We’re excited to share that Wild Hope’s Rachel Klein and Katherine Belk will be speaking at the 2022 PASA Conference on Attracting and Retaining a 400 Member CSA.
Join us for a virtual presentation on the findings from our 2 year SARE research on Summer cover crops for roller-crimper no-till fall planted broccoli production. During this presentation you will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of each cover crop treatment, looking at weed suppression, labor hours, and broccoli yield.
Research Background:
In sustainable, organic vegetable systems, cover crops provide several benefits to the producer - they prevent erosion, reduce water usage, increase fertility, and improve the biological and physical properties of the soil.
In addition to these benefits, cover crops that are terminated with the roller-crimper to produce mulch for the following cash crop can also provide a significant labor reduction for the farmer. Most research in this area has focused on fall-planted cover crops, leaving little information about summer cover and prompting us to investigate further. With a longer growing season in the southeast, we have more of an opportunity to utilize summer cover crops. Having summer cover or mulch in place during the hurricane season (June-Dec) can significantly reduce damage and erosion to the field.
In order to investigate which summer covers worked best, we evaluated 1) weed suppression 2) total yields and 3) total labor hours for each treatment including bed preparation, transplanting and weeding.
Our experiment consisted of 5 treatments:
1) Tilled after Sunn Hemp (100lbs/acre)
2) Crimped Sunn Hemp (100lbs/acre)
3) Crimped Sunn Hemp (100lbs/acre) & Millet (50lbs/acre)
4) Crimped Sunn Hemp (75lbs/acre), Millet (50lbs/acre) & Buckwheat (50lbs/acre)
5) Crimped Sunn Hemp (75lbs/acre), Soybeans (50lbs/acre) & Buckwheat (50lbs/acre)
This event is FREE! Please RSVP and receive the attendance information through the link below.
Join us for a farmer-focused field day where we will tour the 3 fields that make up our 12 acres under production. During the walking tour you will also see our propagation greenhouses, shade house, high tunnels, compost heat extraction system, water retention pond, field production, solar systems and more! We will discuss our organic approach to growing diverse vegetables and flowers. Farm managers will talk through the successes/challenges of using low-till techniques (roller crimping cover crops, tarping) at scale.
You will get to see the plot where we are in the second year of a SARE research project, exploring roller crimped cover crops for a fall broccoli production.
Children are welcome!
For those interested, after the tour we will have a picnic by the pond. Bring your own food, plates, drinks, etc. Please be mindful of Covid, bring a mask and maintain 6 ft distance from other attendees. This gathering will take place outside and is rain dependent!
This event is FREE but we have limited spaces available so please sign up through the link below!
Time and Money Saving Designs and Techniques
Katherine Belk, Wild Hope Farm; Shawn Jadrnicek, Wild Hope Farm and author of “The Bio-integrated Farm”
Target Audience: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Farmers
Drawing on the concepts in The Bio-Integrated Farm, speakers Katherine Belk, and Shawn Jadrnicek of Wild Hope Farm will explore creative ideas and designs to improve efficiency on your small- to mid-scale farm. Get ideas for no-till systems, automated CSA delivery, greenhouse heating, and produce washing. The Bio-Integrated Farm is a twenty-first-century manual for managing nature’s resources. This groundbreaking book brings “system farming” and permaculture to a whole new level. This session is best for beginning, intermediate, and advanced farmers.
Time- and Money-Saving Designs and Techniques for Your Farm—Learn techniques and equipment hacks to make farming easier! Get ideas for automated CSA delivery, greenhouse heating, produce washing and marketing techniques. Drawing on concepts in The Bio-Integrated Farm, we'll explore creative ideas and designs to improve efficiency on your small- to mid-scale farm.
Site Selection: Connecting to farm buildings and fields, electricity, vehicle/equipment access, micro-climate, solar access
Grading/Prep: Drainage, slope angles, weed control, soil prep
Construction: Material considerations, anchoring, snow loads
Heating and Cooling: Passive and active systems using internal/external ponds, barrels, hydronic heat, and solar/electric powered ventilation systems
Location considerations: Food safety, odor, drainage, solar access
Direct wall connections: Wall material options
Hydronic system connections: Internal pipe systems, concrete slab systems
Heat Exchangers: EPDM benchtop, barrel, pond
Row covers: EPDM and barrel systems
Carbon dioxide extraction: design and safety
Join us Sunday, September 29th for an informative tour of Wild Hope Farm and a workshop focused around No-Till and Cover Cropping Techniques.
Background
We currently have 6.5 acres under diverse organic vegetable & flower production, with an additional 6 acres in cover crop which we plan to add next year. No-till techniques have been critical for us in reducing our field prep time, weed pressure, labor, insect problems, plant diseases and overall expenses. We plant a significant percent of our crops into no-till including winter squash, summer squash, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, scallions, lettuce, watermelons and cantaloupe.
9 - 10 AM Tour
During the walking tour you will get to see our produce wash and pack area, propagation greenhouse, compost heat extraction system, water retention pond, field production, solar systems and more! We will discuss on our regenerative approach to growing diverse organic vegetables, flowers, and laying hens, and walk you through our favorite tools/tractor attachments on the farm.
10 - 12:30 PM No Till & Cover Cropping Techniques
Learn about no-till and cover cropping best practices to help save time and energy while simultaneously increasing your land's organic matter.
Part 1 (30 min) Cover Crop Selection: overview of seeding rates, timing and seeding techniques for winter and summer cover crops.
Part 2 (30 min) Weed Free Cover Crops: The first step to a successful no-till program is growing a weed-free, vigorous cover crop. Learn the tricks of planting a successful cover crop including stale seed bed techniques, planting into raised beds and moisture considerations.
Part 3 (30 min) Roller Crimper 101: Learn how to time the crimping operation to maximize cover crop kill and prevent regrowth.
Part 4 (30 min) Extending Weed Suppression & Preventing Problems: Learn how to efficiently combat weeds, pests and diseases with an overview of problems for common vegetables and organic solutions. We'll also highlight mistakes we've made over the years so you don't have to do the same :)
LUNCH AND BEVERAGES WILL BE PROVIDED - BYOB IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HANG AROUND AFTER THE WORKSHOP!
INSTRUCTOR: Shawn Jadrnicek is the author of The Bio-Integrated Farm: A Revolutionary Permaculture-Based System Using Greenhouses, Ponds, Compost Piles, Aquaponics, Chickens and More. He has nourished his interest in sustainability through 22 years of work as an organic farmer, nursery grower, extension agent, arborist and landscaper, and now manages Wild Hope Farm in Chester SC.
Wild Hope Farm’s Peanut Belk is presenting to the Charlotte’s Sierra Club on Sustainable Farming. Come learn how we use regenerative agriculture and permaculture design in our diversified vegetable, laying hen, and flower farm in Chester, SC.
