Cover crop variety planted 2015

Winter so far down here in zone 7a has been a bit cold, with some snow events. The cold hardy cover crops have done quite well though, with hairy vetch and rye seeming to not be disturbed too much by the lack of rain for the last few weeks. Another awesome grower is the forage or field radish variety, which I have found be have roots shooting down at least 1ft into the soil. I am also pleased with the amount of “straw” like matter that the oats and peas have turned into over the fall & winter, as this seems to have created enough cover for a cricket, spider, and a grasshopper to survive the winter. Reviewing the soil where there is a more diverse mix of cover crops used(more than 4-5), the soil seems to have a much different texture than I would have expected – the soil is not compacted where it used to be, has moisture still, and is alive with life.

Now that I have allowed cover crops to winter over on this field, I can really see the difference it has made, even in just one short year of being on this field. The soil didn’t seem to have anything more than a few random weeds on it before, and the previous home owners had plowed many times in an attempt to control the weeds, which most likely helped to compact what was left of the soil. On my way to Steiner field, I drive by fields of plowed soil that is first moist, and then turns dry after a few days in the wind and sun, and I ask myself – why would you go into your soil and remove all the moisture that had accumulated over the winter and in the process, bring up dormant weed seeds(not to mention making dirt clods = compaction)? Cover crops will also need to be terminated, but shallow tilling(2-3 inches) and deep aeration using a tool like a broadfork, can eliminate the need to perform deep tilling, which seems to cause greater harm than good to your soil.

Just when I thought that last season(2015) was tough to plan, this year I am modifying what I have at Steiner Field to incorporate what I have learned by reading books like the The Market Gardener by Jean-Martin Fortier & also The Organic Farmers Business Handbook by Richard Wiswall. At the middle of last season, I realized I didn’t plan too well and ended up creating rows that were only suitable for a few crops. This year though, I will be incorporating a slightly more dense setup, where the “your plants will have created a canopy with their leaves at 3/4 growth”, which is something that The Market Gardner books speaks about. Last year I noticed that I had a lots of square feet that were not being utilized, with the sun beating down on the soil and it seeming to dry up the soil near the plants in the rows too fast. This will be changed in 2016, where I will use a “T” fitting at each of the rows drip irrigation input, and add another drip line, so there will be two per row, and the row will be about 32 inches wide, instead of roughly 16 inches(or less) currently. The rows will need to be lowered, which are currently planted in “cover crops”, so this will happen when the soil warms up or I place tarps on the soil to assist in the warming process. I do know where I want the rows to go, rotation wise, as I will be growing green chile, jalapeno, tomatoes, and other heavy feeding plants. This year I will also be using transplants more, in order to get the healthiest plants on the field – last year I would guess that half the field was transplanted, and this year I am looking at just about 2/3 of the field to be transplants. I will also be adding a few more rows, with will equal about 300 line feet more area to grow – the additional rows will be at the east side of the field, and also on the north side of the field, where I am planting a corn-sunflower mix in association with warm season broad leaf and legumes to balance it up. I currently have enough seeds saved from last years flint corn and sunflowers that I will not need to purchase seeds for these rows, and they will add a wind break and the flowers will attract & feed pollinators. This year I have two varieties of flint corn to plant, and will also need some rows of sweet corn, as we love to eat fresh garden sweet corn. Lots of work to do still, but I will be posting again with updates on the plants and activities on the field.

Here is my first try at making a chile drying platform out of pvc instead of wood. When I was a youngster, I always remember my grandpa having a few of these out in the yard to use for drying chile pods, but his were usually constructed out of wood and chicken wire, with staples to hold the wire(solid). I decided to use 1/2 inch schedule 40 pvc along with chicken wire, and then used bail wire to attached the wire to the frame. The frame took about 15 mins to build, as I purchased:

1. 4 x 10ft long 1/2 inch diameter pvc pipes
2. 4 x 1/2 inch Elbow with output pvc joints(corner legs)
3. 2 x 1/2 inch tee’s for the middle legs.

The total size is about 10.5 feet long and 4 feet wide, with 16 inch tall legs, to keep the center of gravity low enough to be stable in high wind.

In hindsight, it would have been better to get another set of tee’s to attach the center, but the frame may hold up with the bar I have attached to the center now. If I find it doesn’t hold up to the wind, I can always splice into the center area pvc and add a tee to each side, attaching a pvc pipe between, versus on bottom. I didn’t use pvc primer/cement on the connectors, as I plan to be able to:

1. Easily be able to take apart and move and/or store for next season use
2. Able to repurpose the pipe for another project