By Eric Winter, Rodale Institute Seasonal Research Technician This is year two of the three-year Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant that is investigating alternatives to black plastic. Since the end of year one (see the article Black Plastic … Continued
Dig Deeper
SARE
Growing vegetables with cover crop mulch
By Alison Grantham At Meadow View Farm, in Kutztown, PA James Weaver and son Harold Weaver dread cleaning up the more than 20 linear miles of black plastic they use every year. When they do finish cleaning up all of … Continued
Black plastic alternatives: Year 1
By Sandra Wayman The challenge Is it possible to grow vegetables organically without black plastic, while controlling weeds and producing a decent yield? Can this system also benefit the soil and reduced costs? These were the questions that the Rodale Institute … Continued
Cover crops go round three with black plastic
By Lindsey Brielle This is the third year of our three-year Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant that is exploring alternatives to black plastic. Rodale Institute is collaborating with four other farms for this study: John and Aimee Good … Continued
Final year of field research on alternatives to black plastic
By Lindsey Brielle The SARE Vegetable Trial is a field study designed to identify the impacts of black plastic and cover crop mulches on weeds, soil quality, yields and season length for a variety of crops at Rodale Institute (RI) … Continued
Cover-cropping guru Steve Groff champions fall-planted forage radish mixes to renovate field lanes
By Greg Bowman Originally posted on November 10, 2005 Steve Groff is endlessly curious about new ways to use cover crops to build up his soil. A current interest is how to make forage radishes work in tandem with other … Continued