article thumbnail

Regenerative Gardening, No-Till Winter Cover Crop Strategies

UnderstandingAg

Root crops and tuber beds are generally clean and free of residue after harvest, which make them an easy location to direct seed with any seeder, or broadcast seed, followed by applying a straw mulch. If you live in a high-rainfall climate, I recommend applying straw mulch after seeding to reduce crusting and soil loss.

Crop 89
article thumbnail

Fungi Are Helping Farmers Unlock the Secrets of Soil Carbon

Civil Eats

He mostly grows salad greens across 3 acres of farmland. It is always covered with straw, leaf mold, or wood chips,” says Leah Penniman, the co-founder of Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York. “We Those are nitrogen-rich plants, and nobody’s applying fertilizer,” he says.

Farming 121
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

As the Salton Sea Shrinks, Agriculture’s Legacy Turns to Dust

Civil Eats

Over that time, only a handful of smaller-scale research projects have attempted to document current sediment contaminants on what is now almost 20,000 acres of exposed playa that is adding dust to the region’s already poor air quality. But the effort is woefully behind schedule. As of March 2023, only 290 had been completed.

article thumbnail

Are Next-Gen Synthetic Fibers the Future of Sustainable Textiles?

Modern Farmer

In addition, most natural fibers are grown conventionally, which often means heavy use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and genetically modified or treated seeds. Cotton growing at Viriditas Farm, where rotational crops like heirloom Sonora wheat bolster root material and straw to build soil organic matter with each crop year.

Textiles 102
article thumbnail

More things in Heaven and Earth: Mycorrhizal fungi, ploughing, no-till and glyphosate

Sustainable Food Trust

In 1951, pioneering organic farmer, Frank Newman Turner, took up the theme in his book, Fertility Farming , referring to mycorrhizal associations he writes (p.50), ” By ‘short-circuit’ feeding, he means the use of artificial fertilisers.

article thumbnail

Fifty years of nurturing nature

Sustainable Food Trust

SFT CEO Patrick Holden and his wife Becky Holden farm 300 acres in West Wales and produce a raw milk cheddar called Hafod with the milk from their herd of Ayrshire cows. We farm 300 acres, and each field has its own unique identity, character and distinctiveness.

Farming 52
article thumbnail

Should Bioplastics Be Allowed in Organic Compost?

Civil Eats

He plants nitrogen-rich legumes and other perennial cover crops amongst his pear, apple, plum, peach, and cherry trees, but he buys a commercial compost product to keep his 100-acre, fourth-generation family farm thriving. Ela knows first-hand how central compost is to his organic farm—and all organic agriculture.

Compost 90