- Author: Chris M. Webb
Organic production can require additional preparation and planning. UC’s Soil Fertility Management for Organic Crops downloadable publication provides reliable and useful information for soil management in organic fields.
Written with support of the UC Small Farm Program (make link) and the UC Vegetable Research and Information Center, this publication includes the following topics:
- Role of organic matter and humus
- How to determine nutrient needs
- Nutrient sources
- Characteristics of organic fertilizers
Tables and links to additional resources are included.
Related information can be found on this page of the Ventura County Cooperative Extension Website.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced conservation assistance for organic producers is now available. This funding opportunity is through the Organic Initiative under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
Covered practices may include:
- Vegetative cover crops
- Nutrient management
- Pasture and hay planting
- Pest management
- Hedgerow planting
- Residue management
- Mulching
- High tunnels
- And more
Contact your local NRCS field office to learn more or find out more online.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Conservation tillage (CT) is a term for farm management practices used to improve soil quality, water infiltration and storage while decreasing farm input costs. In addition to direct benefits on the farm, CT provides larger environmental benefits beyond the farm perimeter.
Much research has provided well documented benefits. Along with other scientists, UC ANR researchers are busy exploring this positive and sustainable practice.
Interested in learning more about these increasingly popular systems?
The UC Conservation Tillage and Cropping Systems Workgroup website is a great source of California CT information and includes examples of the benefits in action. Participation, comments and questions are welcomed and encouraged.
The UC ANR free publication Tillage and Crop Management Effects on Air, Water, and Soil Quality in California is written in collaboration with UC Davis, National Resource Conservation Services, and the California Association of Research Conservation Districts provides solid background information.
Previous posts provide additional and related knowledge; please see Building Soils for Better Crops, Crop Rotation on Organic Farms, and What is Sustainable Agriculture.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Today, Ventura County Cooperative Extension's Maren Mochizuki shares with us about
a local research project.
Preliminary results on the synergistic effect of soil amendments and elemental sulfur to reduce soil pH were presented on Aug. 3 at the ASHS annual conference in Palm Desert, CA. To view the presentation abstract, please click here.
For more information on this project, please see this previous post:
Ground lemon waste, pine needles, peat moss, and coffee grounds applied to soil to ascertain impact on soil pH. Amendments were incorporated using a rototiller.
/span>- Author: Chris M. Webb
Many food producers use mulches for weed, insect, and disease management and for water conservation to improve crop production . Depending on specific production goals, growers use reflective plastic or cover crop mulches.
Most plastic mulch materials are made of either high- or low-density polyethylene. They typically range from 0.3 to 0.79 inches thick (7.7 to 20.2 mm), 5 or 6 feet wide (1.5 to 1.8 m), and 555 to 1,138 yards long (60 to 1223 m). The additional benefits of plastic mulches in vegetable production include: crop earliness, increased yields, improved crop quality, and reduced fertilizer leaching in some cases.
Challenges with this type of mulch include: removal and disposal, higher production costs, specialized management and equipment for installation, and increased susceptibility to frost.
Use of cover crops as mulches is currently being refined and evaluated in a wide range of vegetable production systems. Additional benefits of cover crop mulches in vegetable production include: enhanced nitrogen availability, reduced soil erosion, increased soil organic matter, reduced intercrop tillage, increased soil quality, and offset payment incentives possible through U.S. Farm Bill conservation programs.
Challenges with this type of mulch include: cooler temperatures above and below mulch, slower-maturing crops, cover crop mulch re-growth, specialized management and equipment in some cases, limited in-season weed management options, cost, and allelopathy (plant chemical interference) between cover crop and production crop.
UC ANR’s free Mulches in California Vegetable Crop Production publication is full of information on this subject with suggestions for further reading at the end.