Andrew and Sharla Swapp

Tucumcari, NM

Canadian River SWCD

Andrew Swapp and his wife Sharla operate a small, 35-acre farm just west of Tucumcari, NM where they are building a place to retire and build a life advocating for soil health.

The Swapp farm has not been lived on for over 20 years. The buildings were all run down with roofs that leaked or were non-existent. The main home was almost livable but required a lot of work. The previous owner’s wife, when she heard Andrew and Sharla say they wanted to garden, immediately said, “you ain’t going to grow nothing in this dirt!” Within the first year, the Swapps learned there were many other challenges beyond poor soil. Feeling overwhelmed with pests of all kinds, they were disappointed, but they didn’t give up.

Andrew started taking the foundation course from the Soil Food Web School, and the following year they were able to eliminate the use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Through using compost extract and compost teas, the Swapps were able to grow an incredible garden, beating the pests and starting their journey towards building better soil.

The Swapps may use the tractor initially to break up compaction, but they also use cover crops and Dickon radishes to combat this issue. They are going into their second season of using Soil Food Web Practices and are excited to see the results.

The Swapps shared some of their experiences as they’ve adopted some of the soil health principles and practices.

Negative experiences:

• They run out of compost too fast
• When the Dickon radishes start to decompose, it smells like a hog farm or a gas leak

Positive experiences:

• They use all-natural compost that is as close to biologically correct as possible
• Plants seem to jump out of the ground
• The flavor of the vegetables is incredible
• Things that they could never grow before grew fantastic – like snap peas
• Seeds germinate faster and stayed green longer into the cold season
• Their plants were almost bug resistant due to foliar spray of compost tea.

One of the biggest challenges the Swapps face is that they live in a dry region. Because of this, it is hard to keep the soil alive if it is not covered, which is why they try to always have a cover crop growing or keep it covered with mulch.

On one of their test plots, the Swapps ripped the soil with a tractor, and then they poured compost extract into the trenches. Next, they raked and planted a cover crop of radishes, oats, and field peas. They began watering the plot to get the seeds started, and when it leafed out, they watered it once every other week. As a result of the increased biology in the soil, the water infiltration had increased and was held in the ground so well that they did not need water as often.

Posted April 2023