www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms guidelines-for-intercropping using-tall-crops-to-reduce-drought-or-heat-stress-of-shorter-crops Using Tall Crops to Reduce Drought or Heat Stress of Shorter Crops Two mechanisms are involved in using tall crops to reduce drought or heat stress of shorter crops: partial shading and reduction in wind speed. Partial shade cast by a trellised crop or a well-spaced planting of sweet corn can reduce heat stress of summer crops of spinach or lettuce (19). This may be useful in […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms guidelines-for-intercropping intercropping-legumes-with-nonlegumes Intercropping Legumes with Nonlegumes Legumes like beans and alfalfa have nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with their roots. Consequently they compete only slightly with nonlegumes for soil nitrogen and in some cases even supply nitrogen to adjacent plants via leakage and root decomposition (fine roots grow and die rapidly within the season, even in healthy plants). For example, field pea can […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms guidelines-for-intercropping interplanting-crops-with-partially-overlapping-growing-seasons Interplanting Crops with Partially Overlapping Growing Seasons Interplanting crops that share the field for only part of the season can increase the capture of sunlight over the course of the whole year. Expert panel farmer Drew Norman provides an example of this sort of intercropping. He transplants lettuce next to his tomato plants. The lettuce uses the space that is not yet […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms guidelines-for-intercropping Guidelines for Intercropping by Charles L. Mohler and Kimberly A. Stoner Intercropping is an all-encompassing term for the practice of growing two or more crops in close proximity: in the same row or bed, or in rows or strips that are close enough for biological interaction. Mixed cropping, companion planting, relay cropping, interseeding, overseeding, underseeding, smother cropping, planting […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms crop-rotation-during-the-transition-from-conventional-to-organic-agriculture transition-to-cash-grain-or-vegetables-on-a-farm-without-forages Transition to Cash Grain or Vegetables on a Farm Without Forages If the farm does not need forages, the transition cropping sequence will probably rely on cover crops to build soil quality. Stale seedbeds (see table 3.6) and other fallow periods may be needed to reduce weed density. In vegetables, rely on transplanted crops and large-seeded crops like sweet corn and snap beans the first few […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms crop-rotation-during-the-transition-from-conventional-to-organic-agriculture transition-from-conventional-cropping-on-a-farm-with-forages Transition from Conventional Cropping on a Farm with Forages When the land has been actively farmed by conventional means, often soil organic matter and soil tilth are low. If the land has been in field crops, the dominant weeds will likely be full-season, spring-germinating annuals like lambsquarters, pigweed, and foxtail. No-till farmed land may have a lot of perennial weeds, as well. If the […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms crop-rotation-during-the-transition-from-conventional-to-organic-agriculture transition-from-old-sod-to-vegetable-production Transition from Old Sod to Vegetable Production Many small organic vegetable farms in the northeastern US begin on land that has been a hay field or pasture for several years. Often the previous manager applied no fertilizers or pesticides for several years, and thus the land can be quickly certified as organic. The long period in sod will have improved soil physical […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms crop-rotation-during-the-transition-from-conventional-to-organic-agriculture Crop Rotation During the Transition from Conventional to Organic Agriculture by Charles L. Mohler The primary purpose of this manual is to help organic farmers plan crop rotations on land that is already being farmed organically. Nevertheless, a brief discussion of how to sequence crops during the transition from conventional to organic management may be useful for beginning organic farmers and those who are adding […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms a-crop-rotation-planning-procedure a-more-complex-example-summer-acres-vegetable-farm A More Complex Example: Summer Acres Vegetable Farm A More Complex Example: Summer Acres Vegetable Farm Table 5.9 shows the Crop Characteristics Worktable for Summer Acres Farm, and figure 5.4 shows a map of the farm divided into management units. Table 5.10 (PDF download) gives completed Field Conditions and Field Futures Worktables. The example is fictitious, but it is based on a sample […]
www.sare.org publications crop-rotation-on-organic-farms a-crop-rotation-planning-procedure a-complete-step-by-step-rotation-planning-guide A Complete, Step-by-Step Rotation Planning Guide Before You Begin... Before you begin, please read through the instructions to see where you are headed with each step. This will also tell you whether the effort involved is worthwhile for your farm. Earlier chapters in this manual provide many suggestions as to how to think about the problem of developing general crop rotation […]