Cover crops to regenerate fallow fields for vegetable production
Farmer: Eric Barnhorst
Farm: Eva Mae Farm
Region: East
Publish Date: November 14, 2023
Article Type: Research Project
Research Priorities: Cover Crops
Over two years, Eric compared five methods of preparing fallow land for vegetable production with respect to soil regeneration and cost of implementation.
In a Nutshell
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Cover crops with micronutrient amendments increased active carbon, a sensitive indicator of soil health and soil regeneration potential.
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Micronutrient amendments alone did not increase active carbon.
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Eric saw some added benefit of adding chicken manure and woody compost to the diverse cover crop, with respect to yield and cost effectiveness per unit biomass of an indicator crop of sorghum sudangrass.
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Moving forward, whether Eric uses cover crops with or without manure and compost will depend on the return on investment of the following cash crop.