2009 Annual Report for FNC08-715
Roller-Crimper Construction and No-Till Organic Weed Control Trials
Summary
WORK ACTIVITIES / RESULTS
Jackie de Batista,
Irish Grove Farms, Inc
My aspect of the SARE farmer/rancher group grant project FNC08-715 was slated to begin in the late summer/fall of 2009. I had planned to till a portion of a 9-acre field in its 3rd year of transition to organic. A leguminous cover crop would be seeded down, which would be crimped in the spring. These plans were thwarted by our unusually wet year last year: I was unable to till the ground. Unsure of how to continue with our written proposal, I spoke to my grant partner, Andrea, about using a different plot of land, one which was in conventional soybeans. The weed pressure would obviously be much higher in this plot, but after harvest I would work the land up and plant a late season cover crop such as winter wheat or rye.
Harvest was delayed because of the continuing wet weather, so even this option came into question. I spoke with NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant coordinator, Joan Benjamin and Associate Administrator, Beth Bedell, about changing the crop I was to trial from corn to soybeans; winter rye has an allelopathic effect on corn, so soybeans would be a better option. Verbal approval was given by the SARE committee, but I didn’t file for a formal change because it was already November and I wanted to see if my rye would sprout. Still unable to till the wet ground, I broadcast seeded winter rye onto my new grant plot on November 18th—well past the recommended seeding date. Much to my surprise, the rye sprouted and was blanketed by a protective layer of snow which has protected it all winter from the cold weather. At the moment (March 2010), it looks great.
The new plot has many problems, however--the greatest of which is that it will be a soybean trial running right next to a conventional corn field. The risk of herbicide drift contamination is extremely high. The soybeans will also be planted in the end row of the corn field, increasing the risk of tractor damage as we work the corn land. A buffer should be planted between the plots, but our current financial situation doesn’t allow me to take any more acreage out of cash crop production. As optimistic as I’ve tried to be about this new plot of land, I just can’t see how the project is going to work. In the end, I don’t think we’ll learn anything by forcing this trial to move forward. I have come to the decision, therefore, that I should apply for a no-cost one-year extension. The no-cost extension paperwork is being submitted this week, and I hope to move forward on this grant project as originally planned—by tilling the 9-acre, now organic-eligible field, planting a leguminous cover crop, and running an organic corn trial on the crimped cover crop next spring/summer. In the meantime, I hold my breath and hope that the weather Gods will go easy on us this year.
Andrea Hazzard,
Hazzard Free Farm CSA
October 8, 9, 10, 2009: 2 Acres were Cultivated Dragged and Broadcast seeded. Entire site was dragged again to incorporate seed:
• 150 lbs of Rye
• 35 lbs of Triticale
• 50 lbs of Winter wheat
Seed had begun to germinate by November. Field has been covered in snow for all but a few days midwinter. In the event that the crop was killed or thinned by its late seeding, I will be reseeding in the spring to establish a thick cover. My situation is rather unique as I will be planting crops as late as August.
I have endeavored to begin using more cover crops in general and the roller crimper is a part of the whole picture for me. I will be doing underseeding this year as a part of my cropping program.
Here are my beds:
• 30'x100' Triticale
• 30'x100' Triticale and rye
• 30'x100' Rye
• 30'x100' Rye winter wheat
• 30x100' Rye
I will be crimping the rye bed this spring and doing some cucurbit transplants and some direct seeding. The history of the rye bed:
• Fallow for 20+ years, grass, clover, with some weeds
• 2007 moldboard plowed and cultivated
• Corn corn potatoes each in 10foot sections 2008
• Watermelon squash corn each in 10 foot sections 2009
• Direct seeded DS squash and transplanted TS squash 2010
Some early DS & TS squash will be covered with row cover and/or Mini Hoops to investigate the use of them in Crimped and planted beds. In 2009 swaths of the area got incredibly weedy with amaranth, lambsquarter, velvet leaf, foxtail, and panicum. I mowed but it is possible and likely that large amounts of seeds were already ripe and were dispersed.
A note on rowcover: Cover will be Agribon 19 it is used extensively on my farm to protect early and late planted crops from harsh winds and cool weather. One of the drawbacks of Cucurbits in Crimped beds is that the soil will be kept cooler, the hope is that the row covers will help to keep the soil warmer, I may also put up mini hoop houses, I would like to monitor soil temp in all three systems. Row cover helps plants and weeds thrive. It is all too often that you will lift a row cover and the bed will be solid with weeds, your plants are all still there, thriving and healthy. There are tradeoffs to everything. Black plastic mulch is an alternative but it comes from a non-renewable energy source and therefore is not something I want to have to use on my farm.
Kathryn Brown,
Brown Deer Farm
The Fall was too wet to harvest our crops in time to plant the cover crops. Only the vetch was planted as a cover and the winter rye was the cover crop I intended for the no-till grant. I anticipate planting the cover crops this Fall 2010 for no-till planting in Spring of 2011.