave between peak harvest and the beginning of the slowdown. It's busy, it's hot (sometimes), and the garden is both giving generously and starting to fade in places.

Planting: Get your autumn and winter crops started now. Brassica seedlings (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) can go in, along with direct-sown beetroot, carrots, and leafy greens like silverbeet, spinach, and lettuce. Plant garlic in late autumn (March-April depending on where you are) so start thinking about what varieties you want. If you grow them, now is the time to be sowing your winter cover crop seeds into any bare beds.

Harvesting: Tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn, cucumbers, and courgettes should all still be coming in. Pumpkins and squash are sizing up. Early stone fruit may be done, but late varieties of plums and apples are coming on. Keep picking regularly — the more you pick, the more most plants will produce.

Simple Recipe — Quick Fridge Pickles: Got more cucumbers or beans than you know what to do with? Slice them up, pack them into a clean jar, and pour over a hot brine of equal parts water and vinegar with a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of sugar per cup of liquid. Add whatever aromatics you have — mustard seeds, dill, garlic, chilli flakes. Let it cool, pop the lid on, and into the fridge it goes. Keeps for weeks and uses up the glut.

🔬 Science Spotlight

The Grazing Effect: Why Repeated Cutting Can Help Plants (and Soil)

If you've ever noticed that your lawn grows back thicker after mowing, you've observed something that grassland ecologists have been studying for a long time. When a plant is grazed or cut, it doesn't just passively regrow — it actively responds. The plant sheds some of its root mass in proportion to the foliage it lost. Those dead root fragments become food for soil microorganisms. Then as the plant puts out new growth above ground, it simultaneously pushes out new roots below, feeding the soil biology all over again.

This cycle of growth, grazing, root shedding, and regrowth is one of the mechanisms behind why well-managed rotational grazing can build soil organic matter over time. It's not the grazing itself that builds the soil — it's the repeated pulse of root growth and die-off that feeds the microbial community. The soil fungi and bacteria break down those root fragments and turn them into stable organic compounds. Each cycle adds a little more.

This is actually one of the principles behind the cover crop and chicken grazing rotation I'm experimenting with in the garden beds. By letting the greens grow, then grazing them with chickens, then letting them regrow, I'm hoping to get multiple rounds of this root-growth-and-shedding cycle through a single off-season. A cover crop left to grow undisturbed all winter gives you one long, slow period of root growth. A grazed and regrown cover crop might give you several pulses of it. Whether that translates into noticeably better soil in a small garden over one season, I honestly don't know. But the science behind the idea is well established in pasture systems, and I think it's worth finding out.

Did You Know? A single teaspoon of healthy garden soil can contain more microorganisms than there are people on the planet. Most of those organisms are bacteria, but the ones that do the heavy lifting for plant nutrition are often fungi — particularly mycorrhizal fungi, which form direct partnerships with plant roots to exchange nutrients for sugars. Every time you see a white thread-like strand in your soil, there's a good chance you're looking at one of those partnerships at work.

📺 Last Month’s YouTube Spotlight

Thanks for reading this month. I hope wherever you are in the world, you're getting your hands in some soil soon. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, the season is coming — I promise. If you're down here with me, let's enjoy these last warm weeks before the pace slows. As always, if you want to see more of what's happening on the farm, come find us on YouTube at Once Upon a Farm.

Until next month, Sam