digitS'
Garden Master
I believe that John Jeavons, author of "How to Grow More Vegetables . . ," wrote that a gardener should devote 30% of the garden to the growing of compost crops. These were plants sown for the primary purpose of composting so as to increase soil fertility in the garden generally.
I was recently reading about a farmer who has been following a consistent crop rotation schedule for over 20 years. He grows crops on a field for 3 years and then takes it out of production for 3 years. During that time, he plants cover crops - 6 times!
Fall - Winter rye
Spring - Sudan grass
The ground is tilled both Spring & Fall and replanted. This continues until a final Fall plow down and the field is planted to a cash crop the following Spring.
Winter rye has a seeding rate of about 100 pounds per acre. Sudangrass can be sown at about 50 pounds per acre. Seed costs for both Sudan grass and Winter rye cost about the same - $25/acre. So, 6 sowings are costing the farmer about $150/acre not counting fuel costs.
The farmer could keep the field in production continuously but fertilizer costs alone would be about $150/acre. He would have some of the costs of cultivation either way but there would be income. He has found it better to take the field entirely out of production to gain the benefits of effective weed suppression, a soil organic content of better than 5%, and reduced fertilizer costs during production.
These 2 approaches, 30% of the ground used for compost crops and 3 years on/off production, make a lot of sense to me. How 'bout you??
Steve
I was recently reading about a farmer who has been following a consistent crop rotation schedule for over 20 years. He grows crops on a field for 3 years and then takes it out of production for 3 years. During that time, he plants cover crops - 6 times!
Fall - Winter rye
Spring - Sudan grass
The ground is tilled both Spring & Fall and replanted. This continues until a final Fall plow down and the field is planted to a cash crop the following Spring.
Winter rye has a seeding rate of about 100 pounds per acre. Sudangrass can be sown at about 50 pounds per acre. Seed costs for both Sudan grass and Winter rye cost about the same - $25/acre. So, 6 sowings are costing the farmer about $150/acre not counting fuel costs.
The farmer could keep the field in production continuously but fertilizer costs alone would be about $150/acre. He would have some of the costs of cultivation either way but there would be income. He has found it better to take the field entirely out of production to gain the benefits of effective weed suppression, a soil organic content of better than 5%, and reduced fertilizer costs during production.
These 2 approaches, 30% of the ground used for compost crops and 3 years on/off production, make a lot of sense to me. How 'bout you??
Steve