The pea field across from us this summer was an experiment…they planted the peas directly into the soil…no till. After the peas were harvested they planted mustard.
We live back in those woods.
There are a few peas mixed in with the mustard and the mustard is almost in full bloom.
Planting mustard is beneficial to the soil. When the mustard is incorporated into the soil either this Fall or next Spring…Potato Cyst Nematodes will be diminished.
Finally the corporate farmer is doing something that makes sense. But is it any wonder that they have a Nematode problem with vehicles, tractors and workers travelling from one field to the next…transporting the little buggers from place to place.
Perhaps they will plant Marigolds next year.
I would love to see a whole field full of marigolds. That would be so awesome. Sometimes you really have to wonder who the corporate farmers are and if they are even farmers or just desk jockeys.
ReplyDeleteI thought about planting a ground cover into my little plot but I never got around to it. I'll just add some topsoil once I get it ready for spring planting. I need to enrich it, just like these farmers did with the mustard. Nice pictures! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a field of mustard! I agree with what you said about time going by faster (a post or two back). It's unbelievable! Sometimes I wonder, why even make the bed.
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a good point about going from one field to another and spreading buggers. There are restrictions for boaters and disinfection (zebra mussels, milfoil, and other Aquatic ainvasive Species). Maybe that should be considered for corporate agricultural equipment. The mustard field is pretty.
ReplyDeleteMarigolds sounds like a great idea! I remember going on my sister and brother in laws farm and seeing the mustard fields. It sure was a sight to behold!
ReplyDeleteThe yellow mustard field is really pretty.
ReplyDeleteI like eating mustard also!
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Nice to see them doing something good for the land. First the 'no till' means less compaction to the soil by the heavy tractors, and then planting the mustard to help with the fertility and nemotodes, good choices! Maybe they are finally realizing that the soil is an ecosystem and the healthier the soil, the healthier the plants.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that mustard plants enrich the soil. I learn so much from you both. Thanks for the continuing education.
ReplyDeleteShirley H.
I always learn from you. I know little about farming, even though I live in the Garden State!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of that before. It would be cheaper than chemicals. I first thought they were going to make mustard from the roots but it isn't that kind of plant.
ReplyDeleteCorporate farms like corporate anything will take all they can and when it's gone they junk it. Alberta has oil wells that have been abandoned. Now the govt. has to clean them up.
ReplyDeleteI plant marigolds in our garden every year, no matter what I'm planting. I did not know that about mustard though. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteDad always rotated crops and fed the soil with a nitrogen rich winter crop. He remembered the Dust Bowl. Maybe they are learning again what is good for the earth.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures.
I've known about using marigolds on a small scale...but a huge field full? That would be a glorious sight!
ReplyDeleteDidn't know that about mustard greens. They are all over in the fields out here. Come to think of it, I have a lot in my back field...of course, I don't plant potatoes, so I suppose that doesn't help...but still love to learn about those serendipitous combinations.
I now that peas can enrich the soil, but I didn't know about mustard. I would like to see red clover. it also enriches the soil.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see agribusiness experimenting with better ways to take care of the land.
I do like to hear about corporate farmers getting smarter. Indeed I do. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but it just makes me so sad that corporations are running farms.....it's un-American! LOL!
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