Join us for an up-close look at the alley cropping system planted this summer at Many Streams Farm in southern York County, Pennsylvania. Farm co-owners, Bob and Maggie Cahalan, have worked for many years toward a vision of a sustainable food forest and seed garden.
As part of our work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to pilot alley cropping systems in Pennsylvania, Pasa worked with Many Streams to design an alley cropping plan to help meet their unique goals. Through this project, they’ve turned several acres of a former hay field into a rich polyculture of perennial trees and shrubs in rows, with vegetables grown in between.
Part of the goal of their design is to address issues of flooding and erosion on their land. So, in addition to measuring the yields of food production crops from this system, they will be measuring the environmental impact on the nearby streams that border their land and give the farm its name.
Over the years, Bob and Maggie have built meaningful partnerships with diverse groups who share their vision. The farm is operated by a multi-partner group—the Chesapeake Education, Arts, and Research Society (CHEARS). We’ll hear from a few of these partners, including Lincoln Smith of Forested LLC, who helped design the alley cropping system, and Lee Irwin of Aquatic Resource Restoration company (ARRC), who installed it.
This project is supported by a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant.
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