PFN and NÖK field day at the Pappelhof
24.08.2024 | EVENT
Soil structure as the key to drought resistance in vegetable cultivation
Under the motto “Compost, manure and catch crops: How well do soil-building measures help in dealing with drought in vegetable growing?”, an exciting field day took place on 24.08.2024 at the Bioland farm Pappelhof . The versatile farm in the Wetterau region, between Frankfurt and Giessen, is a cooperative model of agriculture and marketing and also a model farm in the field of independent energy supply as well as part of the vegetable cultivation project group of the Practice Research Network Hesse (PFN).
Lectures on the use of compost, nutrient supply and water storage in vegetable growing soils
After Esther Mieves welcomed the participants and introduced the PFN-Hessen, Rüdiger Preuß presented the Pappelhof and Tommy Schirmer explained the aims and activities of the Network for Organic Farming and Compost (NÖK). In his presentation, Schirmer discussed the use of compost in agriculture and the nutrient situation in organic farming. Jürgen Kleber from Hochschule Geisenheim University then spoke on the topic of “Increasing the water storage capacity of soils in organic vegetable cultivation”, the topic of the PFN vegetable cultivation project group. The group of practitioners, consultants and researchers is investigating whether compost or manure in combination with catch crops can increase the water storage capacity of the soil. Initial results after two years of practical research show the positive tendencies that the introduction of organic material has on water and nutrient availability in the soil, but also the difficulties encountered in practical implementation. It remains to be seen which results can be verified in the coming final year of the trial.
Soil activity and hygiene measures in a practical test
Following the presentations, the participants visited the PFN trial areas and the “recovery areas” on the Pappelhof. Tommy Schirmer presented results on the “TeaBag Index”, which he used to illustrate the microbial activity in the soil by burying tea bags in the field a few weeks earlier. A simple infiltration test (with a PE pipe) was used to show the amount of water the soil can absorb per time at different points. Esther Pfeiffer gave an insight into the practice “Hygiene Year according to Holger Buck” and Rüdiger Preuß explained his motivation for applying these measures and how they are implemented on the farm. In a round of questions and discussions, the participants jointly explored the question of whether and under what conditions “a hygiene year delivers what it promises”.
Many thanks to the Pappelhof who welcomed the visitors to the farm in bright sunshine and gave us such interesting insights into the farm and the soil.
