Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Steve Diver <steved@ipa.net>]

The following two sections come from a workshop
handout I provide to gardeners and farmers in
the four-state region of the Ozark-Prairie ecoregions 
of AR, OK, MO, and KS. 

"Suppliers of Organic Fertilizers, Rock Minerals, 
Composts, and Pelletized Poultry Litter in the 
Tri-State Region of the Ozarks (NW-Ark, NE-Okla, 
and SW-Missouri)", a ten page resource list with 
supplies, recipes, instructions, and resource listings. 


Section One:

Three Pillars of Organic Farming Fertility 
1. Cover Crops (and Crop Rotations)
2. Compost
3. Rock Minerals (and Rock Dusts), based on a soil test 

Supplemental Fertility Practices
4. Bucket Organic Fertilizer Blend
5. Sidedress (with N sources in Blend) or Fertigate 
6. Bioaugmentation with Microbe Teas

Supplemental Fertilty Practice to Raise Brix
7. Foliar Fertilization


Section Two:

Cool-Season Winter Legumes 
        Crimson Clover
        Subterranean Clover
        Austrian Winter Pea
        Vetch

Cool-Season Winter Cereals and Broadleaves
        Annual Ryegrass
        Winter Rye
        Winter Wheat
        Rapeseed
        Oilseed Radish
        Mustard

Warm-Season Summer Legumes and Broadleaves 
        Buckwheat       
        Cowpeas, viny type 
        Soybeans, viny type 
        Sunn hemp 
                
Warm-Season Summer Grasses and Cereals
        Sorghum-Sudan Grass
        Japanese Millet
        Pearl Millet 


That should help get you started with ideas on
a rotation to smother out Johnson grass and build
your soil fertility, organic matter, and biological
activity.

For a basic how-to approach:  get some rock 
minerals, pelletized poultry litter, and cover crop 
seed.  

Fyi, for rock minerals focus on limestone, rock 
phosphate, and K-mag as necessary, based on a 
soil test. 

You can produce high biomass yielding and green and 
healthy looking cover crops,  build soils, and smother 
out weeds at the same time. 

Steve Diver 
Northwest Arkansas 



-----Original Message-----
>From: Terry Boyne <tboyne@email.com>
>Sent: Jul 19, 2006 2:32 PM
>To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: [Livingontheland] A No Till Question for Larger Fields
>
>
>Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!
>
>I'll give that some thought.
>
>As to what I plan to plant, I'm giving that some thought too as I look at 
>the whole picture of trying to put together a self-sustaining operation.
>
>Suggestions are welcome. I'm working with sandy loam river bottom soil that 
>has a good bit of limestone agrigate mixed in that's washed down from the 
>above hills.
>
>Thanks,
>Terry