Project Overview
FNE05-552
Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 2005: $2,186.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2006
Region: Northeast
State: Massachusetts
Project Leader:
Peter Lowy
Pete and Jens Backyard Birds
Commodities
- Vegetables: sweet corn
Practices
- Crop Production: cover crops
- Education and Training: farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research, workshop
- Farm Business Management: marketing management
- Pest Management: allelopathy, integrated pest management
- Soil Management: green manures, organic matter, soil analysis
Proposal summary:
Well managed vegetable farms are constantly striving to find additional techniques to improve their sustainability. This project will look at adopting new cover crops to increase soil fertility and organic matter content, reduce erosion, and reduce the reliance on herbicides and fertilizers. Three fields will be taken out of production for a year and will have a series of cover crops planted. Sweet corn will be planted the following year, and then yield and soil health parameters will be compared between fields planted with the new cover crops and the standard cover crop. Outreach will be through a farmer training group and an on-farm festival for customers.
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