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  • From: "Nan Johnson" <nan AT olemiss.edu>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] soil prep and cover crops
  • Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 18:02:22 -0700

David Guthrie wrote "There seems to be some debate on whether or not or
how much to work or till the ground with covers."

For those who live in the hot, humid southeast, it has been recommended NOT
to incorporate cover crops into the soil - because we burn up N (nitrogen)
so quickly, and mixing it with soil only means faster digestion by soil
creatures. If at all possible, planting into the dead cover crop remains
left on the surface is ideal (but only if have right equipment - more like
no till system).
This advice comes from agronomist Seth Dabney - one of the contributers to
"Managing Cover Crops Profitably" (SAN) - who lives here in Mississippi and
works with cotton and soybean farmers as well as market farmers.

For those who do more by hand (say with tomato transplants) planting into an
already killed winter cover crop of austrian winter field peas (which were
just left on the soil surface) was pretty easy, and I might mention, there
were NO annual weeds when the area was neglected for two months (other than
watering). Just that bermuda grass creeping in from the pasture.

nan j/dancing goats farm
n. mississippi
zone 7b





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