The bare fallow (non-planting regime) could be used as a control in the field experiment to separately identify the impact of the crop or fertilization on the soil microbial community structure and functions5,14. A core microbiome is typically defined as a suite of members shared among ...
Ryan places the new specimens in bare spots around the garden. I always wanted a mixed collection, so there was something interesting and different to look at in every direction. Once the plants are positioned, Phurba follows behind to get each one into the ground. Each hole is about 10-...
Poorly pollinated plants will have ears with empty spots where the kernels should be. In such a situation, manual pollination comes in handy. Even in large fields, it has been shown that hand-pollinating increases crop yield by reducing the number of sterile stalks and improving kernel ...
After mounding all the potatoes with dirt, cover each seed potato area with straw. The straw flakes off in “leaves” (seen above on top of the wheelbarrow) and these can be pretty dense, so you’ll need to separate them so that the straw is light and relatively fluffy to allow the s...