Managing Cover Crops Profitably (3rd Ed. )

Managing Cover Crops Profitably (3rd Ed. )

Author: Andy Clark

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2008-07

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1437903797

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Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You¿ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, since their benefits accumulate over the long term. This book will help you find which ones are right for you. Captures farmer and other research results from the past ten years. The authors verified the info. from the 2nd ed., added new results and updated farmer profiles and research data, and added 2 chap. Includes maps and charts, detailed narratives about individual cover crop species, and chap. about aspects of cover cropping.


The Third Plate

The Third Plate

Author: Dan Barber

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 498

ISBN-13: 1594204071

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"[A] renowned chef ... Barber explores the evolution of American food from the "first plate," or industrially-produced, meat-heavy dishes, to the "second plate" of grass-fed meat and organic greens, and says that both of these approaches are ultimately neither sustainable nor healthy. Instead, Barber proposes Americans should move to the "third plate," a cuisine rooted in seasonal productivity, natural livestock rhythms, whole-grains, and small portions of free-range meat"--Provided by publisher.


Cover Cropping in Vineyards

Cover Cropping in Vineyards

Author: Chuck A. Ingels

Publisher: University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9781879906358

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This guide features cutting-edge methods for using cover crops to enhance vineyard performance. Based on extensive research, this guide details technical and theoretical information on how cover crops affect vineyards and promote ecological stability. With how-to instructions for activities such as field application, this practical reference is a must-have for vineyard owners, managers, consultants, and pest control advisers.


The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm

The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm

Author: Daniel Mays

Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC

Published: 2020-11-10

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1635861896

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No-till — a method of growing crops and providing pasture without disturbing the soil — has become an important alternative to standard farming practices. In this comprehensive guide to successful no-till vegetable farming for aspiring and beginning farmers, author Daniel Mays, owner and manager of an organic no-till farm in Maine, outlines the environmental, social, and economic benefits of this system. The methods described are designed for implementation at the human scale, relying primarily on human power, with minimal use of machinery. The book presents streamlined planning and record-keeping tools as well as marketing strategies, and outlines community engagement programs like CSA, food justice initiatives, and on-farm education.


Sustainable Market Farming

Sustainable Market Farming

Author: Pam Dawling

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 1550925121

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Growing for 100 - the complete year-round guide for the small-scale market grower. Across North America, an agricultural renaissance is unfolding. A growing number of market gardeners are emerging to feed our appetite for organic, regional produce. But most of the available resources on food production are aimed at the backyard or hobby gardener who wants to supplement their family's diet with a few homegrown fruits and vegetables. Targeted at serious growers in every climate zone, Sustainable Market Farming is a comprehensive manual for small-scale farmers raising organic crops sustainably on a few acres. Informed by the author's extensive experience growing a wide variety of fresh, organic vegetables and fruit to feed the approximately one hundred members of Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia, this practical guide provides: Detailed profiles of a full range of crops, addressing sowing, cultivation, rotation, succession, common pests and diseases, and harvest and storage Information about new, efficient techniques, season extension, and disease resistant varieties Farm-specific business skills to help ensure a successful, profitable enterprise Whether you are a beginning market grower or an established enterprise seeking to improve your skills, Sustainable Market Farming is an invaluable resource and a timely book for the maturing local agriculture movement.


Crop Resources

Crop Resources

Author: David S. Seigler

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2013-09-24

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1483270440

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Crop Resources contains papers that were originally presented as a symposium on Crop Resources at the 17th Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany in Urbana, Illinois, 13-17 June 1976. The volume attempts to evaluate (a) the possible nonfood uses of cultivated plants; (b) the extent to which new and additional food resources may become available; (c) the prospects of several specialized uses of plants such as drugs, insecticides, rubber, and condiments; and (d) the origin of four major crops of the American Midwest and prospects for their future development. The discussions include the possibilities of developing new crops from the view of a chemist; the use of currently cultivated oil-seed crops for industrial purposes; the industrial uses of carbohydrates, principally starch and cellulose; the uses of plant materials as medicines; the successes and shortcomings of the Green Revolution; and the uses of plant materials for insecticides. This book should be of interest to anyone with a concern for natural resources, both renewable and nonrenewable. It should be of particular interest to agronomists, horticulturalists, chemists, chemical engineers, botanists, biologists, pharmacognosists, and anthropologists.


Grow a Sustainable Diet

Grow a Sustainable Diet

Author: Cindy Conner

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2014-03-01

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1550925547

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Row by row - maximize your harvest and feed your soil by developing a customized plan for your garden Everyone loves to prepare a meal with ingredients fresh from their own garden. But for most of us, no matter how plentiful our harvest, homegrown produce comprises only a fraction of what we eat. And while many gardening guides will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about individual crops, few tackle the more involved task of helping you maximize the percentage of your diet you grow yourself. Grow a Sustainable Diet will help you develop a comprehensive, customized garden plan to produce the maximum number of calories and nutrients from any available space. Avoid arriving in August buried under a mountain of kale or zucchini (and not much else) by making thoughtful choices at the planning stage, focusing on dietary staples and key nutrients. Learn how to calculate: Which food and cover crops are best for your specific requirements How many seeds and plants of each variety you should sow What and when to plant, harvest and replant for maximum yield. Focusing on permaculture principles, biointensive gardening methods, getting food to the table with minimum fossil fuel input, and growing crops that sustain both you and your soil, this complete guide is a must-read for anyone working toward food self-sufficiency for themselves or their family.


Cover Crops and Sustainable Agriculture

Cover Crops and Sustainable Agriculture

Author: Rafiq Islam

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2021-06-16

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 100040711X

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This book will not serve as the "encyclopedia of cover crop management," but it’s close. The benefits of a wide range of individual cover crops and blends/mixes for specific agronomic crop rotations and geographic locations are included. Descriptions, photographs, and illustrations show how cover crops look in the field, including plant height, leaf architecture, and rooting patterns. Long term benefits are described for soil health, soil structure, water quality, nutrient contributions, soil biodiversity, air quality and climate change. In addition to the "whys" of cover crop use, the book includes details on the "hows:" how to choose cover crops for specific applications and locations; how (and when) to plant; how to manage and maintain the cover for maximum benefit; and how and when to terminate. Planting options include: drilling/planting between rows of an agronomic crop at planting time, or when the crop is short (i.e. corn in early June); "aerial" seeding with an airplane or high-clearance machine shortly before the crop reaches maturity; and drilling/planting immediately after harvest of the agronomic crop. Selected cover crops (blends) can help with pest and disease management. Cover crops are an economic input with an expected return on investment, similar to pesticides and fertilizer. As part of a continuous no-till system, cover crops provide long-term biological, chemical and structural benefits. The resulting increase in soil organic matter means the agronomic crop yields benefit from better water infiltration and water holding capacity, greater availability of nitrogen and other nutrients, deeper rooting, and increased soil microbial activity in the root zone.


Soil Management

Soil Management

Author: Jerry L. Hatfield

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2020-01-22

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0891188533

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Degradation of soils continues at a pace that will eventually create a local, regional, or even global crisis when diminished soil resources collide with increasing climate variation. It's not too late to restore our soils to a more productive state by rediscovering the value of soil management, building on our well-established and ever-expanding scientific understanding of soils. Soil management concepts have been in place since the cultivation of crops, but we need to rediscover the principles that are linked together in effective soil management. This book is unique because of its treatment of soil management based on principles—the physical, chemical, and biological processes and how together they form the foundation for soil management processes that range from tillage to nutrient management. Whether new to soil science or needing a concise reference, readers will benefit from this book's ability to integrate the science of soils with management issues and long-term conservation efforts.