Project Overview
Two Approaches to Farm-Grown Nitrogen
Commodities
- Agronomic: other, grass (misc. perennial), hay
- Vegetables: sweet corn
- Additional Plants: herbs
Practices
- Animal Production: feed/forage
- Crop Production: intercropping, organic fertilizers, tissue analysis
- Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research
- Pest Management: mulches - living, mulching - vegetative
- Production Systems: general crop production
- Soil Management: soil analysis
Proposal summary:
Nitrogen from legumes, grown both between the rows of organic vegetable and as a mulch hay, will be tested for its efficacy. The farmer will use a side-discharge mower to cut and spread alfalfa and red clover on her vegetable rows, and will establish a plot of alfalfa on a future garden patch for use as a mulch hay. Regular soil testing should reveal whether nitrogen is released quickly enough for the technique to be used as a low-cost approach to soil fertility.