Monday, June 19, 2023

Upcoming Tour for Greenhouse Soil Health

 Extra! Extra! Learn All About It!

Judson Reid and Talia Plaskett will be making the rounds in Nova Scotia July 3-July 5 for farmer-guided discussions on soil health in tunnel spaces! These sessions will be primarily focused around nitrogen management, and the crucial considerations to make when selecting nutrient inputs to make sure that we are supporting a healthy and resilient soil system, as well as maximizing the productivity on our target crops. This conversation is easily catered to production that is organic, conventional and everything in-between.  Feel free to bring your most recent soil test and tissue test results for some feedback and general discussion surrounding what those results are telling you.

Where soil health is a complex, multi-dimensional topic, the tour team will also be talking about the use of cover cropping in protected spaces. Where cover crops are hardly a new practice, the inclusion of this concept into tunnel spaces is not as commonly practiced. Cover crops offer a handful of benefits to protected producers, where erosion may not be the primary concern, but they can help facilitate drainage, fix nitrogen directly into the soil, maintain healthy microbial communities, and help to build organic matter in these highly productive, highly utilized spaces. 

The intention of these sessions is to provide a space for current and prospective tunnel producers to talk about soil health, and how protected production can lend to some unique challenges not typically seen in outdoor settings. So grab a friend, and register today for your closest tailgate meeting, for what should make for a very interesting session! 

More information can be found here

Posted by: Talia Plaskett