Hello, Chris here. While interning at Bertrand farm, I learned a couple of ideas that will be putting in place in my garden at home. These ideas are cover cropping and intensive crop growing. These are valuable tools for me because I have a limited growing area at home, and I have limited resources because I do not raise animals for manure and composting.
Cover crops, also called green manure, are crops that are sown for the purpose tilling them under. By doing so a, a grower can increase the soil’s fertility in a variety of ways. Cover crops increase the amount of nitrogen that is available to the future crop. They do so by generating nitrogen in their lifecycle, especially legumes. They also add nitrogen to the soil when they decompose after being tilled under. Another benefit of having the cover crop tilled under is an increase in organic matter in the soil. The organic matter is useful in maintaining an optimal soil pH and cation exchange ratio, while providing food for living organisms like aerobic bacteria. All of these factors work together to provide nutrients to the plants.
Here is a cover crop of crimson clover. I’m thinking of using this for my winter cover crop. My garden is too alkaline right now because I over amended with wood ash. It is a lesson well learned, but this cover crop will help fix the problem. It does well in alkaline soils. This is a legume cover crop so it will help add nitrogen to the soil. Legume crops do some of the work that aerobic bacteria do, in making nitrogen for the plants. Since my alkaline soil is too harsh for the bacteria, this crop will help meet the nitrogen needs for my garden next year. I will also raise the acidity of the soil by tilling this crop into the soil and letting it decompose in place.
Intensive crop growing is also a valuable lesson that I learned about. It involves growing more crops, with the same amount growing area by using a variety of strategies. One of the strategies is to extend the growing season by using a greenhouse and covered beds. I am fortunate enough to already have a greenhouse so I am one step ahead in my growing area. Another strategy is to use drip irrigation to maximize the water available to the plants. Drip irrigation will also save water because it does not waste any. Recently, I learned about compost tea. Compost tea is very useful in maximizing the soil’s fertility. It uses living organisms to create compounds in the soil that the crop can use as nutrients. By using these strategies, I plan to have some winter crops in my greenhouse while fertilizing my outside growing with cover crops.
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