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3. Cover crops for early summer
Thomas Björkman
Department of Horticultural Sciences
NYS Agricultural Experiment Station
Cornell University
Geneva, NY 14456-0462
Summer may seem an odd time to use cover crops, because that is the
time when the real crops are
growing. But summer may be the right opportunity to improve fields with a cover
crop. If the soil is wearing out, summer is when a soil-building crop can do a
lot more work. Also, if the rotation leaves an opening in the summer, a short
cycle cover crop will be much better than leaving the field open, to suffer
erosion from rain and have weeds to go to seed. Buckwheat sown in late May or
early June, can be used before vegetables such as pumpkins, broccoli, late
cucumbers. There is another opportunity for summer cover crops after lettuce,
peas, early beans, spinach or small grains.
For planting in June, there are really only two choices. One is sudangrass,
or sorghum-sudangrass, and the other is buckwheat. Both grow rapidly in the
summer warmth.
The two cover crops have different properties, so the management goal
and field condition will determine which is the right one.
Sudangrass is often chosen for improving soil organic matter. It
produces a strong root system and lots of biomass. The deep root system is
helpful for reducing subsurface hardness. It is also a good choice for reducing
root-knot nematode pressure.
Buckwheat is best known for weed suppression and mellowing the soil.
If weed suppression is the main purpose, buckwheat is preferred. It
covers the ground earlier than sudangrass, especially in early June, and
outcompetes weeds that may establish in sudangrass. Sudangrass requires a higher
seeding rate for effective weed suppression.
The amount of time until the fall crop is to be planted is a
significant decision factor. Buckwheat is in the ground for 35 to 40 days when
used as a cover crop. It can be sown as early as May 20th. Sudangrass
needs 60 to 70 days to be effective, and is best planted once June has become
thoroughly warm. Both of these cover crops should be mowed after about 40 days.
That is the end of the season for buckwheat, but the beginning of major root
growth for sudangrass. Sudangrass needs a final flail mowing and immediate
incorporation to suppress nematodes.
The condition of the field will determine which crop is suitable. If
the soil is hard, or the field is prone to standing water, sudangrass is a good
choice, while buckwheat will do poorly. However, if the field is low in
nitrogen and phosphorous, buckwheat will do well without additional fertilizer,
while sudangrass needs about 40 lb of N to give satisfactory performance.
If the crop to follow needs a fine seedbed, that will be easier to
produce after buckwheat. It mellows the soil for easy working, and decomposes
quickly after incorporation. Sudangrass crowns take some time to break down, so
the following crop needs to be one that can be sown in a somewhat lumpy field.
The main production risks with buckwheat are a failed stand and letting
it go to seed. The failed stand usually follows a heavy rain around emergence.
It will be obvious two weeks after planting. If the seedlings are not doing
well then, till them in and plant again. To avoid volunteer buckwheat seed,
kill the crop before there are filled green seeds on the plant. That takes
about 40 days from a July planting or 50 days from a June planting.
The main production risk with sudangrass is that the crop gets too big
to mow, or to incorporate after frost has killed it. This crop grows very fast,
so keep an eye on it. Mow the first time at about 3 feet and the second time
while the flail mower can still chop it well. If sudangrass gets too big to control,
it will be killed by frost and make a nice winter mulch. However the
biofumigant effect will be lost.
Buckwheat is available from some local farm seed retailers. The variety
does not matter, and many suppliers don’t identify any variety. Regional
suppliers include The Birkett Mills in Penn Yan, Ernst Conservation Seed in
Meadville, PA, AgriCulver in Trumansburg, and Lakeview Organic Grain in Penn
Yan. A short crop in 2006 has raised the seed cost for this season, with prices
ranging from $15 to $25 per 50 lb bag. A bag is enough to seed an acre.
Sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass are widely available. Varieties suitable
for cover crops must be selected carefully. Grain types are inappropriate and
some new forage varieties, described as sweet or with brown midrib are low in
dhurrin, which is the biofumigant in sudangrass. Piper sudangrass is readily
available, and has a similar composition to Trudan 8, the classic sudangrass
for biofumigation. Sorghum-sudangrass hybrids are more vigorous, and will produce
more biomass than sudangrass, but the seed is also more expensive. Appropriate
varieties that are available locally include Sordan 79, Green Grazer and
Special Effort. With a modest seeding rate of 30 lb/ac, sudangrass can cost as
little as $10 to $20 per acre. Weed suppression requires 50 lb/ac. Regional
suppliers include Seedway in Hall, Agriculver in Trumansburg and UAP in Sodus.
4. Growing Canola as an alternative grain crop
From SANNET listserv May 26, 2007
Original Message-----
From: Sustainable Agriculture
Network Discussion Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Lawrence F. London, Jr.
Sent: Saturday, May 26,
2007 8:02 PM
Subject:
[SANET-MG] Growing canola for conversion to biodiesel - how is it done?
Canola is grown as a
field crop much like wheat. It's harvested with a grain combine, which must be
adjusted to deal with the small seeds and the taller crop. It can be grown in
fairly dry regions, particularly winter canola, but it needs moisture to get
established. We can raise winter canola in an area with 10" annual
rainfall but better crops are achieved with higher rainfall. Spring canola can
be grown in 15" or more annual rainfall, but yields improve with higher
rainfall. Canola likes cool climates; temperatures over 85 degrees shut down
the blooming.
There are many canola
growing guides online. I have written a bulletin for dryland spring canola
production as well as several spreadsheet production guides for winter and
spring canola production at different production areas in Washington and
Oregon. They can be found at:
http://cff.wsu.edu/Publications/index.html#budget.
After you have produced
the crop, the seed will need to be crushed and then the oil needs to be
converted into biodiesel. ON average, you can expect to get about 100 gallons
of biodiesel per acre of canola but that will depend on your yield, of course.
Making biodiesel is not horribly difficult but it needs to be done well or your
fuel will be substandard and could cause problems in your vehicles. Many
farmers around here ended up selling their canola oil and buying their fuel as
they were getting about the same price as fuel cost last year, and making
enough biodiesel for the farm is a big, messy, exacting process.
Hope this helps.
Kate Painter
-----
Growing canola for
conversion to biodiesel - how is it done?
On a tract less than 100
acres, people I know want to grow canola to augment their supply of oil for
biodiesel production.
1) what kind of soils and
soil conditions and fertility are best
2) is it drought
resistant
3) is it grown on flat
land, row cropped or can it be grown in wide raised beds
4) how is is harvested
5) what kinds of
harvesters are available
6) is there a small
harvester/combine available that could be used with wide raised beds
or is there another
type that could be modified for this purpose
Thanks for any feedback.
LL
--
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
Venaura Farm
http://market-farming.com/venaurafarm
http://venaurafarm.blogspot.com/
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech
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5. Diggin'
in: Vegetable garden at Riddle excites elementary students Published
May 28, 2007 As plants grow, kids learn about nutrition, how to
tend harvest Brendan
Bouffard Resting
on her hands and knees, third-grader Stacia King ran her fingers through the
dirt of Riddle Elementary School's vegetable garden. "We
get to make our school look prettier," she said. "(The
vegetables) taste better, and they are more natural."
Planting
a vegetable garden outside her school was a break from her normal schedule. Riddle
Elementary's garden, in its second year, is student planted and tended
throughout the harvest. This summer, a student gardening camp run at the
school by volunteers will take over the care of the crops. Katie
Olender has been running the garden program at the school for the last two
years. "I
don't know if you could get a first-grader to enjoy vegetables if they didn't
grow them on their own," she said. "For a lot of them, it's their
only experience learning how to grow things." Children
participating in the program take to the dirt using tools donated by local
businesses. Much of the resources needed for the program come from state
funding and volunteers. Last
week, students at the school planted seedlings which will grow throughout the
summer. They
gathered into groups and spread out among the 10 or so vegetable beds to
plant tomatoes, corn, peppers, onions, squash, peas and several other
vegetables. Agricultural roots The
gardening camp is a way for some of the schools' international students to
connect with their agricultural roots, said Yoke-lei Oldham, the
international classroom teacher. "A
lot of these kids have been displaced by war," she said. "But their
background and tradition is in agriculture." Kasra-Nawio
Nizamuddin, a 10-year-old from Afghanistan, said he is happy to have the
chance to work on a garden. He said planting the vegetables reminded him of
his family's garden back in his home country. "I
believe in learning through play," Oldham said. "There is nothing
like hands-on." The
summer camp starts June 25 and will be a nutrition-based program. Alison
Gunden, an intern in charge of running the camp, said the kids will learn
about healthy eating habits. Students
in the camp will learn about fruits and vegetables, as well as take field
trips to the Lansing City Market and the Michigan State University Student
Organic Farm. "I
hope the kids can take something from the camp," she said. "I hope
they can have some access to stuff they don't normally have access to." Funding may be cut Olender
recently learned the program's state funding might be cut. She said she is
happy the garden has been a success, but she hopes volunteers will be able to
keep it running. "I
would love to put a vegetable garden at every school," she said. "I
will do everything in my power to keep it going. This has totally transformed
this school and these kids." Contact
Brendan Bouffard at 377-1061 or [log in to unmask]. |
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Farmers
might not stop to think about how their operations are part of a larger
ecosystem. But according to a new Michigan State University Extension
bulletin, a greater understanding of the natural interactions between crops,
the landscape, the ecosystem and even the surrounding human community can
help farmers make their operations more sustainable for the long run. |
Vicki Morrone
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
Michigan State University
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
http://www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu/
http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
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