Written by Mary Hathaway, OFRF’s Analysis & Schooling Program Supervisor
Maggie Dungan, farmer at Salad Days Farm
Salad Days farm is a various vegetable operation located on 30 acres in Versailles, Kentucky. Licensed natural since 2015, farmer Maggie Dungan’s curiosity in rising meals began with an schooling in vitamin and the lengthy dream for her household to be self-sustaining. The farm grows 12 months spherical within the subject and in hoop homes to produce their on-farm retailer, eating places, faculties, and 4 weekly farmers markets.
Maggie works laborious to maintain mechanization on her farm minimal, specializing in cowl cropping, minimal tillage, and different soil well being conservation practices. She retains solely 2-4 acres of the farm in manufacturing, permitting her to concentrate on the standard of her methods to develop excessive worth and sustainable meals for her neighborhood.
Impression of Solarization on Soil Microbiology
Solarization plots within the excessive tunnel.
Maggie was first uncovered to the observe of solarization utilizing clear plastic in 2022 when the farm participated in a analysis venture with the College of Kentucky. The venture studied the impact of solarization in excessive tunnels on root-knot nematode populations. She was impressed by the outcomes of the trial, and noticed first-hand how this method impacted a persistent soil pathogen.
Natural farmers like Maggie that concentrate on minimizing tillage should nonetheless handle pathogens, weeds, and different widespread challenges, and solarization presents potential advantages. Nonetheless, Maggie was involved concerning the affect of the therapy on her soil well being, and had some questions – if solarization kills pathogens, gained’t it kill the great microbiology, too? How does warmth smothering with a plastic tarp affect soil microbial exercise? What’s the affect on fungal to bacterial ratios?
Earlier than starting to include soil solarization into her subject plans, Maggie needed some solutions, and utilized for OFRF’s Farmer Led Trial program to assist her construct out a stable analysis plan and discover dependable outcomes that will have a optimistic affect on her operation.
