By Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens (with help from Peter Martens), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on March 17, 2005 Successful organic weed control is the sum of all operations and cultural management. The purpose of the cultural methods (crop rotation, … Continued
Dig Deeper
Mary-Howell and Klaas Martens
Early season weed control: Part 2
By Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on February 10, 2005 The goal of blind cultivation is to remove the initial flushes of weeds when they are very small and most sensitive to disturbance. Blind cultivation takes … Continued
Early season weed control: Part 1
By Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Orangic Grain Originally posted on January 27, 2005 Welcome to the first installment in this three-part series–a basic primmer about weeds, tools, and techniques–which will be followed by a more in-depth look at equipment … Continued
Confessions of a “foodie”
By Mary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted December 2004 Okay, I admit it; I’m a “foodie.” I can hardly help it, coming from a family where cookbooks were considered appropriate leisure reading, where Julia Child joined us regularly during … Continued
Smoothing the path to a profitable harvest home
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on September 28, 2004 Standing out in your field, surrounded by those amber waves of grain or rustling corn stalks, it is hard to imagine that the value of … Continued
Farming is definitely shades of gray
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on August 31, 2004 The sun is brilliantly sparkling on the water, the waves a gentle and steady rhythm, and the ocean breeze is warm on my arms. The … Continued
What can you use to boost your soil fertility?
By Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on August 3, 2004 You diligently took soil tests this winter and now they’ve come back indicating that potassium or phosphorus is low on some fields, here and there you … Continued
Farms R Us? Part 2
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on August 3, 2004 What follows is the final installment of a two-part series that developed when our friend Sandy asked us last winter to “franchise the design of … Continued
Farms R Us? Part 1
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on July 20, 2004 When our friend Sandy asked us in January to “franchise the design of our farm” onto his farm, that seemed like a crazy idea. After … Continued
Looking for root causes and real solutions
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on April 2, 2004 March comes, cold and snowy, but then suddenly overnight, it’s Spring! Just a few days of warm weather and fields of wheat change from yellow … Continued