Posts by Ryan Maher
Repeated, intensive tillage degrades soil structure and creates compacted layers than can restrict plant roots. Strip tillage targets soil disturbance to the planting zone and can help retain surface residue, preserve soil moisture, build soil structure, and reduce erosion. This approach can give vegetables a good start by warming soils, forming a good seedbed, stimulating…
Read More
Permanent bed systems can help farms improve soil health at the farm-level. Rather than plow and harrow by the field, fields are divided into a set of beds and field traffic, whether tractor or foot, is restricted to the between-bed area, year after year. These pathways can be managed with cultivation, mulches, cover crops, or…
Read More
Learning a small-scale organic method to reduce tillage with less weeds Baseball fans know tarps are critical for keeping fields clean. Heavy rain falling on the diamond can quickly spoil a game. When you’re running for cover, turn your eyes to the field and you will see a crew working in unison to unroll a…
Read More
Salamander Springs Farm uses powerful cover crop sequences to produce crops, forage and seed. Susana Lein is ahead of the curve. She has put together so many practices at Salamander Springs Farm near Berea, Kentucky that we can only scratch the surface in this article. Permaculture principles are at work in all aspects of the…
Read MoreTools and Tactics for Organic Vegetables at Any Scale August 14th, 2017, 4:00-7:00 pm Location: Freeville Organic Research Farm at the Cornell HC Thompson Vegetable Research Farm, 133 Fall Creek Road, Freeville NY The Cornell Reduced Tillage Team held a field tour and discussion of practices to build soils and manage weeds in organic vegetables.…
Read More
Organic farmers and researchers utilize cover crops to reduce the labor and expense of organic mulches. by Ryan Maher and Brian Caldwell Organic mulches like hay or straw can suppress weeds and improve soil. They are used by many small scale vegetable farmers, but the cost of the material and application may be prohibitive for…
Read More
Permanent bed systems can help small farms improve soils and reduce tillage for a diversity of crops. Learn how farmers are adopting these systems and hear research results on how tillage, mulching and tarping practices can impact your weed control, labor use, and crop productivity. Ryan Maher and Brian Caldwell – Cornell University, Mark Hutton – University…
Read More
by Brian Caldwell & Ryan Maher Case study of a farm reducing tillage to improve soils. Rob Johanson and Jan Goranson had a good-sized tractor, a 100” rototiller and a potato farm with 35 acres of sandy soil in coastal Maine. It was the mid 1980’s and they had just purchased the farm from Jan’s mother. …
Read More- « Previous
- 1
- 2
