Category Archives: Nutrient Cycling

You’ve got options for measuring and adjusting your soil’s pH: part II

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Natalie Lounsbury

Last post, I wrote about measuring your soil’s pH on your own. If you successfully measured pH, congratulations! Now you have to decide what to do with this information. For purposes of this post, I will focus on what to do when … Continue reading →

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You’ve got options for measuring and adjusting your soil’s pH: part I

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Natalie Lounsbury

It’s fall, which means it’s soil sampling season for many farmers. Or maybe not. It’s a busy time and soil testing can fall to the bottom of the list of things to do. It can also add up as an expense … Continue reading →

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Recycling sulfur with Brassica cover crops

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Natalie Lounsbury

Among the macronutrients, sulfur (S) doesn’t get a lot of attention. Before coal-fired power plants were forced to clean up their emissions, atmospheric deposition of S each year far exceeded most crops’ needs in most areas. The downside of cleaner … Continue reading →

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No-till vegetables in New England

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Natalie Lounsbury

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me no-till vegetables aren’t possible in New England, I’d be… well, I’d have about $5. Still, if I had a dollar for every time someone told me it is possible in New … Continue reading →

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Two ingredient cover crop cocktails

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Natalie Lounsbury

Someone branded cover crop mixtures as “cocktails” and it has stuck. Even NRCS has adopted the “cocktail” label: Regardless of what they’re called, the new multi-species mixtures are very exciting, results are intriguing, and these cocktails are probably the cover cropping … Continue reading →

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Results are in: Radish 300, Phacelia 200, Weeds 50.

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Natalie Lounsbury

How much N can cover crops capture? Cover crops planted in late August of last year captured up to 300 kg of N per hectare (270 lb N per acre)! The experiment station in Clarksville, MD where they were planted … Continue reading →

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Cover crops change everything.

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Natalie Lounsbury

There was a nice summary of Joel Gruver’s 12 ways to manage cover crops in Farm Futures. Joel has been working on cover cropping in the Midwest at Western Illinois University, but got his start in  Maryland. One of his … Continue reading →

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