Crop Notes
Vernalisation helps explain why some vegetables flower after cold
Understand how a period of cold can prepare some vegetables to flower, why plant age matters and what to record when a crop bolts unexpectedly.
SOIL · CROPS · FARM PRACTICE
Good growing starts below the surface.
A practical agriculture journal about soil, water and the observations that help growers make better decisions.
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Vegetable Growing
Potato planting instructions distinguish trench depth from soil cover
Distinguish the depth of a potato trench from the soil covering a seed piece, and keep initial planting separate from later hilling instructions.
Growing Vegetables
A false seedbed gives weed seedlings a head start you do not intend to keep
A false seedbed brings an early flush of weeds forward so it can be managed before sowing. Its value depends on timing and shallow soil disturbance.
Soil & Roots
Cation exchange capacity: what soil can hold between feedings
Cation exchange capacity describes part of a soil’s nutrient-holding behaviour. Read it beside pH and nutrient results rather than as a fertiliser dose.
Soil & Roots
Root nodules reveal a partnership that legumes need to build
Legume root nodules can indicate a partnership with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Learn what a sample can show and why nodules alone do not measure soil fertility.
Vegetable Growing
Hand-pollinating a squash flower starts with recognising its role
Identify male and female squash flowers, choose a suitable morning and use gentle hand pollination while keeping other causes of poor fruit set in view.