Having lived off the land in the Coulee in southwestern Wisconsin (where contour plowing was introduced) and recently being an agritourist in the Tuscan countryside, I was fascinated by their agricultural practices. Of course, this Tuscan area near Montepulciano is famous for its vineyards and olive groves. We even had an apple orchard at Poggio Etrusco's neighbors. But, the farmland can also be used for grains.
As one drives through the rolling hills between towns in some places the land appears almost like a moonscape and then upon closer inspection there are acres of big clodded upturned earth.
Katharine, an ex-pat, introduced us to the surrounding farmland explaining that tractors disc blade the land not once, not twice, but three times. I had seen the Amish in the land above our Wisconsin land whose plows are horsedrawn do this technique enabling earlier access to the fields but only disc plowed once.
Disc blades no matter what can be used for tilling, preparing farmland and mowing vegetation whether it's grass/hay.
In tilling the discs cut, mix and turn over the soil, bringing nutrients up to the surface and helping crops's roots develop. Discing prepares the land for sowing seeds and also integrating leftover crop remains into the soil.
Okay, so there's aeration and more soil uniformity and discs can be adjusted for depth. Larger blades dig deeper.
Fascinating for this transplant suburbanite...
The world is very lucky UNESCO chose this area of Tuscany as a World Heritage site so future generations can continue to enjoy both the bounty and the beauty of this region.
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