Cover Cropping and Reduced Tillage for Mixed Vegetable Farms In Southern New England.

A three-year experiment investigated how various cover cropping and reduced tillage techniques affect vegetable yield, nutrient cycling, and weed density in mixed vegetable systems without the use of herbicides.  We compared the conventional method to three alternate treatments. Rolled and crimped fall-planted, winter rye was used to form a mulch layer, while a zone builder implement strip-tilled planting beds for one treatment.  Another treatment used perennial rye and dwarf white clover as perennial living mulch between raised beds. The third treatment used crimson clover as an annual living mulch. Treatments were planted in 10X50 meter plots, and replicated three times.  Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, lettuce, carrots, and cabbage were planted in each treatment. Marketable and nonmarketable yield were recorded for each crop. Soil quality was evaluated annually by Cornell’s soil health lab, and biweekly throughout the growing season using Solvita soil respiration kit.  Weed densities were recorded four times during the season. We hypothesized the three treatments could effectively maintain vegetable yield while increasing soil quality and decreasing weed density. The roller crimper winter rye treatment was ineffective at preventing weeds and produced a reduced marketable yield for all crops, all three years. The perennial living mulch treatment was very effective at weed control within the aisles, but reduced yields occurred due to inadequate weed control within the row. The crimson clover treatment was able to maintain or exceed the yields of the conventional treatment, but weed control was less effective. Solvita soil test showed a difference between conventional and perennial living mulch treatments in 2011. In 2012, conventional respiration rates were lower than all other treatments, while the roller crimper rates were significantly higher than all other treatments. Cornell soil health test showed increased soil health scores for all treatments over all three years.