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Recent Posts
- At last, the soil podcast is here! November 3, 2017
- Don’t count your weeds before they hatch: update on occultation vs. solarization for weed suppression in no-till cabbage August 24, 2016
- Tarps for killing cover crops: mid-project update June 22, 2016
- Trading tillage for tarps: an effective way to kill weeds and cover crops? May 26, 2016
- Phacelia is a bumble bee paradise July 8, 2015
- Cover crop mixtures: new factsheet May 25, 2015
- If you can see it, it’s too much May 13, 2015
- No-till transplanted onions in New England April 12, 2015
- Trying high-residue no-till on a budget March 19, 2015
- Maine is the first state to pay tribute to soils during the International Year of Soils March 12, 2015
- The website will go on, but this project is ending… March 9, 2015
- Under Cover: Rotational No-till and Mulching Systems for Organic Vegetable Farms in Germany February 2, 2015
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Category Archives: Soil
At last, the soil podcast is here!
I made a podcast. It’s the podcast I wish existed when I started farming and learning about soil. I have tried to keep the episodes short and sweet, covering the basics while also delving into some pretty cutting edge science- some … Continue reading
Posted in Podcast, Soil, Soil health, Soil microbes
Tagged soil health, soil organic matter, soil podcast
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Tarps for killing cover crops: mid-project update
UPDATE 8/24/16: Please see follow-up post on this experiment. Initially, the title of this post was “The answer is clear: solarization is outperforming occultation for killing cover crops.” At the time I originally wrote it, clear tarps were killing cover crops … Continue reading
Posted in Cover Crops, Equipment, Rye, Soil temperature, Vetch
Tagged solarization; occultation; tarps; roller-crimper
1 Comment
If you can see it, it’s too much
Sometimes, I feel like erosion is a big elephant in the room. It happens. It feels unlucky, it feels bad, and sometimes it feels inevitable. It is also still one of the biggest threats to long-term productivity and soil health … Continue reading
Posted in Cover Crops, Soil, Soil health
Tagged soil erosion; soil aggregation; soil building
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Maine is the first state to pay tribute to soils during the International Year of Soils
The Maine legislature is the first in the nation to pay tribute to soils during the historic United Nations International Year of Soils. The soil beneath our feet is often overlooked, but the adoption of the Joint Resolution Recognizing the … Continue reading
Posted in Soil
Tagged International Year of Soils, Maine legislature, Maine soil resolution
3 Comments
Under Cover: Rotational No-till and Mulching Systems for Organic Vegetable Farms in Germany
It sounds like there was a great turnout for Jan’s eOrganic webinar on the cut-and-carry mulch system he and his colleagues are using for organic vegetable production in Germany. My favorite quote: “You can completely screw up the system and … Continue reading
Posted in Cover Crops, Rye, Soil, Soil health, Soil moisture, Soil temperature, Vegetables, Vetch
Tagged cover crop economics, farm economics, high-residue cover crop, mulch, rotational no-till, silage mulch, under_cover
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Mark your calendars and get ready for an information deluge from Germany
Back in 2013, Ray and I got an inquiry from “a farmer in Germany” who was preparing a seminar on soil health and reduced tillage and wanted more information on what we were doing. He did not send a picture … Continue reading
Posted in Cover Crops, Equipment, Soil, Soil health, Vegetables
Comments Off on Mark your calendars and get ready for an information deluge from Germany
Happy International Year of Soils (& get your free sticker!)
Scientific American recently ran an interesting article about the possibility that other planets out there may be “better” than Earth for supporting life. That may be true, but our planet has plenty that should make us proud earthlings. Top among these … Continue reading
Posted in Soil
Tagged I heart soils, International Year of Soils, stickers
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