Choosing a cover crop for a particular field involves keeping the purpose in mind. Is it to stabilize soil and reduce erosion? Or to increase organic matter or suppress weeds? Here's how to weigh the options.
This fact sheet is designed to help guide commercial hop growers in selecting cover crops. The guide discusses pros and cons for four different cover crop strategies: annual fall-planted, annual spring-planted, annual re-seeding and...
Betsy Verhoeven |
Sep 2019 |
Article
Photos provided by Nick Andrews (Cropped from original)
Planting cover crops on commercial farms is a good idea that is often difficult to execute. But with the right crops and proper timing, it can be done. The effort will be rewarded with improved soil for future crops.
Cover crops can provide many benefits: weed suppression, erosion prevention, increased water infiltration and water-holding capacity, improved nutrient cycling and pollinator habitat. Each species provides different benefits and requires ...
The Introduction to Resilient Dryland Farming Alliance Project aims to assist growers in designing wheat-alternate cropping systems that will improve soil health without decreasing wheat yields.
Surendra Singh, Judit Barroso, Francisco Calderon, Ryan Graebner, Stephen Machado, Catherine Reardon, Christina Hagerty |
Jul 2021 |
ArticlePeer reviewed (Gray level)
Drought has become a fact of life for farmers throughout the West. For hemp growers, careful planning for where, when and what to plant can result in a crop that will thrive despite dry conditions.
Burning the slash left behind after a logging operation isn't the only method for getting rid of it. Among the alternatives are piling but not burning, "forestry mulching," creating biochar and doing nothing.