SkillGospel Carver
Free Fertilizer From a Bean
Some plants don't just take from the soil — they leave it richer than they found it.
Carver's fourth rule: bean and pea roots team up with tiny bacteria in the soil that pull nitrogen straight out of the air and store it in the ground. Plant them ahead of a hungry crop like corn or tomatoes, and the soil's already been fed before you plant a thing.
About Gospel Carver
Seventy years outside in every kind of weather, and a notebook of planting records in his chest pocket going back decades. He moves slowly, but not from age — from attention, and he'll tell you flatly there's a difference. "Starting right" isn't a saying to him. It's the plain habit of never once skipping the boring first step.