EnviroLink Forum

I'm a bit stumped and I'm looking for a answer or two from those gardener/farmer types....

I bought a book today "How to grow more Vegatables" by John Jeavons. It's very useful but I noticed something.....

In crop rotation, you ideally don't want to follow a crop with another crop from the same family. But I noticed nearly all the crops that add nitrogen back into the soil, are from the same family!

My guess, is you'll have to alternate with clover or alfalfa. Am I right?

Alfalfa would also add nitrogen. Usually when alfalfa is planted it lasts 6 or 7 years and then it is either plowed under and something else is planted, or it is sprayed with Roundup, which kills everything, and planted back into corn or beans by no till means.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.

You could go with frozen embryo transport to lower the number of animals in transit but still have the volume for genetic diversity.

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With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

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The embroy approuch would work: depending on for how long they are viable(Wouldn't want them to die on the way out) Wouldn't have as much fresh eggs and milk early on for the colonists, though.

I'm set to start filling in my fields with a crop rotation. It's more involved then I first thought.

mini-update:

Chicken numbers up to 550;
Goats to 60.



To those farmer types out there.......is planting slower then plowing? How much so?

Also; is it safe for cattle to feed on standing wheat? Does it have to be processed somehow or can they be allowed to graze in a field of it?

Actually, you're correct. I wasn't thinking too hard on that one.

What I had running thru my head was the psedo-settlement I'm using is in sort of a 'U' shaped valley: I had plans to use terraces on the hillsides, mostly for the grain crops(quinoa, wheat, millet and sorghum) I invisioned grazing the cattle along these terrances. Stubble could still be used, I think, maybe interspaced with fields of clover.

If the wheat, millet, and sorghum were harvested first, I don't think there would anything of value in what was left.

Once wheat is harvested, all that is left is usually baled for straw for bedding, or it's just left in the field to be disced under the following year. I suppose cows could feed on millet or sorghum stubble after harvest, but we have to remember the plant is dried up by the time harvest occurs, so there would be little or no nutritional value left.

I think you'll find the crops grown for the people will not double as nutritional food for cattle. For the cattle you need protein in their hay, which means it has to be harvested while it is still green. Any grain crops will have to be dry in order for the grain to have matured, so by that time the plant itself usually won't make good quality feed.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.

That clears things up, Hunter.

So if you're gonna feed cattle from grain, it's gonna have to pretty much be in the same form as people get it?

When it comes to grain crops, the cattle or horses would eat the same part we eat. Such as soybeans, we'd both eat the bean itself. By the time they are ready to harvest all you have is the beans in the pods and a stem, all the leaves have fallen off. And living in Iowa I'm sure you know what the corn stalk looks like by the time the corn is ready to harvest.

In the case of wheat, I'd think that would be mainly for the people since wheat is not a big part of animal feed. Here the leftovers would make good bedding for your barns. I suppose you can tell there is nothing good in straw. If you use it for bedding you don't usually have problems with the animals eating it. As a matter of fact I know some guys that foal out mares on grass hay instead of straw. They figure the mare will at least eat some of the hay, so there won't be as much to clean out later.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.

Iowanic I thought about this some today. Shows I was having a slow day, doesn't it.

I could see the wheat for the people as this would give them flour for bread and baking.

You might look at oats for a grain supply for animals. Oats will work for cattle or horses, is about 11% protein, and can be eaten just the way it is without cracking or rolling to break the oat seed. Corn would need to be cracked to be fed to animals. In cold weather climates oats help horses stay warm, because energy is used to break down the hull on the oat seed. Also oats can be saved back from one year to the next. Basically I could just take oats I was going to feed my horses and plant them and they would come up. The left over oat stubble is much like the wheat stubble, but I have seen oats hay. I doubt it has much nutritional value, but if they'd at least eat it, it would help in the winter and would add roughage to go along with grain.

As for millet and sorghum, not sure about those. My only experience there is bird seed for my bird feeder.

You might look at soybeans, though harvesting may be difficult without proper machinery. Soybeans are a great source of protein for livestock or people. Soybeans add nitrogen to the soil for crop rotation. And like oats you can plant what you don't eat, so no need for special seeds.

Local grasses could be used as a hay supply for cattle and horses. This would be easier to raise and harvest then alfalfa. While the protein levels may not be as high, there should be a plentiful supply. Also grass hay is easier to put up in good shape then alfalfa. A little rain won't hurt grass, but rain on cut alfalfa usually leads to problems and may lead to bad hay.

Most cattle and horses would do nicely on grass hay and oats for grain. Which means the needs for livestock would be very simple.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.

If not cracked it comes out looking the same as it went in, so no nutrition is gained.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.