The soil under the safflower crop is already cracking. This is very good news as this crop has been planted to dig down and break up any hard soil areas ready for tree planting next fall and winter.
The safflower has a silica tip on the end of its root, and it aggressively burrows down in search of more water. We do not irrigate it to make sure it bores down trailblazing a path deep in the soil for the tree toots to follow. Nigel is copying this technique from an organic walnut grower.
