Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Agronomic: buckwheat, canola, millet, oats, peas (field, cowpeas), triticale, vetches
- Vegetables: radishes (culinary), turnips
Practices
- Crop Production: cover crops, fertilizers
- Soil Management: soil microbiology, soil quality/health
Proposal abstract:
The purpose of this project will be to continue to learn about and study cropland soil health. This is a continuation of an ongoing project. In the first year of the project we planted a seven way warm season cocktail cover crop mix on one field and a seven way cool season cocktail cover crop mix on another field. I wanted to see if cover crops could be successfully grown in our area. Our cover crops grew very well, even with very little moisture. I also accomplished the goal of testing both fields with a Soil Foodweb Analysis and a Soil Quality Health Kit that gave me some baseline data that showed how many of which microorganisms my Grandpa's fields had in them. Having accomplished these two goals last year I would like to split each of the two fields in half. One half of each field would be fertilized like normal and the other half would only receive a little starter fertilizer. This may show me if last year's cover crops will provide this year's cash crops with natural plant nutrients and save my Grandpa lots of money. I would also like to continue planting cocktail cover crops to see if they continue to grow successfully in my area. A third goal of mine would be to continue to see if our beneficial soil microorganisms are increasing in number and diversity.