Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Beneficiaries are the 500+ farms in New York that grow in protected settings with an annual value of more than $6,000,000. The primary research site is in Yates County, where the highest concentration of tunnels are farmed and manufactured. However, farms in every region of the state, including New York City (NYC), have embraced the use of high tunnels for vegetable production. Farms with limited land bases, including an increasing number of urban farms, are in great need of the information to be generated. Our beneficiaries range from multi-acre, conventionally managed tunnels in Western New York; to produce auctions; to small scale, organic, direct marketers.We believe the implementation of cover crops to be scale neutral. In New York, approximately 81% of the farms growing under protection grow tomatoes. High tunnel tomato growers have limited options when it comes to implementing a cover crop into their crop rotation. The high tunnel tomato season typically ends in late September/early October and begins again in late March. In order to reap the benefits of cover crops, they require cold hardy species that germinate quickly in the fall, produce biomass throughout the winter, and are easy to terminate and incorporate in the spring. Changes/Problems:Along with many outreach projects, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced our interaction with the public during the years of 2020 and 2021. Many in-person meetings, such as our statewide fruit and vegetable expo were canceled. Our project team did pivot to virtual education formats with 13 webinars or online sessions reaching over 1000 people, as well as a YouTube video with hundreds of views. Another challenging change was the departure of our project manager in 2021. Our project data will continue to be analyzed by a new Program Aide to be hired shortly. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?12/7/18: Urban Soils Symposium - presented results of NYC Agricultural Soil Survey. 1/22/19: Soil Survey Gathering - discussed soil survey results with NYC urban farmers. 8/26/19: Buffalo urban farmers soil health meeting. 10/12/19: Urban Soils Symposium - discussing soil pH trials. 11/7/19 NY Urban Ag, A tale of two cities; NYC and BUF, 18 attendees 1/7/20 Cover Crops for Urban Farmers, 18 attendees 2/6/20 NYC Soil Survey Update, 10 attendees 3/4/20 Urban Soils Workshop, 27 attendees 4/28/21 Non-traditional Gardening, Urban Settings, Importated Soils and Container Options, 69 attendance 2019 Empire Expo - Cold Season Soil/Nutrient Research update - mix of organic, conventional, and industry leaders 2019 NOFA - Cold Season Soil/Nutrient Research update, organic growers 7/20/2019: Winter Cover Cropping Project Overview - shared project updates with educators on the regional Harvest New York team. 9/9/2019: Yates County Legislative Agriculture Tour - project update shared with approximately 40 elected officials in Yates County. 10/18/2019: Dilmun Hill Meeting - project updates share with CU faculty and Dilmun Hill student managers, 7 in attendance 11/13/19 High Tunnel Nitrogen Research Update, 6 attendees 1/2/20 Intro to Winter Growing, 15 attendees 2/17/20 Advanced Soil Nutrition, 60 attendees 2/18/20 Cover Cropping in High Tunnels, 60 attendees 8/3/20 Hoop House Nutrient Managements; Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group Podcast 1/13/21 Cover Crops in High Tunnels, 45 attendees 1/14/21 High Tunnel Vegetable Rotations, 30 attendees 2/23/21 Cover crops and tomatoes, Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group, 30 attendance 3/5/21 Winter Nitrogen and Soil management, 19 attendees 3/9/21 High Tunnel Tomato and Soil Management 35 attendees 3/17/21 Tunnel Soil, Great Lakes Vegetable Facebook live 3/23/21 Soil health and pH, 20 attendees How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?More than 100 one-on-one project-related farm visits were conducted during the project period, 36 social media updates generated a reach of 1,654 people, a YouTube video viewed more than 200 times, over 500 individuals attended a project related workshop, webinar or conference; findings were shared on 2 podcasts, 3 separate industry newsletter and 3 different statewide conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Research and document best management practices for Urban Soils Agronomic soil samples were collected from 21 urban farm sites in New York City(via Dairy One), plant tissue analysis (via Waters Ag Lab) for 8 sites, and saturated media extract (SME) (via University of Maine) for 7 sites. Results shared with respective farmers, with accompanying technical assistance and best management practices to be developed and shared in 2020 and 2021. Results shed light on important considerations for interpreting agronomic soil tests for constructed/imported soils in urban agriculture. This included revelations about adjusting lbs/acre figures depending on soil bulk density, revealing soil nutrient deficiencies previously masked by inflated soil test results, especially in constructed soils containing large amounts of organic matter. These adjustments greatly improve the usefulness of standard soil tests in urban agriculture; in particular, adjusted soil test results correctly predicted potassium deficiencies in several crops, whereas unadjusted soil test results showed an excess of potassium in most of these cases. Additionally, a small field trial demonstrated that elemental sulfur, incorporated at a rate of 1 or 2 lb per 100 square feet, was associated with significant decreases in pH of highly organic constructed soils and improved plant performance, increasing hot pepper revenue by over $250 per 100 square feet. Best Management Practices for Winter Cover Cropping in High Tunnels During the project period, we compared a bare, untreated ground control with four treatments: Triticale w/ Row Cover Triticale w/o Row Cover Triticale + Austrian Field Peas mix w/ Row Cover Triticale + Austrian Field Peas mix w/ Row Cover Using two high tunnels for our research, we were able to replicate our treatments on two planting dates, two weeks apart for two consecutive seasons. Pre and post treatment soil samples were taken and sent in for nutrient analysis, pH, % organic matter, nitrate nitrogen etc. (Agro-One, Ithaca, New York). Throughout the course of the winter biomass samples were collected from the cover crop treatments. Fresh weights were measured, a subsample of foliar tissue was sent off for foliar nutrient analysis, and the remainder of the foliar tissue was dried in ovens for a dry weight measurement. Using dry weight biomass and the percent of foliar nitrogen in the last samples of the season, we were able to estimate total lbs. of nitrogen contributed to the soil (either through nitrogen scavenging or nitrogen fixation). Tomatoes were planted according to grower standards and foliar tissue testing resumed once transplants were established. Tomato foliar samples were collected on a biweekly basis. Foliar test results were provided to the grower to adjust the fertility program as needed. Once plants began to produce fruit, total marketable and unmarketable yields, and number of marketable and unmarketable fruit data was collected weekly. When the harvest season concluded, the grower provided us with weekly tomato sales data, and cost of production data including money spent on fertility, pest management, and time and labor involved in cover crop management and termination. In Fall 2019, "Fridge" triticale and "Maxum" field peas were acquired through the Territorial Seed Company. Prior to planting, soil samples were collected from each plot - a total of 10 12" cores were taken from each plot using a soil probe. Subsamples were mixed thoroughly and submitted for Modified Morgan analysis, nitrate nitrogen, pH, and organic matter. Strip plots of triticale and a triticale/field pea mix were planted in both tunnels. "Verdesian Guard-N" legume seed inoculant (Johnny's Selected Seeds) was applied to field pea seed prior to broadcasting. A third strip of bare soil was included in the trials as a control. Plots were planted in the same orientation as in Fall 2018. Strip plots measured 15 feet long by 30 feet wide. Cover crop seed was watered in using overhead sprinkler irrigation. "Tunnel 1" cover crops were planted on 10/11/2019 and "Tunnel 3" cover crops were planted on 10/25/2019. Agribon AG-19 Row cover was added to half of the plots on 12/28/2019 and remained until it was time to mow the cover crop and incorporate into the soil. Over the course of the winter/early spring, cover crop foliar biomass was sampled once a month and measured for fresh weight. A subsample of each plot was submitted for foliar nutrient analysis. The remainder of the samples were dried in an oven in order to obtain dry weights. The cover crops in Tunnel 1 (early planting) were mowed and incorporated on 3/17/2020. The cover crops planted into Tunnel 3 (late planting) were mowed and incorporated on 4/22/2020. Spring soil samples were collected from Tunnel 1 on 3/18/2020 and Tunnel 3 on 4/22/2020. Post cover crop incorporation, eight-week-old Red Deuce tomato plants were transplanted into raised bed plasticulture. Tomatoes were planted into Tunnel 1 on 3/23/2020 and Tunnel 3 on 4/28/2020. A randomized subset of 6 plants/row/plot were selected for sampling for the 2020 tomato season. Tomato foliar sampling began in Tunnels 1 and 3 on 4/22/2020 and 5/19/2020, respectively. Foliar sampling continued on a biweekly basis until mid-August 2020. Tomato harvest began in Tunnel 1 on 6/18/2020 and on 7/15/2020 in Tunnel 3. Marketable fruit weight and number as well as unmarketable fruit weight and number was recorded on a weekly basis. Tomato harvest ended on 8/11/2020 (11 weeks) in Tunnel 1 and on 9/15/2020 in Tunnel 3 (9 weeks). Project Conclusions: Triticale + Field peas mix often yields more biomass. Across both tunnels, we documented triticale and field pea mix outperforming the triticale in both covered and uncovered settings. The field peas were planted 53% of the recommended rate of 150 lbs per acre. Row cover increases biomass. At all seeding dates treatments with row cover yielded more biomass. The impact of row cover on biomass was much greater in the later seeded plantings. This suggests that if growers plant early, the addition of row cover may not be necessary to grow significant biomass. Alternatively, if growers seed their cover crop late, adding row cover will be instrumental. Early plantings + row cover = higher N contributions. Estimated nitrogen contribution is higher in earlier seeded treatments. In some plots earlier planting produced 4-5X more biomass than the treatments in later plantings. It is also higher in treatments with row cover. The highest estimated contribution is 102 lbs./ac in the early planted, triticale and field pea mix that received row cover application. Note: Cornell Vegetable Guidelines recommend 125-150 lbs. of nitrogen per Acre for a tomato crop. High Tunnel management influences species selection. The equipment a grower has, whether they manage their high tunnels conventionally or organically, whether they grow in permanent raised beds or not, will all influence how cover crop biomass can and will be managed, terminated, and incorporated. Promote quick, uniform germination. In our research we've found a sprinkler set-up works well for ensuring wide, uniform moisture and rapid germination. Once established the cover crop did not need additional irrigation. Inoculate legumes. While rhizobia are naturally present in the soil, high tunnel soils that have not had legumes present for many years, may have very low populations of rhizobia. Legume seed may need to be inoculated with for nitrogen fixation. Terminate early. Regardless of cover crop planting date, termination should occur ~ 2 weeks prior to planting tomatoes. This will reduce transplant-shock compared to immediately transplanting into recently worked soil. This process will take longer in cold soils.
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Program Quarterly Report Q1 2021
https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/pdf/impact_ny/pdf123_pdf.pdf&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiC9aCel9P2AhUPoXIEHZBiDwkQFnoECAkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1zG6W19BYjRYRLUEuqRTSW
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Stop, Drop, and Cover Crop; Caitlin Vore; VegEdge issue 22 September 15, 2021
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
How to Get Started in Cover Crops, Caitlin Vore; VegEdge Issue 21 September 1, 2020
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Mid-winter High Tunnel Nitrogen and Cover Crop Update; Judson Reid; VegEdge Issue 2 February 2, 2019
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Time to Sow Cover Crops in High Tunnels!; Judson Reid; VegEdge, October 3 2018,Issue 23
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
High Tunnel Cover Crops Increase Profits for New York Growers. Cornell Vegetable Program Year in Review 2019
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Winter Cover Cropping in High Tunnels Year 2 Update
Caitlin Tucker and Judson Reid, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program
2021 Empire State Producers Expo
January 13th, 2021
Session 3, High Tunnels
|
Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Despite a mid-year shift to restricted travel and virtual meetings, the project team was able to successfully meet outreach goals for the 10/1/2019-9/30/2020 reporting period. We continued to reach growers via one-on-one visits, virtual conferences, social media, and through publications in farmer-oriented newsletters. In summary, the project team conducted 101 visits with growers, shared 17 project-related updates on social media with a total reach of 1,933 accounts, and shared project updates in a total of 10 meetings and 4 publications. A total of 44 urban growers and service providers were exposed to urban soil nutrient management problems at a SARE meeting in February 2020 in Wilmington, DE, and a NYC farmer meeting in January 2020. Student farmers at Cornell's Dilmun Hill Student Farm in Ithaca, NY were given an update on the high tunnel winter cover cropping demonstration trial that was held at the farm in October 2019. Our work on winter cover cropping in high tunnels was shared with 25 growers and service providers at the 2020 Empire Producer's Expo, which draws a mix of both organic and conventional growers. Project updates were shared with 33 growers and service providers at the 2020 Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA-NY) Winter Conference, which attracts organically minded growers from across the Northeast. We presented research updates at educational meetings held for growers that sell to the 8 produce auctions throughout New York State (NYS). These auctions are a major market outlet for produce growers, especially for the large plain sect Amish and Mennonite population throughout NYS. A total of 130 Amish and Mennonite growers were reached through these meetings. Finally, University Researchers, Extension Educators, and other service providers were exposed to high tunnel winter cover cropping through the Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group Annual Meeting. States represented at this meeting included New York, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, and more. Changes/Problems:High Tunnel Winter Cover Cropping: In light of COVID-19, our grant partners at Dilmun Hill (Cornell)froze hiring of student managers for the Spring/Summer season which meant that we would not be able to plant tomatoes, or collect tomato yield data from the trial. We were still able to measure cover crop biomass over the course of the Winter/Early Spring 2019-20 and took a final foliar test which allowed us to calculate lbs. of Nitrogen being contributed to the soil. Travel and gathering restrictions severely limited the grant team's ability to organize and host in-person grower meetings. The switch to virtual meetings severely impacted our ability to reach very rural growers, including Plain communities, that donot use technology. Lastly,"Fridge" triticale, the variety we typically plant in our high tunnel cover crop trials, wasout of stock with common seed suppliers in Fall of 2020.This required us to purchase "VNS, variety not stated" triticale from a local supplier (Lakeview Organic Grain, Penn Yan) to ensure that we had seed for the 2021 season. BMPs for Urban Soils:Initial plans to gather samples from 15 to 20 urban farms had to be reduced somewhat, as the onset of COVID-19 caused most urban farms to stop accepting visitors in most of April and May 2020. We will need to intensify outreach and evaluation when (if) in-person contact is viable in 2021, or consider an outreach/evaluation effort that extends beyond the calendar year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?High Tunnel Winter Cover Cropping; 10/18/2019, Dilmun Hill Project Update, Jud Reid and Caitlin Tucker, High Tunnel Winter Cover Cropping. 7 attendees. 0.25 hours. 11/13/2019, Winter greens High Tunnel Tour, Willsboro Research Farm, Elisabeth Hodgdon and Judson Reid, Overwintered high tunnel spinach nitrogen fertility, 9 attendees, 1.5 hours 1/2/2020, FLPA Educational Meeting, Judson Reid and Caitlin Tucker, High Tunnel winter cover cropping update, 104 attendees, 0.25 hours 1/2/2020 Winter Growing Webinar, Judson Reid and Elisabeth Hodgdon, Introduction to winter growing webinar: soil fertility, crops, planting dates, etc. 8 attendees, 1 hour. 1/15/2020, Empire Expo, Judson Reid and Caitlin Tucker, High Tunnel winter cover cropping updates, 25 attendees, 0.25 hours 1/17/2020, NOFA-NY, Judson Reid and Caitlin Tucker, foliar testing, cover cropping updates, 33 attendees, 1 hour 2/27/2020, Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group Annual Meeting, Judson Reid, High tunnel cover cropping and winter nitrogen fertility updates, 25 attendees, 0.25 hours 8/5/2020 FLPA Auction Meeting at Nelson Hoover's. Overview of high tunnel cover cropping work with Judson Reid and N. Hoover. 25 attendees 8/19/2020: Tour of high tunnel cover crop trials with Yolanda Gonzalez (HNY) and Margie Lund (CVP). 2 attendees BMPs for Urban Soils January 2020, UA Farmer Meeting in NYC, Sam Anderson, Discussed soils and nutrient management challenges. Shared previous findings and future plans for analysis to better understand soils. 12 growers attended. February 2020, SARE Meeting in Wilmington Delaware, Anderson presented findings from NYC Urban ag soil analysis to 32 urban farmers and service providers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?High Tunnel Winter Cover Cropping; 10/18/2019, Dilmun Hill Project Update, Jud Reid and Caitlin Tucker, High Tunnel Winter Cover Cropping. 7 attendees. 0.25 hours. 11/13/2019, Winter greens High Tunnel Tour, Willsboro Research Farm, Elisabeth Hodgdon and Judson Reid, Overwintered high tunnel spinach nitrogen fertility, 9 attendees, 1.5 hours 1/2/2020, FLPA Educational Meeting, Judson Reid and Caitlin Tucker, High Tunnel winter cover cropping update, 104 attendees, 0.25 hours 1/2/2020 Winter Growing Webinar, Judson Reid and Elisabeth Hodgdon, Introduction to winter growing webinar: soil fertility, crops, planting dates, etc. 8 attendees, 1 hour. 1/15/2020, Empire Expo, Judson Reid and Caitlin Tucker, High Tunnel winter cover cropping updates, 25 attendees, 0.25 hours 1/17/2020, NOFA-NY, Judson Reid and Caitlin Tucker, foliar testing, cover cropping updates, 33 attendees, 1 hour 2/27/2020, Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group Annual Meeting, Judson Reid, High tunnel cover cropping and winter nitrogen fertility updates, 25 attendees, 0.25 hours 8/5/2020 FLPA Auction Meeting at Nelson Hoover's. Overview of high tunnel cover cropping work with Judson Reid and N. Hoover. 25 attendees 8/19/2020: Tour of high tunnel cover crop trials with Yolanda Gonzalez (HNY) and Margie Lund (CVP). 2 attendees A total of 101 farm visits were conducted A total of 14 grant-related updates were shared on social media, resulting in 331 accounts being exposed to the grant BMPs for Urban Soils January 2020, UA Farmer Meeting in NYC, Sam Anderson, Discussed soils and nutrient management challenges. Shared previous findings and future plans for analysis to better understand soils. 12 growers attended. February 2020, SARE Meeting in Wilmington Delaware, Anderson presented findings from NYC Urban ag soil analysis to 32 urban farmers and service providers. 18 farm visits A total of 3 grant-related updates on social media, which exposed 1,602 accounts to the grant. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?High Tunnel Winter Cover Cropping: We began the third, and final, trial for this grant at Maple Lane Produce in Yates County in October 2020. We will continue to analyze data collected in Years 1 and 2 to further elucidate the benefits of winter cover cropping in high tunnel systems and will calculate total cost of implementation from data provided by our grower. Since the end of the reporting period, we have shared grant updates at: Great Lakes Expo Conference (Virtual), 12/9, 12/10/2020 , Judson Reid, Rotation Strategies for High Tunnels, Disease Management in Organic Vegetables. Journey's End Refugee Services, 10/23/2020, Caitlin Tucker and Judson Reid, Short presentation on cover cropping in urban settings. Catskill Regional Ag Conference (Virtual), 1/14/2021, Judson Reid, High Tunnel Vegetable Rotations and Fertility Considerations 2021 Empire Producers Expo (Virtual), 1/13/2021, Caitlin Tucker, High tunnel session: Cover cropping in high tunnels. 2021 Empire Producers Expo (Virtual), 1/13/2021, Judson Reid, High tunnel session: High tunnel soil health problems and solutions We anticipate sharing grant updates via a submitted video to the Northeast Cover Crops Conference held on March 4th, 2021 In 2021, we will continue to share grant updates at local grower meetings, social media, and farmer-oriented articles in newsletters such as VegEdge or the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture team's newsletter, Produce Pages. BMPs for Urban Soils: Soil and/or foliar samples will be gathered and analyzed from an additional 10 to 15 urban farms. The grant team will develop and share BMPs for nutrient management in urban ag soils.This includes honing and sharing the newly developed process for translating soil test results for soils with low bulk (in particular, determining easily adopted techniques for measuring soil bulk density and simple methods
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
High Tunnel Winter Cover Cropping: During the grant period, we completed Year 2 of our winter cover cropping trial at Maple Lane Produce, a commercial vegetable farm in Yates County. We explored species selection, timing of planting, and the addition of row cover. We compared a bare, untreated ground control with four treatments: Triticale w/ Row Cover Triticale w/o Row Cover Triticale + Austrian Field Peas mix w/ Row Cover Triticale + Austrian Field Peas mix w/ Row Cover Cover crop trials occupied two high tunnels on a grower-cooperator's farm located in Yates County. In Fall 2019, "Fridge" triticale and "Maxum" field peas were acquired through the Territorial Seed Company. Prior to planting, soil samples were collected from each plot - a total of 10 6" cores were taken from each plot using a soil probe. Subsamples were mixed thoroughly and submitted to Dairy One Agronomy Services (Ithaca, NY) for Modified Morgan analysis, nitrate nitrogen, pH, and organic matter. Strip plots of triticale and a triticale/field pea mix were planted in both tunnels. "Verdesian Guard-N" legume seed inoculant (Johnny's Selected Seeds) was applied to field pea seed prior to broadcasting. A third strip of bare ground is included in the trials as a control. Plots were planted in the same orientation as in Fall 2018. Strip plots measured 15 feet long by 30 feet wide. Cover crop seed was watered in using sprinkler irrigation. "Tunnel 1" cover crops were planted on 10/11/2019 and "Tunnel 3" cover crops were planted on 10/25/2019. Agribon AG-19 Row cover was added to half of the plots on 12/28/2019 and remained until it was time to mow the cover crop and incorporate into the soil. Over the course of the winter/early spring, cover crop foliar biomass was sampled once a month and measured for fresh weight. A subsample of each plot was submitted to Waters Agriculture Labs (Owensboro, KY) for foliar nutrient analysis. The remainder of the samples were dried in an oven in order to obtain dry weights. The cover crops in Tunnel 1 (early planting) were mowed and incorporated on 3/17/2020. The cover crops planted into Tunnel 3 (late planting) were mowed and incorporated on 4/22/2020. Spring soil samples were collected from Tunnel 1 on 3/18/2020 and Tunnel 3 on 4/22/2020 and submitted to Dairy One Agronomy Services (Ithaca, NY) for Modified Morgan analysis, nitrate nitrogen, pH, and organic matter. Post cover crop incorporation, eight-week-old Red Deuce tomato plants were transplanted into raised bed plasticulture. Tomatoes were planted into Tunnel 1 on 3/23/2020 and Tunnel 3 on 4/28/2020. A randomized subset of 6 plants/row/plot were selected for sampling for the 2020 tomato season. Tomato foliar sampling began in Tunnels 1 and 3 on 4/22/2020 and 5/19/2020, respectively. Foliar sampling continued on a biweekly basis until mid-August 2020. Tomato harvest began in Tunnel 1 on 6/18/2020 and on 7/15/2020 in Tunnel 3. Marketable fruit weight and number as well as unmarketable fruit weight and number was recorded on a weekly basis. Tomato harvest ended on 8/11/2020 (11 weeks) in Tunnel 1 and on 9/15/2020 in Tunnel 3 (9 weeks). Preliminary Takeaways from Year 2 Plant Early- Biomass production is minimal from November to January. In earlier seeded treatments (10/11/2019)we're already approaching about 2,500 to 5,000 lbs. fresh weight biomass per acre by January whereas, the later seeded treatments (10/25/2019) average only 350 lbs. of fresh weight biomass per acre. Triticale + Field Pea Mix outperforms when seeded early. In Tunnel 1, the earlier seeded tunnel, we see that the triticale and field pea mix is outperforming the triticale to the tune of 504 lbs. of dry weight biomass in the covered treatments and 625 pounds in the uncovered treatments. While this increase may seem minor, depending on the percent foliar nitrogen, this increase could translate to an additional 20-25 lbs. of nitrogen being contributed to the soil. For reference, the Cornell Vegetable Guidelines recommend 125-150 lbs. of nitrogen per acre for a tomato crop. In Tunnel 3, the later seeded tunnel, we do not see the mix outperforming. In fact, both the mix and triticale alone are performing very similarly in terms of dry weight biomass. This hints that those first couple of weeks were crucial for the field peas getting established. Row cover can increase biomass.At both seeding dates, all treatments that had row cover applied yielded more biomass. The impact of row cover on biomass production is much greater in the later seeded planting in Tunnel 3, compared to the earlier planting. This suggests that if growers plant early, the addition of row cover may not be necessary to produce a lot of biomass. Alternatively, if growers seed their cover crop late, adding row cover will be instrumental in making up for the lost time. Early Plantings combined with row cover yield higher nitrogen contributions.An early planted cover crop combined with row cover is generally going to yield more biomass and in turn, result in a higher estimated nitrogen contribution to the soil.The estimated nitrogen contribution is higher in earlier seeded treatments. It's also higher in treatments that received row cover. Thehighest estimatedcontribution we're seeing is in the treatment that combines an early planting, with the Triticale and Field Pea mix, with row cover. This treatment is potentially providing 102 lbs. of nitrogen/Acre, anywhere from 70-80% of the total recommended rate for a tomato crop. Tomato yield is not statistically different across treatments.Similar to 2018-19 data,we did not find that any of our treatments significantly influenced tomato yield or fruit number. Additionally, we did not see an influence of treatment on tomato foliar nitrogen over the course of the season. Analysis of soil nutrition andeconomic data is underway. BMPs for Urban Soils Major activities completed, objectives met Collected and analyzed soil and foliar samples from 11 urban farms in New York City (NYC) and measured soil bulk density in order to calculate adjusted nutrient levels and translate soil test results for constructed soils. Discussions with farmers at each site included sharing all test results, discussing preliminary findings of this grant, and ground-truthing potential explanations for these findings. Significant results achieved Using soil tests, foliar tests, and bulk density measurements gathered from urban farms through this grant, determined a process for translating readily available soil analysis results into more accurate lbs./acre figures in agricultural soils with low bulk densities, including most constructed soils used in NYC urban agriculture. Through farm visits and direct correspondence, at least 25 NYC urban farmers increased knowledge of soil testing practices and nutrient management in constructed and other unique urban ag soils.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Tucker, C.August 2020. Winter Cover Crops as Cash Crops?. CCE Cornell Vegetable Program VegEdge Newsletter. https://cvp.cce.cornell.edu/newsletter.php. Archived on website beginning February 2021.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Tucker, C. September 2020. High Tunnel Winter Cover Crops - How to Get Started. CCE Cornell Vegetable Program VegEdge Newsletter.https://cvp.cce.cornell.edu/newsletter.php. Archived on website beginning March 2021.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Reid, J. April 2020. High Tunnel Research Increases Profits for NY Growers. Small Farms Program. https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2020/04/high-tunnel-research-increases-profits-for-ny-growers/
|
Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Our extensive outreach plan, consisting of in person farm-visits, on-farm seasonal meetings, winter conferences, social media updates, and farmer-oriented articles allowed the project team to reach a large, diverse audience during the project period. Our work on identifying Best Management Practices for growing in urban soils reached urban growers in both New York City (NYC) and Buffalo, New York. Over the project period, we conducted a total of 39 farm visits with growers at 21 urban farms in NYC. These one-on-one meetings revolved around soil and plant tissue results and recommendations for related soil management issues. In the City of Buffalo, there are a total of 10 urban farms growing in native and/or imported soils, of which 60% are managed by female farmers. These growers were reached through direct farm visits and an on-farm soil health meeting in July of 2018 where urban soil best management practices were discussed. According the 2017 Census of Agriculture, there are approximately 489 operations in NYS that grow high tunnel tomatoes, with a total of 4,188,563 square feet in production and $28,590,555 in sales. Our work on winter cover cropping in high tunnels was shared with these growers at the 2019 Empire Producer's Expo, which draws a mix of both organic and conventional growers and the 2019 Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA-NY) Winter Conference, which attracts organically-minded growers from across the Northeast. We presented research updates at educational meetings held for growers that sell to the 8 produce auctions throughout NYS. These auctions are a major market outlet for produce growers, especially for the large plain sect Amish and Mennonite population throughout NYS. Another major beneficiary of this research has been those service providers (CCE educators, NRCS staff, and members of other support agencies) that have attended meetings. We have worked closely with the owners of Maple Lane Produce, the primary research site for our winter cover cropping research, located in Yates County. Through a local CCE Yates organized Agriculture Tour, we were able to share research updates with local Yates County legislators, board members, and other elected officials. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Urban Soils BMPs 12/7/18: Urban Soils Symposium - presented results of NYC Agricultural Soil Survey. 1/22/19: Soil Survey Gathering - discussed soil survey results with NYC urban farmers. 8/26/19: Buffalo urban farmers soil health meeting. 10/12/19: Urban Soils Symposium - discussing soil pH trials. Winter Cover Cropping in High Tunnels 2019 Empire Expo - Cold Season Soil/Nutrient Research update - mix of organic, conventional, and industry leaders 2019 NOFA - Cold Season Soil/Nutrient Research update, organic growers 7/20/2019: Winter Cover Cropping Project Overview - shared project updates with educators on the regional Harvest New York team. 9/9/2019: Yates County Legislative Agriculture Tour - project update shared with approximately 40 elected officials in Yates County. 10/18/2019: Dilmun Hill Meeting - project updates share with CU faculty and Dilmun Hill student managers, 7 in attendance How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Urban Soil BMPs Results were presented at the 2018 and 2019 Urban Soils Symposium reaching 82 individuals, the Soil Survey Gathering (14 individuals reached), and the Buffalo Urban Farmers Soil Health Meeting17 in attendance. Soil and plant tissue test results were shared during 39 farm visits with growers representing 21 urban farms, and a total of 12 updates were shared across social media accounts resulting in approximately 925 views. Winter Cover Cropping in High Tunnels 2019 Empire Expo - Cold Season Soil/Nutrient Research update - mix of organic, conventional, and industry leaders 2019 NOFA - Cold Season Soil/Nutrient Research update, organic growers 7/20/2019: Winter Cover Cropping Project Overview - shared project updates with educators on the regional Harvest New York team. 9/9/2019: Yates County Legislative Agriculture Tour - project update shared with approximately 40 elected officials in Yates County. 10/18/2019: Dilmun Hill Meeting - project updates share with CU faculty and Dilmun Hill student managers, 7 in attendance A total of 48 one-on-one project-related farm visits were conducted during the project period. 36 of social media updates generated 3 retweets, 808 likes, and a reach of 1,654 people. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Urban Soil BMPs Best management practices for interpreting soil test results, making adjustments based on soil bulk density, will be shared in early 2020, along with field trial results related to sulfur amendments and pH management. A Cover Crops for Urban Farmers workshop will be held January 7, and a meeting of NYC soil survey participants will be held in February, where 2019 results will be shared in detail. Additional soil and plant tissue analysis will be obtained in 2020, including at least 3 urban farm sites growing in native/underlying soils, for purposes of comparison with constructed soils. Bulk density adjustments will be tested, improved, and shared with farmers, and will guide over 20 hours of additional technical assistance. Winter Cover Cropping in High Tunnels During the next project period, we plan to continue our replicated trial of winter cover crops at Maple Lane Produce in Yates County. Additionally we will continue to analyze data collected in Year 1 to further elucidate the benefits of winter cover cropping in high tunnel systems and will calculate total cost of implementation from data provided by our grower. We plan to share project updates at the following Winter Conferences in 2020: 1/2/2020 - Finger Lakes Produce Auction Educational Meeting, data from Year 1 Cover Cropping research presented to approximately ~104 in attendance. 1/15/2020 - Empire EXPO. Project updates will be shared with growers attending the High Tunnel Session. Estimated 25 in attendance. 1/17/2020 - Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA-NY) Winter Conference. Project update will be shared with growers. Estimated 25 in attendance. We will continue to share project updates at local grower meetings, social media, and farmer-oriented articles in newsletters such as VegEdge or the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture team's newsletter, Produce Pages.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our project seeks to enhance knowledge and establish best management practices in two areas of agriculture that have grown exponentially - urban agriculture and high tunnel production. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, more than 55% of the world's population lives in urban centers and in America alone, more than 80% of the population resides in cities. New York City is the largest in the nation with over 8.6 million residents. Urban farms serve a number of vital roles - they help to meet a growing consumer demand for locally produced foods, they serve as wildlife refuges, they are used to educate communities on nutrition and sustainability, and food sovereignty. The "urban" aspect of urban agriculture brings about a unique set of challenges particularly in regards to soil health. Many urban soils experience issues with pollution, such as heavy metals, leading many farmers to grow in imported/"constructed" soils. These soils have drastically different properties compared to native soils - there are significant differences in percent organic matter, water holding capacity, bulk density, and nutritional deficiencies. Many farmers have embraced protected agriculture to extend their growing season, improve yields, and enhance the quality of their specialty crops. The 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture reports a 24% increase in the number of operations growing under protected settings across the nation since 2012, and in New York State, census data documents a 38% increase with total sales exceeding $38,000,000. Although high tunnels are widely used for season extension, a statewide survey of high tunnel soils by the project team found that after several growing seasons, farmers struggle to maintain productivity due to challenges in long term soil health and fertility management. Frequent tillage, excess fertility, and continuous vegetable cropping without rotation or precipitation results in a number of issues that require intervention for long term viability. We hypothesize that winter cover cropping may be one way to manage soil nitrogen, improve overall soil health, and maintain and potentially improve tomato yields and quality. 1: Research and document best management practices for Urban Soils Soil samples were collected from 14 urban farm sites in New York City in 2019, along with 7 additional sites in October of 2018. Standard agronomic soil analysis (via Dairy One) was obtained for all 21 sites, plant tissue analysis (via Waters Ag Lab) for 8 sites, saturated media extract (SME) (via University of Maine) for 7 sites; all results shared with respective farmers, with accompanying technical assistance. Data from 2018 and 2019 was compiled and analyzed, laying the groundwork for new best management practices to be developed and shared in early 2020, with a research update meeting scheduled in NYC early February. Along with soil and plant tissue results shared with farmers at 21 sites (32 farmers total), one-on-one technical assistance regarding these results and related soil management issues totaled over 40 hours in the reporting period. Results gathered in 2019, in addition to previous results from 2018, shed light on important considerations for interpreting agronomic soil tests for constructed/imported soils in urban agriculture. This included revelations about adjusting lbs/acre figures depending on soil bulk density, revealing soil nutrient deficiencies previously masked by inflated soil test results, especially in constructed soils containing large amounts of organic matter. These adjustments greatly improve the usefulness of standard soil tests in urban agriculture; in particular, adjusted soil test results correctly predicted potassium deficiencies in several crops, whereas unadjusted soil test results showed an excess of potassium in most of these cases. Additionally, a small field trial demonstrated that elemental sulfur, incorporated at a rate of 1 or 2 lb per 100 square feet, was associated with significant decreases in pH of highly organic constructed soils and improved plant performance, increasing hot pepper revenue by over $250 per 100 square feet. 2: Research and document Best Management Practices for Winter Cover Cropping in High Tunnels During the project period, we completed Year 1 of our winter cover cropping trial at Maple Lane Produce, a commercial vegetable farm in Yates County. We explored species selection, timing of planting, and the addition of row cover. We compared a bare, untreated ground control with four treatments: Triticale w/ Row Cover Triticale w/o Row Cover Triticale + Austrian Field Peas mix w/ Row Cover Triticale + Austrian Field Peas mix w/ Row Cover Using two high tunnels for our research, we were able to replicate our treatments on two planting dates, two weeks apart. Pre and post treatment soil samples were taken and sent in for nutrient analysis, pH, % organic matter, nitrate nitrogen etc. (Agro-One, Ithaca, New York).Throughout the course of the winter, 70 biomass samples were collected from the cover crop treatments. Fresh weights were measured, a subsample of foliar tissue was sent off for foliar nutrient analysis (Water Ag Labs), and the remainder of the foliar tissue was dried in ovens for a dry weight measurement. Using dry weight biomass and the percent of foliar nitrogen in the last samples of the season, we were able to estimate total lbs. of nitrogen contributed to the soil (either through nitrogen scavenging or nitrogen fixation). Preliminary biomass data shows that at the early planting, there is no significant difference between treatments, however data shows a trend that the triticale and Austrian Field Peas mix produces slightly more biomass than the Triticale treatments. In the later planting, we see a strong influence of row cover on the production of biomass in both Triticale and Triticale plus Austrian Field Peas treatments. There are stark differences in terms of the amount of biomass produced between planting dates - treatment in the earlier planting produced almost 4-5X more biomass than the treatments in the later planting, emphasizing the importance of establishing a cover crop early in the season, soon after tomato production ends for the year. We estimated the lbs. of Nitrogen contributed on a per Acre basis using the end of season biomass measurements and the corresponding foliar nitrogen percentage. In the early planting, we did not see any statistically significant differences across treatments, though we did identify a trend in that the Triticale treatments (with and without Row Cover) contributed more Nitrogen compared to the Triticale plus Austrian Field Pea treatments, despite the fact that the Triticale plus Austrian Field Pea treatments produced more biomass. The triticale treatments in the early planted tunnel produce ~72 lbs. of Nitrogen/Acre. Given that the Nitrogen recommendation for a tomato crop is 125-150 lbs. of Nitrogen/Acre, the cover crop could potentially contribute more than half of the crop's nitrogen requirement. Tomatoes were planted according to grower standards and foliar tissue testing resumed once transplants were established. Tomato foliar samples were collected on a biweekly basis. Foliar test results were provided to the grower to adjust the fertility program as needed. Once plants began to produce fruit, total marketable and unmarketable yields, and number of marketable and unmarketable fruit data was collected weekly from June 18th 2019 to October 15th 2019. When the harvest season concluded, the grower provided us with weekly tomato sales data, and cost of production data including money spent on fertility, pest management, and time and labor involved in cover crop management and termination. We anticipate that over the course of the next two years of this project we will see a more pronounced effect of row cover on total cover crop biomass production and total nitrogen added to the soil.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Vore, C. Reid, J. 2019. Winter Cover Cropping in High Tunnels[PowerPoint slides].
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Reid, J. 2019. February 4. Mid-Winter High Tunnel Nitrogen and Cover Crop Update. Cornell Vegetable Program VedEdge Newsletter. Page 7. https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/pdf/veg_edge/pdf156_pdf.pdf
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Reid, J. 2019. March 6. Mid-Winter High Tunnel Nitrogen and Cover Crop Update. Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Produce Pages Newsletter. Pages 18-19. https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/pdf/enych_newsletter/pdf434_pdf.pdf
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Reid, J. 2018. October 4. Time to�sow cover crops in high tunnels!�Cornell Vegetable Program - VegEdge Newsletter.
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