Crops
What is monoculture?
The practice of planting only one crop in the same area year after year
What is tilling?
The process of turning the soil, usually to a depth of 6-10 inches, using a fork or a tilling tractor attachment
What is a hedgerow?
A hedgerow is a densely planted row of shrubs or trees that creates a living boundary between a field.
What is a cover crop?
A crop that a farmer grows in order to protect and enrich the soil.
What is a polyculture?
The practice of planting a diversity of crops on the same piece of land at the same time.
What are the benefits of tilling?
Weed suppression, mixing in soil amendments, reducing soil compaction.
With your table, come up with 3 reasons a hedgerow might be beneficial to a farm.
- Provides a natural boundary between fields or farms
Creates a windbreak which protects crops & insects
Increases biodiversity: attracts beneficial insects, pollinators, birds which helps with pest management and pollination
Increases moisture retention in the soil
Some trees provide fruit & blossoms
Creates a corridor for wildlife to pass through safely
What are three benefits of cover crops?
1. Increases the soil's capacity to hold water
2. Makes soil nutrients more available.
3. Increases biodiversity, which helps the soil and also helps attract beneficial insects.
4. Can help improve soil structure.
What are the benefits of monoculture?
In the short run, monocultures allow for specializiation, increasing the efficiency and therefore productivity of the farm.
What are the long-term negative effects of tilling?
Poorer soil structure, increased erosion, reduced water retention, reduced microbial life in the soil, increased need for soil fertilizers.
With your tablegroup, come up with three MORE reasons hedgerows might be beneficial to a farm.
Hedgerows:
Provides a natural boundary between fields or farms
Creates a windbreak which protects crops & insects
Increases biodiversity: attracts beneficial insects, pollinators, birds which helps with pest management and pollination
Increases moisture retention in the soil
Some trees provide fruit & blossoms
Creates a corridor for wildlife to pass through safely
Name three plants commonly used as cover crops.
Fava beans, red clover, buckwheat, alfalfa.
What are the benefits of a polyculture?
The diversity in plant life feeds the soil. The array of plants attracts an array of insects, and beneficial insects and birds help control pest populations.
What can farmers do instead of till, when they're ready to transition a row or field from one crop to the next?
Cut the plant at the base of it's stem, let it fall to the ground to decompose in the soil. Or clear the plant debris.
Name three native trees/shurbs you might see in a hedgerow in this region.
Oak, madrone, manzanita, elderberry, willow, etc.
How might a farmer eliminate a cover crop once they want to plant a new crop? Name three ways.
1. Mow/weedwhack
2. Have goats or sheep eat
3. Burn
4. Crush