Before we begin food production at the Hyderabad collective, we want to give the soil some nutrition by growing nitrogen fixing plants as cover crops. These plants have roots with small bulbs that are the home to bacteria that help in the breakdown of nitrogen into more accessible compounds for the plants to use, like ammonia. After growing them for 45 days, they will be mixed into the soil, thus providing the next set of food crops accessible nutrition from the soil.
A newly built check dam, one of the 20 odd built this season, has transformed its surroundings. Although the water stays for a few days after the rain at this point, it is still valuable for keeping the soil moist and how easily it changes the microclimate around it!
We recently found that a check dam on the ridge was forming a pond. It has now been dug and packed with stone, to expand its holding capacity. As it holds water for longer periods of time, this could potentially be a walking spot around a small pond park. We may also be able to draw out water from here for activities like small construction and for irrigation purposes.
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