Excess rains and droughts of the past decade pointed out the poor health and productivity of soils on many local vegetable farms. Coupled with high fuel prices and high fertilizer prices, growers have been eager to improve their soil management efforts. Reduced tillage leads to less fuel use and legume cover crops allow the farmer to grow nitrogen fertilizer, reducing their need for conventional fertilizer and the fuel and labor to apply it.

The Cornell Soil Health Test can be used to determine your field's soil management for percentage of water-stable aggregates. A soil with low % water-stable aggregates has  poor crop emergence, more crusting, more runoff, reduced root growth, increased root diseases, and fewer beneficial microbes to cycle soil nutrients.

Vegetable farms using conventional tillage and few cover crops had an average of just 18% water-stable aggregates, while farms using reduced tillage or extensive cover cropping averaged 36-39%. Innovative growers are now beginning to adopt both strategies to improve soils even more.

In addition, the Cornell Vegetable Program is working with a number of conventional and organic vegetable growers on increasing the use of a wide range of cover crops to fill open niches in rotations to improve soil health and grow nitrogen.

More Soil Health Content

Finger Lakes Produce Auction Educational Meeting

January 3, 2019
8:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Penn Yan, NY

This meeting is our annual winter educational event for Finger Lakes Produce Auction growers. This year we focus on disease management in cole crops, strawberries, food safety and greenhouse flowers. 2.0 recertification credits in private vegetable category.

Ontario Produce Auction Winter Growers Meeting

January 9, 2019
9:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Stanley, NY

This meeting is our annual winter educational event for Ontario Produce Auction growers. This year we focus on disease management in high tunnel tomatoes, vine crops and greenhouse flowers. Grower and buyer panels will be presented as well irrigation and plastic mulch. DEC pesticide applicator recertification credits have been requested.

2019 Empire State Producers EXPO

January 15 - January 17, 2019
1.25 hr sessions throughout each day
Syracuse, NY

The 2019 Empire State Producers Expo combines the major fruit, flower and vegetable associations of New York State in order to provide a comprehensive trade show and educational conference for New York producers, as well as the surrounding states and Eastern Canada. 

Checklist for Cleaning a Root Barrel Washer

Don't miss those hard-to-reach places in your root barrel washer! Here is a checklist of areas to remember to clean to obtain an acceptable level of cleanliness completed in a reasonable about of time. Critical cleaning points are identified.