March 2016
Scouting is an integral part of sustainability practices at Abby Farms. By constantly walking our fields, we are able to notice many problems when they are small, and get them corrected quickly. In addition, we are constantly sampling our trees and soil, looking for problems before they are visible to the naked eye.
Soil samples are pulled every year, 3 times the recommended State of Maryland rate. We do this to fine tune our soils every year instead of making large scale corrections every three years. This keeps our soil humming along like a fine-tuned engine.
Leaf and tissue samples are pulled during the growing season. Sap is extracted from the leaves and run through several in-house tests. We are then able to make real time decisions about the health of a tree and make targeted mineral treatments.