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Dear Farmer,
September is here and with it comes fall field production. Although weeds may not be a problem now, they soon will over taking those cool season crops. Here’s a tip to help eradicate those weeds before they become an issue: a flame weeder is a great tool for the organic farmer. For cool season production: build your beds, wait for all those weed seeds and root shoots to show true leaves, and then come through with the flame weeder. This is called creating a stale seedbed. Once the weeds are killed, plant your cool season transplants and seeds.
Check out more tips to grow vigorous crops in this month's Grower's Toolbox. And, don’t forget about our Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Durham, November 4-6 where you can learn about more tools and tips for sustainable farming in the Carolinas!
Cheers,
Karen McSwain, CFSA's Director of Farm Services and Food Systems
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by Mark Dempsey, CFSA’s Farm Services Coordinator
It’s mid-season in the Carolinas, and, for growers, this typically means spring crops are finished, summer crops are keeping you busy, and you’re starting fall crops. This is a good time to consider whether to plant cover crops in some fields this fall instead of all cash crops. While maximizing the time cash crops are in the ground is a common sense approach to maximize revenue for your farm, it minimizes the benefits from cover crops, which don’t always come with a return in dollars – at least not immediately. So, when should you swap a fall cash crop for a fall-planted winter cover crop? This expert tip will help you figure it out.
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by Shawn Jadrnicek, the author of The Bio-Integrated Farm: A Revolutionary Permaculture-Based System Using Greenhouses, Ponds, Compost Piles, Aquaponics, Chickens, and More and a speaker at the 2016 Sustainable Agriculture Conference, Nov. 4-6, in Durham, NC.
Prickly pear has many uses: fruit, vegetable, fence, dye, medicine and flowers that offer a plethora of pollen for bees. Prickly pears belong to the genus Opuntia, a group of cacti indigenous to the Americas with species found as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico. Opuntia is now grown worldwide, integrating smoothly into some cultures while becoming an invasive menace in others. Does it have a spot at your place?
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by Mark Schonbeck, Virginia Association for Biological Farming
In organic weed management, the name of the game is to keep the crop ahead of the weeds. Whereas timely cultivation knocks the weeds back, the most economical and soil-friendly way to make sure the vegetable crop has the upper hand is to optimize the health and vigor of the crop itself. Healthy plants are much less likely to become overwhelmed by a given weed population level than are weak, stressed plants or thin, spotty stands.
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Correction to last month’s news brief “NOP Says No to Hydroponics and Aquaponics”
This article mistakenly identified the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) as the National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP did not rule against hydro/aquaponics – instead the NOSB recommended to the NOP that hydro/aquaponics not be included in the organic program. The NOSB is an advisory board that makes organic policy recommendations to the NOP, and the NOP is the body that turns those recommendations into law. No laws have changed, and it will be some time before we know if/how the law will change. Apologies for the confusion.
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Eastern Triangle Farm Tour
September 17-18, 2016 from 1-5 PM
Meet local farmers in Eastern Triangle region of NC and learn how they are making their farms profitable and sustainable!
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Thursday, Oct. 13 from 09 AM – 12 PM
Bio-Way Farm, 197 Bio-Way Ware Shoals, SC
Soil health is one of the most important factors in successful farming and gardening. Achieving a healthy soil helps to increase plant health, increase production, decrease disease, and decrease dependence on fertilizer. Come and learn about what makes a healthy a soil and how to alter your own farming practices to increase soil health.
Registration is free, but you must register to attend.
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Monday, Oct. 17 from 09 AM – 3 PM
Cabarrus County Extension Center 715 Cabarrus Ave W Concord, NC 28027 (morning session), and Lomax Incubator Farm, 3445 Atando Rd, Concord, NC 28025 (afternoon session)
Come learn how to use cover crops as a nutrient and weed management tool, and how to manage cover crops across a range situations in organic systems. From the field to high tunnels, from winter to summer cover crops, we’ll try to cover it all.
Registration, includes lunch:
- $15 Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Members (log in to receive your member discount, or call 919.542.2402)
- $20 Non-members
Registration deadline is September 30
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Sustainable Agriculture Conference
THE FOOD AND FARM EVENT OF THE YEAR!
November 4-6, 2016 in Durham, NC
Bringing together thought leaders, innovative farmer-mentors and experts in the sustainable agriculture movement, this Conference is about big ideas, practical learning and meaningful connection. The Sustainable Agriculture Conference brings the local food movement together – you need to be there! This is the future of food & farming.
Check out all the details on world-renowned speakers, keynote by season-extension expert, Clara Coleman, preconference farm tours, in-depth workshops, food, and so much more!
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