We took 2, 15-feet by 30-feet plots and planted corn. On 1 plot we added several inches of composted manure from our horse stalls, straw, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips and other organic matter and worked it into about 8 inches of top soil giving us about 12 inches of loosened soil on planting day and sowed with corn. On the other, we added no organic material, tilled the soil, and planted the same seed of corn. Neither plot received commercial fertilizer.
As of June 28, 2007, 8 weeks into the project, the corn in the improved soil is nearly twice the height of the corn growing in the unimproved soil. The plants are a dark, healthy green, while the corn in the unimproved soil is a sickly pail green.
We will do an exact measurement by weight and cob count at harvest, but I have a good idea of the outcome.
BTW, we did a similar experiment with tomatoes... same outcome, though not as severe. The tomato plants in the unimproved soil are about 75% of the size of those in the improved soil.
The risk to our food supply is falling production per acre due to a lack of nitrogen fertilizer. And, no, we don’t have enough cows, horses, goats, etc… to provide enough manure to replace the nitrogen we now get from fertilizer. So don’t worry about how far your food has traveled; worry about how far the fertilizer traveled, from where, and how much nitrogen fertilizer is available, because we can’t go organic fast enough to make up the difference.
1 comment:
I love reading about your experiences! In regard to your corn crops and their need for nitrogen; have you looked at planting beans(legumes) and the nitrogen fixing quality of these crops, to enhance your corn crop? Also, and I speak straight from what I know about how the Native Americans grew corn; have you thought of raising fish and using fish to help fertilize your crop? 1 small fish per plant? and what about planting the beans right with the corn? I am so excited that maybe you would e-mail me and tell me more? I know I'm "CORN"Y, hehe! Goodluck to you and your crops, I will be trying my own self sufficient homestead in about three years from now.
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