Optimizing Tarping and Cover Crop Management Practices to Enhance Soil Health and Vegetable Crop Performance

Commodities

Practices

Organic vegetable growers are implementing soil tarping (occultation) to terminate cover/cash crops, manage weeds, and prepare beds for planting without tillage. Previous research suggests that tarping can support weed control and vegetable crop performance equivalent to conventional tillage while preserving soil structure and water holding capacity. However, relatively little research-based information is available to understand short-term nitrogen cycling dynamics in tarping systems based on variation in baseline soil health status, cover crop residue quality and tarping duration. Grower experience suggests that these parameters can each have significant effects on soil nutrient cycling and availability to subsequent vegetable crops, thus influencing the ultimate sustainability of tarping practices. The primary goal of our proposed work is to provide organic vegetable producers with targeted recommendations to optimize integrated cover crop and soil tarping systems for improved nutrient management and crop performance. By working closely with farmers across Michigan, including Full Plate Farm owner Dr. Laura Brosius as a co-PI, the participatory 'mother & baby' methods and intended outcomes of this proposed research were developed to provide practical guidance for farmers implementing cover crop and tarping systems across a gradient of site conditions within the NCR.

• Quantify the effects of baseline soil health, cover crop residue quality and tarping duration on nutrient cycling, weed management and crop performance in organic vegetables across an environmental gradient.
• Develop targeted cover crop residue quality and tarping duration recommendations based on soil type, weather and management history.
• Engage organic vegetable growers in participatory research to understand variability in tarping practices and identify strategies to optimize tarping for nutrient management and crop performance.
• Share findings with organic vegetable growers, agriculture professionals and researchers beyond the project team to increase adoption of sustainable tarping practices within the NCR.