Resource Guide to Organic and Sustainable Vegetable Production
1. 8 0 0 -3 4 6 -9 1 4 0
RESOURCE GUIDE TO ORGANIC &
SUSTAINABLE VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
Appropria te Technology Tra ns fer for Rura l Area s HORTICULTURE RESOURCE LIST
www.attra.ncat.org
ATTRA is the national sustainable agriculture information center funded by the USDA’s Rural Business -- Cooperative Service.
By Steve Diver 4.8 ATTRA Publications Relating to Pest
NCAT Agricultural Specialist Management
September 2001 5.0 Vegetable Industry Resources
6.0 Selected Vegetable Production Materials on
Table of Contents the Web
7.0 Magazines & Newsletters on Vegetable
1.0 About This Resource List Production and Market Gardening
1.1 Who Should Use This Guide 8.0 Databases & Directory Links to Vegetable
1.2 How to Use This Guide Crops and Associated Production Practices
1.3 About the Use of Web Resources on the Web
1.4 What is Sustainable Vegetable Production 9.0 Organic Farming Primer
1.5 What is Organic Vegetable Production 10.0 Organic Certification and Marketing
2.0 The Farmer's Bookshelf: 11.0 Economics of Organic Vegetable Production
2.1 Publications on Sustainable Vegetable 12.0 Magazines & Newsletters on Organic
Production, Market Gardening, and Farming and Sustainable Agriculture
Commercial Vegetable Production 13.0 Publishers & Book Distributors
2.2 Specialty, Ethnic and Minor Vegetable Crops
2.3 Literature on Organic Agriculture
2.4 Modern Literature on Organic Farming 1.0 About This Resource List
2.5 Literature on Sustainable Agriculture
2.6 Literature on Alternative Farming Systems In 1994, ATTRA published a 47-page information
3.0 Soil Management package titled Sustainable Vegetable Production. At
3.11 Books & Bulletins on Soil Fertility the time it was a leading information source on
3.12 Soil Fertility Web Links organic and sustainable vegetable production.
3.21 Print & Video Resources on Cover Crops However, in 1999 Dr. Vernon Grubinger, vegetable
3.22 Cover Crop Web Links specialist at the University of Vermont, came out
3.23 UC-SAREP Cover Crop Resources with a comprehensive book on this subject,
3.31 Books & Bulletins on Composts and Sustainable Vegetable Production From Start-Up to
Manures Market. With the advent of Grubinger's book—
3.32 Web Links on Composts and Manures published by the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and
3.41 Books & Bulletins on Soil Organic Matter Engineering Service (NRAES) in Ithaca, New
3.42 Soil Organic Matter Web Links York—we've discontinued the ATTRA information
3.51 Books & Bulletins on Earthworms, package. We think the NRAES book does an
Microbes, and Soil Biology excellent job of providing a comprehensive and
3.52 Soil Biology Web Links farmer-friendly overview of sustainable vegetable
4.0 IPM for Vegetables production.
4.1 Print & Video Resources on IPM
4.2 IPM Web Links In keeping with the ATTRA tradition to carve out a
4.3 Print & Video Resources on Weed Control niche where no agricultural specialist has gone
for Vegetables and Row Crops before, we elected to produce a resource guide of
4.4 Weed Control Web Links educational materials that supports the needs of
4.5 Weather, Agriculture and IPM organic and sustainable vegetable farmers. Thus, we
4.6 IPM Certification and Labeling offer this title—Resource Guide to Organic and
4.7 IPM Databases & Search Engines Sustainable Vegetable Production.
is a project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology
2. Farmers making a transition to sustainable farming 1.1 Who Should Use This Guide
need information on a wide variety of topicse.g.,
legumes as a source of nitrogen, cover crops, Farmers and others who work in commercial
compost, non-chemical weed control, biointensive agriculturee.g., Extension specialists, NRCS, crop
IPM, etc. This Guide provides a summary of some of advisors, teachers, and researchers. The focus is
the best in-print and on-line sources around. heavily oriented to practical approaches to organic
and sustainable farming.
Moreover, ATTRA specialists will continue to
address organic and sustainable production of 1.2 How to Use This Guide
specific vegetable crops—tomatoes, sweet corn,
onions, melons, asparagus—as well as Printed literature like books and bulletins are listed
complementary production technologies such as first; these are followed by a selection of on-line
compost teas, baking soda as an alternative resources. In some instances, a web version
fungicide, disease-suppressive potting mixes, use of corresponds with the book and these have been
refractometers to measure sugar content, foliar noted.
feeding, living mulches, flame weeding, etc.
Publishers and distributors that sell the books
Here it should be noted that farmers raising herbs or reviewed here are listed in a special section at the
field-grown cut flowers face nearly identical end of this resource guide. For details on sales price,
production requirements. Thus, when we talk about shipping expenses, and ordering information, contact
cover crops or weed control or soil management for the publishers.
vegetables, the same approach will work for field-
grown cut flowers and herbs. 1.3 About the Use of Web Resources
A Partial Listing of ATTRA Publications and The Internet has revolutionized the way information
Resources Related to Vegetable Production: is distributed and obtained.
• Overview of Organic Crop Production Whereas it used to take several weeks or months to
• Manures for Organic Crop Production wait for a publication to arrive in the mail, with a few
• Companion Planting: Basic Concepts & mouse clicks many of these items now instantly
Resources appear on your computer screen. Better yet, all these
• Suppliers of Organic and/or Non-GE Seeds & articles and bulletins are free. In addition, some
Plants items—including many Extension Service fact
• Organic Plug and Transplant Production sheets—are available only in electronic form. Thus,
• Organic Potting Mixes some portions of this resource list are more heavily
• Season Extension Techniques for Market oriented to web resources than others.
Gardeners
If you have received this resource list but you don’t
• Organic Allium Production
have a computer at home, please see your local
• Organic Asparagus Production
librarian for assistance. Most rural libraries now
• Organic Sweet Corn Production
have computer access.
• Organic Sweet Potato Production
• Organic Tomato Production How To Read Web Documents:
• Specialty Lettuce and Greens: Organic
Production .HTML Hyper Text Markup Language; click and
• Herb Overview read online. Most common format.
• Sustainable Cut Flower Production .PDF Portable Document Format; requires Adobe
• Organic Certification & The National Organic Acrobat Reader to download.
Program
• Organic Marketing Resources
• Community Supported Agriculture
• Direct Marketing
• Farmers’ Markets
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 2
3. 1.4 What is Sustainable Vegetable Production 1.5 What is Organic Vegetable Production
For the purpose of an introduction, sustainable In a nutshell, organic farming is based on the
agriculture can be characterized as follows: following approaches and production inputs:
• Sustainable agriculture is a goal rather than a • Strict avoidance of synthetic fertilizers and
specific set of farming practices. Progress or synthetic pesticides
movement toward the goal may be viewed as a • Crop rotations, crop residues, mulches
continuum. • Animal manures and composts
• Cover crops and green manures
• A sustainable farming system strives to be • Organic fertilizers and soil amendments
productive and profitable, while at the same time • Biostimulants, humates, and seaweeds
preserving environmental quality and making • Compost teas and herbal teas
efficient use of nonrenewable resources. • Marine, animal, and plant by-products
• Biorational, microbial, and botanical pesticides,
• Sustainable agriculture is concerned about the and other natural pest control products
well-being of rural communities and the quality
of life for families and farmworkers. In 1980, organic farming was defined by the USDA
as a system that excludes the use of synthetic
• Though biological practices and products are fertilizers, pesticides, and growth regulators.
favored over chemical inputs, pesticides and Organic certification emerged as a grassroots
fertilizers may be used within an IPM production and marketing tool during the 1970s and
framework. 1980s to ensure that foods labeled “organic” met
specified standards of production. The Organic
One of the quickest ways to grasp production Foods Production Act, a section of the 1990 Farm
practices associated with sustainable vegetable Bill, enabled the USDA to develop a national
production is to examine the guidelines and standards program of universal standards, certification
for integrated farming systems, such as: accreditation, and food labeling.
• Integrated Pest Management In April 2001, the USDA released the Final Rule of
• Integrated Crop Management the National Organic Program. This federal law
• Integrated Farm Management stipulates, in considerable detail, exactly what a
grower can and cannot do to produce and market a
In some instances, point systems are employed to product as organic. Application for certification
certify the adoption of recommended best must be made, paperwork completed, fees paid, and
management practices. For example, a grower can annual inspections undergone. To learn more about
earn points toward “certified IPM” status for sweet the details of the certification process, see ATTRA's
corn through the use of cover crops, crop rotations, Organic Certification & National Organic Program
nitrogen fertilizer applied in split application, etc. information packet.
To guide decisions on ways to approach sustainable A companion ATTRA publication—Overview of
farming, it is helpful to become knowledgeable about Organic Crop Production—is recommended to gain
the principles of agroecology and sustainability. a better understanding of the history, philosophy, and
Ultimately, each farmer adopts their own approach. practices of organic farming.
Resource: Resource:
Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture & An Overview of Organic Crop Production
Agroecology By George Kuepper, ATTRA
ATTRA's Related Web Links Site http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/organiccrop.html
http://www.attra.org/rel.html
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 3
4. 2.0 The Farmer’s Bookshelf The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of
Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market
Here is a selection of some of the best resources for the Gardener, 2nd Edition. 1995. By Eliot Coleman.
farmer's bookshelf. For-sale books are available from the Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Junction,
sources listed in the Publishers & Distributors section. VT. 340 p.
Out-of-print literature and reference titles (mainly in the
historical section) are available through Inter-Library Loan. Eliot Coleman’s book The New Organic Grower has
probably had more impact on the organic market
2.1 Publications on Sustainable Vegetable gardening movement in the United States than any
other single publication. Coleman advocates the use
Production, Market Gardening, and
of walking tractors, wheel hoes, multi-row dibble
Commercial Vegetable Production sticks, soil block transplants, and other tools and
techniques that help make market gardening much
Sustainable Vegetable Production From Start-Up more efficient. The techniques he describes were
to Market. 1999. By Vernon P. Grubinger. honed from years of experience as a farmer, combined
NRAES-104. Natural Resource, Agriculture, and with traditional market gardening techniques from
Engineering Service, Ithaca, NY. 268 p. Europe. Yet he also injects the insights and wisdom of
a pioneer in organics to help the reader acquire new
Vernon Grubinger is an Extension Vegetable ways of thinking; e.g., plant positive production
Specialist in Vermont. This book resulted from a philosophy. This is a complete how-to-get-started
vegetable production course he taught on sabbatical at manual on conceptualizing and practicing commercial
the University of Maine in 1996. Sustainable organic vegetable production. Highly recommended.
Vegetable Production From Start-Up to Market is
without a doubt the most comprehensive and modern How to Grow More Vegetables, 5th Edition. 1995.
textbook on sustainable vegetable production. By John Jeavons. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA.
Chapters address concepts and terminology associated 201 p.
with sustainable and organic production philosophies,
production practices (soil fertility management, on- John Jeavons’s book How to Grow More Vegetables is
farm composting, crop rotations, cover crops and the classic text on the biointensive method of
green manures, tillage and field preparation, seeds and production. This is the production system that
transplants, weed control, etc.) as well as business emphasizes double digging, intensive spacing,
planning and marketing. Special features include companion planting, organic soil preparation, and high
farmer profiles and lots and lots of useful tables and yields in minimal space. Jeavons’s book is filled with
sidebars. Farmer-friendly; highly recommended. useful information and charts. The Ecology Action
Institute founded by Jeavons publishes numerous
Sustainable Practices for Vegetable Production in booklets and research results on topics relating to
the South. 1996. By Mary Peet. Focus Publishing, biointensive production methods, organic fertilizers,
R. Pullins Co., Newburyport, MA. 174 p. cover crops, composts, small-scale production data,
etc. Whereas the scale of production advocated by
Sustainable Practices for Vegetable Production in the Jeavons is too small for many growers, the principles
South by Mary Peet is the result of a USDA are universally applicable.
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
(SARE) grant to North Carolina State University. This For a list of Ecology Action titles, descriptions, and
was the first attempt by a land-grant university to ordering information, see:
collate and synthesize information relevant to http://solstice.crest.org/sustainable/ecology_action/
sustainable vegetable production. Chapters provide index.html
overviews on production practices (soil management,
cover crops, conservation tillage, and insect, disease,
nematode, and weed management) followed by crop
profiles on individual vegetable crops. The crop
profiles provide a nice summary of standard
production practices (botany, plant characteristics,
planting, spacing, harvesting).
A full-scale web version is available online at:
http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/cals/sustainable/peet/
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 4
5. Backyard Market Gardening: The Entre- Knott's Handbook for Vegetable Growers, 4th
preneur’s Guide to Selling What You Grow. Edition. 1997. By Donald N. Maynard and George
1993. By Andrew W. Lee. Good Earth Publications, J. Hochmuth. John Wiley, New York, NY. 582 p.
Columbus, NC. 351 p.
Knott's Handbook for Vegetable Growers is the classic
Andy Lee has over 20 years of market gardening reference text for vegetable growers. It is jam-packed
experience and is executive director of the Good Earth with useful tables, data, calculations, and relevant
Farm School in Virginia. Lee’s book has a nice information on commercial production.
section on farm equipment with black-and-white
photos. Most of the book is geared to the marketing The Organic Gardener’s Home Reference:
and business side of market gardening. A Plant-by-Plant Guide to Growing Fresh,
Healthy Food. 1994. By Tanya Denckla.
The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower’s A Garden Way Publishing Book. Storey
Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers. 1997. Communications, Inc., Pownal, VT. 273 p.
By Lynn Byczynski. Chelsea Green Publishing Co.,
White River Junction, VT. 207 p. The Organic Gardener’s Home Reference by Tanya
Denckla is a perfect complement to Knott's Handbook
The Flower Farmer is an important contribution to the for Vegetable Growers as a quick reference source on
organic market gardening literature because field- vegetable production. The Plant Charts summarize
grown flowers are a common part of a crop mix for production guidelines for 28 vegetable crops in an
local sales. As editor of the Growing for Market easy-to-read format, including: growth conditions;
newsletter, Lynn Bycznski has a knack for writing harvest; storage requirements; growing tips; selected
about market gardening ideas and practices. The farm varieties; common pests and diseases; and plant allies,
profiles of cut flower growers around the U.S. are a companions, and incompatibles. Other charts
nice feature of her book. summarize disease and insect control options, and
plant allies and companions.
Producing Vegetable Crops, 4th Edition. 1992. By
John M. Swiader, George W. Ware, and J.P.
McCollum. Interstate Publishers, Inc., Danville, IL.
626 p.
Producing Vegetable Crops is one of the standard
textbooks on commercial vegetable production. It
draws heavily on data and recommendations published
by the Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural
Experiment Stations. These textbooks serve as a good
reference for any commercial vegetable grower,
whether organic or conventional.
Vegetable Growing Handbook: Organic and
Traditional Methods, 4th Edition. 1990. By Walter
E. Splittstoesser. An AVI Book, Van Nostrand
Reinhold, New York. 362 p.
Vegetable Growing Handbook is a second vegetable
textbook worth noting. Though its coverage of
organic farming methods is brief, the vegetable
production summaries are well done and it contains a
section on specialty vegetables.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 5
6. 2.2 Specialty, Ethnic, and Minor Vegetable detailed information on 78 Oriental crops (including
many greens like mizuna, aburana, komatsura, edible
Crops
chrysanthemums, yellow mustard); each entry includes
steps of production from sowing and germination
Specialty vegetables, baby vegetables, heirlooms, colored
through thinning, weeding, and harvest.
varieties, ethnic vegetables... market farmers like to raise
these minor crops and sell them at farmers markets and
other niche markets. Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants,
2nd Edition. 1998. By Stephen Facciola. Kampong
Publications, Vista, CA. 713 p.
World Vegetables: Principles, Production and
Nutritive Values, 2nd Edition. 1997. By Vincent E. Cornucopia is a superb compendium, as well as
Rubatzky and Mas Yamaguchi. International sourcebook, of edible plants. It contains descriptions
Thompson Science (Chapman & Hall), New York, and seed or nursery sources for approximately 3,000
NY. 853 p. species, with detailed cultivar listings for over 110
major crops representing the most popular fruits,
World Vegetables is a textbook on vegetables vegetables, nuts, herbs, grains, and mushrooms. It
produced around the world, with comprehensive also contains a comprehensive bibliography and
coverage of specialty and minor vegetable crops. appendices that organize plants according to 60
different food use categories or edible plant parts.
Specialty and Minor Crops Handbook, 2nd Edition. Truly a masterpiece!
1998. Small Farm Center. University of California,
Publication 3346. 184 p. New Crops. Proceedings of National Symposia,
Vols I–IV. Center for New Crops & Plant Products,
This is a beautiful publication from University of Purdue University.
California that provides brief fact sheets for about 63
minor vegetables. Each crop is summarized with a The New Crops symposiums held in 1990, 1993, 1996
color photo, market information, cultural information, and 1999 were published in a series of hard-bound
seed sources, and bibliography. proceedings that contain a wealth of information on
new, specialty, and ethnic crops. All volumes are
Manual of Minor Vegetables. 1988. By James M. available for sale in print; however, the first three
Stephens. University of Florida. Florida volumes are also on-line.
Cooperative Extension, Bulletin SP-40. 123 p.
Advances in New Crops (1990)
The Manual of Minor Vegetables from University of http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/
Florida was one of the first attempts by land-grant proceedings1990/v1-toc.html
universities to offer informational materials on minor
vegetable crops. It is mainly listed here as a reference
source for southeastern U.S. farmers. New Crops (1993)
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/
Oriental Vegetables: The Complete Guide for CropInfoSources/NewCropsBook1993_info.html
Garden and Kitchen. 1991. By Joy Larkcom.
Kodansha International, New York. 232 p. Progress in New Crops (1996)
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/
Oriental vegetables are popular in towns with Asian CropInfoSources/NewCropsBook1996_info.html
ethnic markets, and Joy Larkcom’s book is one of the
best popular-press books on this topic. It contains Vegetables and Fruits: A Guide to Heirloom
detailed entries on over 100 varieties of Oriental Varieties and Community-Based Stewardship.
vegetables categorized into three sections: vegetables
AFSIC
that require temperate climates; those requiring
subtropical climates; and herbs and water plants. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/
AFSIC_pubs/heirloom/heirloom.htm
Let Nature Do The Growing. 1986. By Gajin
Tokuno. Japan Publications, Inc./Kodansha A wealth of resources from the National Agricultural
Library containing bibliographical material, resource
International, Ltd., New York, NY. 279 p.
organizations and seed sources, and historical
documentation.
Let Nature Do The Growing is a lesser-known text on
organic vegetable production in Japan. It provides
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 6
7. 2.3 Literature on Organic Agriculture The Holistic Agriculture Library
http://www.soilandhealth.org/ [Agriculture Library]
Organic agriculture has a rich history of farmers,
researchers, and philosophers writing about holistic The Soil And Health Library, a web library compiled
agriculture practices. As an introduction, five classic titles by Steve Solomon in Tasmania,
that provide historical perspective are listed below. features full-text on-line versions of out-of-print
organic agriculture classics.
In addition, three resources are provided as access points
for further reading: (1) Tracing the Evolution of Organic- Plowman's Folly (1943). By Edward Faulkner.
Sustainable Agriculture, a bibliography from the National
Agricultural Library, (2) the Soil and Health web library, Chemicals, Humus and the Soil (1948). By Donald P.
an on-line collection of classic texts, and (3) Future Hopkins.
Horizons, a literature review from University of Nebraska.
Farming and Gardening For Health or Disease [later
editions titled Soil and Health] (1945). By Sir Albert
An Agricultural Testament. 1943. By Sir Albert Howard.
Howard. Oxford University Press, New York and
London. 253 p. An Agricultural Testament (1943). By Sir Albert
Howard.
The Living Soil. 1949. By Lady Eve Balfour. Faber
and Faber, LTD., London, England. 270 p. The Waste Products of Agriculture: Their Utilization
as Humus (1931). By Sir Albert Howard and
Yeshwant D. Wad.
Soils and Men: Yearbook of Agriculture 1938.
1938. USDA. United States Department of
Soil Microorganisms and Higher Plants (1958).
Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 1232 p. By N.A. Krasil'nikov, Academy of Sciences of the
USSR, Moscow.
Pay Dirt: Farming and Gardening with
Composts. 1945. By J.I. Rodale. Devin-Adair Co., Fertility Farming (1951). By Newman Turner.
New York. 242 p.
Future Horizons: Recent Literature in
Fertility Pastures: Herbal Leys as the Basis of Sustainable Agriculture. 1997. Extension and
Soil Fertility and Animal Husbandry. 1955. By Education Materials for Sustainable Agriculture,
Newman Turner. Faber and Faber, London. 204 p. Volume 6. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center
for Sustainable Agricultural Systems. 222 p.
✼ ✼ ✼
The Center for Sustainable Agriculture Systems at the
Tracing the Evolution of Organic/Sustainable University of Nebraska compiled this resource guide
Agriculture: A Selected and Annotated as part of a USDA-SARE grant. It reviews more than
Bibliography. 1988. By Jane Potter Gates. 90 books on sustainable agriculture.
National Agricultural Library, Bibliographies and
On-line and for-sale print versions are available on the
Literature of Agriculture (BLA) No. 72. Internet at:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/
tracing.htm Future Horizons: Recent Literature in
Sustainable Agriculture
The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas/
at the National Agricultural Library compiled this
extvol6.htm
bibliography in 1988, yet it is still one of the best
collections of literature to draw from on the history of
organic/sustainable agriculture.
The Core Historical Literature of Agriculture
http://chla.library.cornell.edu/
Electronic collection of full-text agricultural books
published between the early nineteenth century and the
middle to late twentieth century. Dozens of classic
titles!
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 7
8. 2.4 Modern Literature on Organic Farming Global Perspectives on Agroecology and
Sustainable Agricultural Systems. Vol. I and II.
1980 marked a new era in organic farming literature, since 1988. By Patricia Allen and Debra Van Dusen.
that was the year USDA published its landmark Report and Proceedings of the Sixth International
Recommendations on Organic Farming. While alternative Scientific Conference of IFOAM. Agroecology
press books written by farmers and farm advisors are Program, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA.
abundant, the advent of scientific, university, and 730 p.
agricultural-society-sponsored conference proceedings and
textbooks have enhanced the literature of organic
Environmentally Sound Agriculture. 1983. By
agriculture.
William Lockeretz (ed.) Selected Proceedings from
the Fourth International Conference of IFOAM held
Report and Recommendations on Organic in Cambridge, MA. Praeger Publishers, New York.
Farming. 1980. USDA Study Team. United States 426 p.
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. 94p.
Crop Protection in Organic and Low-Input
This is the landmark report that helped usher in a new
era of scientific and policy support for organic Agriculture. 1990. By Roger Unwin (ed.)
agriculture at the USDA and associated agencies Proceedings of a symposium organized by the British
(land-grant universities, Cooperative Extension Crop Protection Council held in Cambridge, UK.
Service, Agricultural Experiment Stations, and Monograph No. 45. BCPC, Farnham, Surrey,
scientific agriculture societies). Five years later, the England. 254 p.
1985 Farm Bill enacted legislation that resulted in the
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education The Economics of Organic Farming: An
program, or SARE. International Perspective. 1994. By Nicholas
Lampkin and S. Padel (eds.) CAB International,
Organic Farming. 1990. By Nicolas Lampkin.
Wallingford, Oxon, UK. 468 p.
Farming Press, Ipswich, United Kingdom.
701 p.
Organic Agriculture: Economic and Ecological
Nicolas Lampkin is on the faculty at the Welsh Comparisons with Conventional Methods. 1978.
Institute of Rural Studies associated with The By Robert C. Oelhaf. Allanheld, Osmun, & Co.,
University of Wales. Organic Farming is the most Montclair, N.J. 271 p.
prominent effort by a university professor to address
organic agriculture. In addition, the European Biological Husbandry: A Scientific Approach to
ecological and organic farming literature—which Organic Farming. 1981. By B. Stonehouse (ed.)
Lampkin heavily draws upon—is a rich source of Butterworths, London. 352 p.
information.
Towards a Holistic Agriculture: A Scientific
An Overview of Organic Crop Production Approach. 1987. By R.W. Widdowson.
By George Kuepper, ATTRA Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK. 187 p.
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/organiccrop.html
George Kuepper’s ATTRA publication is one of the
Agricultural Production and Nutrition. 1997. By
best factsheet-type primers on organic production, William Lockeretz (ed.) Proceedings of a conference
providing principles, practices, and concepts that put it held in Boston, Massachusetts. Tufts University,
all together. School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Medford,
MA. 213 p.
The Organic Method Primer Update. 1993. By
Bargyla and Gylver Rateaver. The Rateavers, San The Importance of Biological Agriculture in a
Diego, CA. 596 p. World of Diminishing Resources. 1986. By
Vogtmann Hartmut, et al. (eds.) Proceedings
Organic Farming: Current Technology and Its of the 5th International Scientific Conference of
Role in a Sustainable Agriculture. 1984. By D.F. IFOAM held at the University of Kassel
Bezdicek (ed.) Agronomy Society of America (Germany). Verlagsgruppe Witzenhausen,
Special Publication No. 46. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Witzenhausen. 448 p.
Madison, WI. 192 p.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 8
9. 2.5 Literature on Sustainable Agriculture Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agro-
ecosystems. 1994. By Miguel Altieri. Haworth
By the mid-1980s, sustainable agriculture was a term Press, Binghampton, NY. 185 p.
gaining wider usage. The 1985 Farm Bill—known as the
conservation farm bill—spearheaded the creation of the Toward a More Sustainable Agriculture. 1986.
USDA-SARE program and Conservation Reserve Program By Raymond P. Poincelot. AVI Pub. Co., Westport,
(CRP). ATTRA, the national sustainable farming Conn. 241 p.
information center that created this guide and related titles,
was another product of the 1985 Farm Bill.
Sustainable Agriculture & Integrated Farming
In 1980, a person could put all of the important books Systems. 1985. By Thomas C. Edens, Cynthia
relating to sustainable agriculture on one shelf. Today, Fridgen, and Susan L. Battenfield (eds.) Michigan
there are so many academic books and symposium State University Press, East Lansing, MI. 344 p.
proceedings on sustainable agriculture that it would be
difficult for even a university library to keep current. The Role of Microorganisms in a Sustainable
Agriculture. 1986. By J.M. Lopez-Real and R.D.
Alternative Agriculture. 1989. National Research Hodges (eds.) A.B. Academic, Berkhamsted.
Council. National Academy Press, Washington, 246 p.
D.C. 448 p.
Environmentally Sound Agriculture. 1994.
Sustainable Agriculture in Temperate Zones. By Kenneth L. Campbell, et al. (eds.) Proceedings of
1990. By Charles A. Francis, Cornelia Butler Flora, the Second Conference held in Orlando, Florida.
and Larry D. King. A Wiley-Interscience Publication, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St.
Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. 487 p. Joseph, MI. 578 p.
Agroecology: The Science of Sustainable ✼ ✼ ✼
Agriculture, 2nd Edition. 1995. By Miguel Altieri.
Westview Press, Boulder, CO. 433 p. Sustainable Agriculture in Print Series
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center,
Agroecology: Ecological Processes in Sustainable National Agricultural Library.
Agriculture. 1998. By Stephen R. Gliessman. Ann http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/sbjsusag.htm
Arbor Press, Chelsea, MI. 357 p. #saip
The Sustainable Agriculture in Print Series, consisting
Sustainable Agricultural Systems. 1990. By C.A.
of three bibliographies compiled by the Alternative
Edwards, R. Lal, P. Madden, R.H. Miller and G. Farming Systems Information Center, provides
House (eds.) Soil and Water Conservation Society, bibliographic coverage of sustainable agriculture
Ankeny, IA. 696 p. literature from 1580 to 1999.
Sustainable Agriculture Systems. 1994. By J. L.
Hatfield and D. L. Karlen (eds.) Lewis Publishers,
Boca Raton, FL. 316 p.
Ecology and Integrated Farming Systems. 1995.
By D. M. Glen, M.P. Greaves, and H.M. Anderson
(eds.) John Wiley & Sons, New York. 329 p.
Sustainable Food Systems. 1983. By Dietrich
Knorr (ed.) AVI Pub. Co., Westport, Conn.
416 p.
Farming in Nature’s Image: An Ecological
Approach to Agriculture. 1992. By Judith D. Soule
and Jon K. Piper. Island Press, Washington, DC.
286 p.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 9
10. 2.6 Literature on Alternative Farming Biodynamic Farming
Systems
Biodynamic Farming Practice. 1992. By Fritz Sattler and
Ecological farming systems—Organic Farming, Eckard von Wistinghausen. Bio-Dynamic Agricultural
Biodynamic Farming, Permaculture, Eco-Farming, Association, Stourbridge, West Midlands, England. 336 p.
Nature Farming—evolved as an alternative to chemically
intensive agriculture. Each offers its own brand of Grasp the Nettle: Making Biodynamic Farming and
philosophy and practical farming methodologies. Here are Gardening Work. 1997. By Peter Proctor. Random
some noteworthy titles. See the publishers' catalogs and House, Auckland, N.Z. 176 p.
website listings at the end of this guide for a
comprehensive look at what's available. Biodynamic Farming & Compost Preparation
By Steve Diver, ATTRA
Organic Farming http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/biodynamic.html
The New Organic Manifesto. 1986. By Lee Fryer. Earth Natural Farming
Foods Associates, Wheatland, MD. 180 p.
The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural
Step by Step Organic Vegetable Gardening. 1992. By Farming. 1978. By Masanobu Fukuoka. Rodale Press,
Shepherd Ogden. HarperCollins, New York. 299 p. Emmaus, PA. 181 p.
Profitable Organic Farming. 1995. By John Newton. The Natural Way of Farming: The Theory and Practice of
Blackwell Science Ltd., Osney Mead, Oxford, UK. 142 p. Green Philosophy. 1987. By Masanobu Fukuoka. Japan
Publications, Kodansha International-USA through Harper
Organic Farming and Growing. 1994. By Francis Blake. & Row, New York. 284 p.
Crowood Press, Gypsy Lane, Swindon, Wiltshire. 221 p.
The Road Back to Nature: Regaining the Paradise Lost.
Eco-Farming 1987. By Masanobu Fukuoka. Japan Publications,
Kodansha International-USA through Harper & Row, New
Eco-Farm: An Acres U.S.A. Primer. 1991. By Charles York, NY. 377 p.
Walters and C.J. Fenzau. Acres USA, Kansas City, MO.
450 p. Nature Farming
Science in Agriculture. 1992. By Arden Andersen. Acres Beneficial and Effective Microorganisms for a Sustainable
USA, Kansas City, MO. 370 p. World
Dr. Teruo Higa and Dr. James F. Parr
Non-Toxic Farming Handbook. 1998. By Philip Wheeler. http://www.agriton.nl/higa.html
Acres, USA, Metarie, LA. 238 p.
Nature Farming and Microbial Applications. 2000. Xu,
The Biological Farmer. 2000. By Gary Zimmer. Acres Hui-lian, James F. Parr, and Hiroshi Umemura (eds.) Food
USA, Austin, TX. 352 p. Products Press, The Haworth Press, Binghamton, NY.
402 p.
Permaculture
Nature Farming and Effective Microorganisms
Introduction to Permaculture. 1991. By Bill Mollison By Steve Diver, ATTRA
with Reny Mia Slay. Tagari Publications, Tyalgum http://ncatark.uark.edu/~steved/Nature-Farm-EM.html
Australia. 198 p.
Alternative Farming Systems Primers
Earth User's Guide to Permaculture. 1994. By Rosemary
Morrow and Rob Allsop. Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, Towards a Sustainable Agriculture. 1996. Steve Diver.
NSW Australia. 152 p. New Renaissance, Vol. 6, No. 2.
http://www.ru.org/artagri.html
Introduction to Permaculture: Concepts and Resources
Steve Diver, ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/perma.html Mary Gold, AFSIC, National Agricultural Library
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/srb9902.htm
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 10
11. 3.0 Soil Management Start with the Soil. 1993. By Grace Gershuny.
Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. 274 p.
Soil management—with its attention to cover crops, crop
rotations, composts, soil biology, soil testing, mineral Gershuny’s Start with the Soil is a nice complement to
fertilizers—is fundamental to agriculture. Prior to the the primer noted above, Soul of the Soil. Though
1970s and 80s, farmers getting into organics relied written for an organic gardening audience (Rodale
primarily on old books and bulletins for information. Now, Press), the information, tables, and data build on her
it would take a donkey cart to haul away the goldmine of previous book.
useful print and web resources that awaits the beginner.
Fertile Soil: A Grower’s Guide to Organic &
3.11 Books & Bulletins on Soil Fertility Inorganic Fertilizers. 1990. By Robert Parnes.
agAccess, Davis, CA. 190 p.
Building Soils for Better Crops, 2nd Edition. 2000.
By Fred Magdoff and Harold van Es. Sustainable Robert Parnes was an advisor for several years in the
well-known Woods End Agricultural Institute
Agriculture Network, Handbook Series No. 4.
laboratory. Fertile Soil—first published as Organic
Sustainable Agriculture Publications, University of and Inorganic Fertilizers in 1986—is the other classic
Vermont. 240 p. soils manual from the 1980s that provides solid
information to organic farmers. The tables on nutrient
Building Soils for Better Crops, 2nd Edition (2000) by value and estimated fertilizer requirement for organic
Fred Magdoff and Harold van Es, soil scientists at fertilizers in Parnes's book are the best alternative to
University of Vermont and Cornell University standard N-P-K fertilizer guidelines.
respectively, is a highly practical 230-page guide to
ecological soil management. This is the best all-around Edaphos: Dynamics of a Natural Soil System.
manual from the land-grant agricultural colleges on
1993. By Paul D. Sachs. The Edaphic Press,
building and maintaining a healthy, productive soil.
Topics addressed: organic matter, soil biology,
Newbury, VT. 197 p.
physical properties of soil, animal manures, cover
crops, crop rotations, making and using composts, Paul Sachs is the founder of North Country Organics
reducing compaction, appropriate tillage systems, in Bradford, VT, and Edaphos is an outgrowth of
nutrient management, soil tests, and fertilizers. It also Sachs's seminars and consulting work. Edaphos does
features profiles of farmers implementing ecological an excellent job of explaining soil science and soil
soil management practices, and is accompanied by management practices in simple terms, accompanied
plenty of helpful illustrations and tables. The SAN by useful tables and diagrams.
series of handbooks are well done and farmer-friendly.
Highly recommended. Organic Soil Amendments and Fertilizers. 1992.
By David E. Chaney and Laurie E. Drinkwater.
The Soul of Soil: A Guide to Ecological Soil DNAR Publication No. 21505. UC Sustainable
Management, 3rd Edition. 1995. By Grace Agriculture Research and Education Program,
Gershuny and Joseph Smillie. agAccess, Davis, CA. University of California, Division of Agriculture and
174 p. Natural Resources. 36 p.
The Soul of Soil is the classic primer on ecological soil UC-SAREP—The University of California's
management, first published in 1983 as Grace Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Gershuny's Master’s Thesis at the University of Program—produced this bulletin in 1992, yet it is still
Vermont. The 1986 edition co-authored with Joseph the best Extension Service publication on this topic. It
Smillie is the one that became a primary information uses tables, data, and diagrams to explain soil organic
source for organic farmers in the 1980s and 90s. It is matter and the wide range of organic amendments and
jam-packed with useful concepts, tables, data, and fertilizers that are used in organic farming.
knowledge about soils, humus, compost, crop
rotations, cover crops, green manures, and mineral Western Fertilizer Handbook—Horticulture
fertilizers. It belongs on the bookshelf of every Edition. 1990. By Albert E. Ludwick. Interstate
organic farm. Publishers Inc., Danville, IL. 279 p.
Farmers need access to all kinds of information,
including standard fertility data. This is one of those
handy guides used as an occasional reference source.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 11
12. The Soil Management Series (PC-7398) Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Biodynamic Pioneer
University of Minnesota Cooperative Extension
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/ Bio-Dynamic Gardening and Farming. [collected
cropsystems/DC7398.html articles, ca. 1940 - 1961] Volume 1. 1983. By
Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. Mercury Press, Spring Valley,
The University of Minnesota recently put out a new
series of Extension bulletins:
New York. 126 p.
1. Soil Management (BU-7399) Bio-Dynamic Gardening and Farming. [collected
2. Compaction (BU-7400) articles, ca. 1940 - 1961] Volume 2. 1983. By
3. Manure Management (BU-7401) Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. Mercury Press, Spring Valley,
4. Organic Matter Management (BU-7402) New York. 142 p.
5. Soil Biology and Soil Management (BU-7403)
Bio-Dynamic Gardening and Farming. [collected
Each publication is organized according to the
articles, ca. 1940 - 1961]. Volume 3. 1984. By
following sections:
Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. Mercury Press, Spring Valley,
The Soil Manager - explains management options for New York. 132 p.
improving your soil.
The Soil Scientist - reviews the soil science principles Soil Fertility: Renewal and Preservation. 1983.
that are important to production agriculture. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. Lanthorn, East Grinstead,
Your Farm - helps you apply what you are reading to Sussex, England. 200 p.
your own farm.
What's Next? - wraps up the chapter by helping you Eco-Farming Classics
assess your operation and soil.
Further Resources - lists people and publications to
consult for more information. Agriculture in Transition. 2000. By Donald L.
Schriefer. Acres USA, Austin, TX. 238 p.
The Nature and Properties of Soils, 12th Edition.
1999. By Nyle C. Brady and Ray R. Weil. Prentice From the Soil Up. 2000. By Donald L. Schriefer.
Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 881 p. Acres USA, Austin, TX. 274 p.
The Nature and Properties of Soils is probably the The Biological Farmer. 2000. By Gary Zimmer.
most authoritative and well-known university textbook Acres USA, Austin, TX. 352 p.
on soils. Dr. Ray Weil, a soil scientist at the
University of Maryland, updated this classic with Crop Roots The Hidden Half. Circa 1990s. By
modern photographs and illustrations as well as
Harold Willis. Midwestern Bio-Ag, Blue Mound,
additional notes and information that addresses soil
WI. 106 p.
management from a sustainable viewpoint. It is an
excellent, comprehensive resource; a good reference
book for the farmer's bookshelf. Non-Toxic Farming Handbook. 1998. By Philip
Wheeler and Ronald Ward. Acres USA, Metairie,
The Fertile Triangle: The Interrelationship of LA. 238 p.
Air, Water, and Nutrients in Maximizing Soil
Productivity. 1991. By Benjamin Wolf. Food Nourishment Home Grown. 1992. By A.F.
Products Press, New York. 463 p. Beddoe. Agro-Bio Systems, Grass Valley, CA.
299 p.
Fertilizers and Their Use: A Pocket Guide for
Extension Officers, 4th edition Hands-On Agronomy. 1993. By Neal Kinsey and
Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) Charles Walters. Acres USA, Kansas, MO. 352 p.
ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/fertuse.pdf
The Enlivened Rock Powders. 1994. By Harvey
Lisle. Acres USA, Kansas, MO. 194 p.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 12
13. 3.12 Soil Fertility Web Links CCOF's Organic Practices and List of Materials
http://www.ccof.org/section8.htm
These first three items are the primary web locations for
sources of organic fertilizers and approved materials that California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) is one
can be used in certified organic production. of the premier organic certification organizations in
the country, in operation since 1973. The 1998 CCOF
Handbook located on its website contains an
Sources for Organic Fertilizers and Amendments informative section on organic farming practices and a
ATTRA listing of approved materials.
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/orgfert.html
Use this site primarily as background reading to
The ATTRA resource list on organic fertilizers is an become familiar with typical categories of fertilizer
extensive listing of dealers and suppliers carrying bulk products and how they fit into a certified organic
organic fertilizers. It is organized by category of program. CCOF transferred the official task of
fertilizer material: evaluating and listing brand-name products to OMRI
in 1997.
Phosphate rock Non-phosphate rock
minerals minerals The following websites provide valuable information to
Animal by-products Plant by-products farmers and Extension specialists who need information
Marine products Worms for vermicompost and data on soil management, organic fertilizers, and
Composts & blended Compost inoculants & related sustainable fertility topics.
fertilizers bioactivators
Cover crop seeds Bio-dynamic preparations
& homeopathic Commercial Organic Nutrient Recommendations
preparations University of Maine Soil Testing Lab
Humates & humic Hydrogen peroxide http://anlab.umesci.maine.edu/handout/
acids organ01.HTM
Mycorrhizal Microbial inoculants,
inoculants enzymes, biocatalysts In these handy tables from University of Maine you
Soluble organic fertilizers for drip irrigation & can quickly see how many pounds of organic fertilizer
greenhouse fertilization per acre are needed to meet desired pounds of nutrient
element per acre; e.g., 670 lbs fish meal equals 60 lbs
Note: The ATTRA list was compiled in response to N per acre, 890 lbs fish meal equals 80 lbs N per acre,
queries from farmers on where to purchase bulk and 1100 lbs fish meal equals 100 lbs N per acre.
organic fertilizers and amendments. It is not an Examples are provided for 10 different organic
official list of materials that can be used in certified fertilizers relative to Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and
organic production. To verify approved and restricted Potassium.
materials, consult the OMRI lists below.
An Introduction to Organic Fertilization in
OMRI's Brand Name Products Lists Saskatchewan
Organic Materials Review Institute Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food FARMFACTS
http://www.omri.org/brand_list.html http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/farm_man/crop_prod/
organicfert.asp
OMRI is the Organic Materials Review Institute. It
provides a technical review of organic crop production Nutrient Content of Fertilizer and Organic
materials (fertilizers and pest controls) supplied by
Materials
manufacturers. Products that receive an Allowed or
NC State University Soil Science
Regulated status can state that the product is "OMRI
[HTML]
Listed" and may use the OMRI seal on packaging and
literature. http://ces.soil.ncsu.edu/soilscience/publications/
Soilfacts/AG-439-18/
The Brand Name Products List on OMRI's website [PDF]
includes crop production materials organized http://ces.soil.ncsu.edu/soilscience/publications/
alphabetically by Generic Material, Supplier, and Soilfacts/ AG-439-18/AG-439-18.pdf
Product.
Convenient tables with nutrient content of standard
commercial fertilizers as well as organic fertilizers and
manures.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 13
14. Sustainable Soil Management Soil Fertility Note 12: Fertilizing with Organic
By Preston Sullivan, ATTRA Nutrients
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/soilmgt.html North Carolina Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services
ATTRA's Sustainable Soil Management publication is http://www.agr.state.nc.us/agronomi/sfn12.htm
the most succinct and informative publication of its
kind on the web. The concepts and practices Guidelines for Organic Fertilization
embedded in this publication provide the fundamental
University Of Vermont Extension System,
building blocks for a deeper and more complete
understanding of soils from a sustainable farming Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab
perspective. http://pss.uvm.edu/pss161/problem/handout.html
Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories Organic Crop Production
ATTRA Patrick Moore, The Evergreen State College
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/soil-lab.html Pages 19−32, In: Organic Resource Manual
Washington State Department of Agriculture
ATTRA's Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories http://www.wa.gov/agr/fsah/organic/ofp.htm
resource list organizes soil labs into two broad
categories: (1) those that focus on biological assays Nitrogen Management in Field Vegetables
including organic matter, humus content, and A Guide to Efficient Fertilisation
microbial analysis, and (2) those that focus on mineral HTML
analysis and organic fertilizer recommendations. The http://res2.agr.ca/stjean/info/ publicat1_e.htm
resource section provides suppliers, books, and web
#Technical
links that address alternative fertility concepts, soil
quality, and on-farm methods of soil and foliar PDF
analysis. http://res2.agr.ca/stjean/recherche/azote_e.pdf
Organic Soil Amendments for Sustainable Manual on Integrated Soil Management and
Agriculture Conservation Practices
CTAHR, Univ. of Hawaii FAO Land and Water Bulletin 8
http://agrss.sherman.hawaii.edu/staff/hue/ ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/lw8e.pdf [9506 KB]
organic.html
Microbial Fertilizers in Japan
Soil Fertility Management for Organic Crops Michinori Nishio
University of California, Publication 7249 Food and Fertilizer Technology Center
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/7249.pdf Taipei City, Taiwan R.O.C
http://www.agnet.org/library/abstract/eb430.html
Soil Management and Soil Quality for Organic
Crops Use of Microbial Inoculants and Organic
University of California, Publication 7248 Fertilizers in Agricultural Production
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/7248.pdf Food and Fertilizer Technology Center
Taipei City, Taiwan R.O.C
5-Part Series on Soil Basics http://www.agnet.org/library/article/eb394.html
UMass Extenion, University of Massachusetts
http://www.umassvegetable.org/soil_crop_pest_mgt/ Sustainable Nitrogen Management in Intensive
soil_nutrient_mgt.html Vegetable Production
Food and Fertilizer Technology Center
• Hairy Vetch as a Cover Crop Taipei City, Taiwan R.O.C
• Soil Basics I: Physical Properties of Soil http://www.agnet.org/library/abstract/eb442.html
• Soil Basics II: Chemical Properties of Soil
• Soil Basics III: Organic Matter, Key to Management
• Soil Basics IV: Putting It All Together
• Soil Basics V: Top Dressing and Side Dressing
Nitrogen
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 14
15. Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, is
the USDA agency formerly known as Soil Conservation
Service, or SCS. The NRCS Soil Quality Institute gets
an A+ for the high-quality, farmer-friendly educational
materials they've published in recent years.
NRCS Agronomy Technical Notes Series
Soil Quality Institute
http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/
agronomy.shtml
The Soil Quality Institute website, sponsored by
NRCS, features on-line technical notes on soil
management topics:
Cover Crops; Conservation Crop Rotation;
Effects on Soil Quality; Effects of Residue
Management, No-Till on Soil Quality; Effects of
Soil Quality on Nutrient Efficiency; Herbicides;
Legumes and Soil Quality; Effects of Soil Erosion
on Soil Productivity.
NRCS Soil Quality Information Sheets
Soil Quality Institute
http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/
sqiinfo.html
The Soil Quality Institute website, sponsored by
NRCS, features on-line information sheets on soil
quality topics:
Erosion; Sediment Deposition on Cropland;
Compaction; Salinization; Soil Biodiversity;
Available Water Capacity; Pesticides; Indicators
for Soil Quality Evaluation; Organic Matter; Soil
Crusts; Aggregate Stability; Infiltration; Soil pH.
Soil Biology Primer
http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/primer/
index.htm
The highly regarded Soil Biology Primer is reviewed
in the section on soil biology.
Soil Quality Test Kit
http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/kit2.html
An 82-page booklet describing procedures for 12 on-
farm tests, an interpretive section for each test, data
recording sheets, and a section on how to build the kit.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 15
16. 3.21 Print & Video Resources on Cover Crops SAREP program—was the first Extension Service
bulletin to address the benefits of cover crops in the
context of modern sustainable farming systems.
Cover crops are like the backbone, the linchpin, the
cornerstone… of any annual cropping system that seeks
to be sustainable or organic. The following two booklets from Pennsylvania and Oregon
are a compilation of fact sheets on individual cover crop
Organic farmers rely on cover crops to perform multiple species. Since the selection and use of cover crops is
roles and functions on the farm, including soil protection, heavily influenced by growing season, climate, cropping
soil improvement, and insectary habitat. From a fertility systems, and related geographical peculiarities, these two
angle, the cover crop seed can be viewed as a fertilizer booklets provide a nice balance for growing conditions in
expense. the Northeastern and Northwestern United States.
When sustainable agriculture became a priority topic for Northeast Cover Crop Handbook. 1994. By
USDA, land-grant universities, and non-profit institutions Marianne Sarrantonio. Rodale Institute, Kutztown,
in the 1980s, cover crops were one of the first items to PA. 118 p.
receive significant attention. Lots of time and energy have
gone into cover crop research, on-farm trials, and The Rodale Institute was a leader in cover crop
information dissemination. research and on-farm trials in the 1980s and 90s. The
Northeast Cover Crop Handbook is the culmination
Some of the key players that helped generate this new of their extension information delivery from that era.
material on cover crops include the Sustainable Agriculture Topics covered are: how to choose a cover crop right
Network (SAN), the University of California, and the for your operation; building a rotation around cover
Rodale Institute. crops; choosing the best species for the whole farm;
estimating the nitrogen contribution from a green
Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 2nd Edition. manure; looking at soil improvements from cover
1998. By the Sustainable Agriculture Network. crops; and lowering the cost of cover cropping. The
Sustainable Agriculture Publications, University of book is well written and easy to read with lots of
Vermont. 212 p. drawings and charts. The appendix contains detailed
management practices for 20 cover crop species, cover
Managing Cover Crops Profitably is a compre- crop seed sources, and other information sources.
hensive resource on cover crops— an essential
desk reference! The introductory section includes Cover Crops in Oregon (EM 8704)
articles on uses and benefits of cover crops, Oregon State University
followed by chapters on 18 different cover crop
species. Charts rate factors for each species Oregon State University Extension Service published a
including drought tolerance, nitrogen yield, and 50-page booklet on cover crops in 1998 titled Using
seeding rates. The top six high-performing cover Cover Crops in Oregon. Topics include the pros and
crops for each region are discussed. Topics cons of cover cropping; how to choose a cover crop;
include: selection of the best species for your cover crops in annual and perennial systems; how to
location, planning profitable crop rotations, crop estimate nitrogen contributions to a subsequent crop;
yield benefits following cover crops, and fertilizer and economic considerations of cover cropping.
reduction realized from cover crops. The booklet provides detailed information on specific
cover crops, including annual ryegrass, barley, oats,
The full-text version can be viewed on the SAN triticale, wheat, buckwheat, cereal rye, common vetch,
website: crimson clover, fava bean, field pea, hairy vetch,
rapeseed, red clover, subterranean clovers,
Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 2nd Edition Sudangrass, and sorghum-Sudangrass hybrids. In
http://www.sare.org/handbook/mccp2/index.htm addition, there is a fact sheet on cover crop weed
suppression in annual rotations. (List price, $5.50
Cover Crops for California Agriculture. 1989. from Oregon State University Publications).
By P.R. Miller, et al. University of California,
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, The complete series of 18 individual facts sheets can
also be found on the web in HTML and PDF formats:
Leaflet 21471. 24 p.
Cover Crop Fact Sheets, Oregon State University
This University of California leaflet—supported
http://eesc.orst.edu/tango/pubsearch/0124.qry?function
by the Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation, the UC
=search
Davis Student Experimental Farm, and the UC
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 16
17. Cover Crops for Vegetable Production in the still one of the best little primers on grasses and
Northeast. 1999. By Lee Stivers. Cornell legumes in print.
University Extension Service (142IB244). 12 p.
Creative Cover Cropping in Annual Farming
A Cornell University publication on cover crops for Systems—Video. 1993. Produced by the University
vegetables that addresses: addition of organic matter to of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural
soils; improvement of soil tilth and remediation of Resources.
compaction; protection of soil from wind and water
erosion; recycling plant nutrients; increasing the A 24-minute video that shows a selection of cover
biological activity of soil; retention of soil moisture; crops used in various annual cropping systems for the
and suppression of weeds, insects, pathogens, and purpose of soil fertility and pest management. (List
nematodes. price, $20; available through University of California)
Overview of Cover Crops and Green Manures. No-till Vegetables—Video. 1997. By Steve Groff.
2000. By Preston Sullivan and Steve Diver. Cedar Meadow Farm, Holtwood, PA.
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas,
Fayetteville, AR. 12 p. Steve Groff, a no-till vegetable farmer in
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/ covercrop.html Pennslyvania, makes extensive use of cover crops in
combination with no-till vegetable production to raise
high-quality tomatoes, pumpkins, broccoli, snap beans,
This ATTRA publication provides a summary of the
and sweet corn. He uses specialized equipment like a
principal uses and benefits of cover crops and green
rolling stalk chopper to knock down and crimp the
manures, followed by a listing of key resources.
cover crops, thus allowing him to plant vegetables into
a killed cover crop mulch. This cropping system
Sustainable Production of Fresh-Market requires post-emergent herbicides, but at greatly
Tomatoes with Organic Mulches. 1997. By Aref reduced rates compared to conventional production
Abdul-Baki and John R. Teasdale. USDA Farmers' systems. After several years of no-till production the
Bulletin No. 2279. 23 p. soils are very mellow and easy to plant into. (Video
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/tomatoes.html price, $21.95 + $3.00 shipping from Cedar Meadow
Farm).
This USDA Farmers' Bulletin features the no-till
vegetable cropping system developed by scientists at Using Cover Crops in Conservation Production
the USDA-ARS Vegetable Laboratory in Beltsville, Systems—Video. 1997. By Seth Dabney, USDA-
Maryland. This system relies on hairy vetch ARS National Sedimentation Lab in Oxford, MS.
established in the fall, followed by a mow-down
treatment the following spring to prepare a no-till bed
An 11-minute video on cover cropping systems in the
to transplant tomatoes and other vegetable crops into.
Deep South featuring clover species and no-till
production methods. (Costs about $10 through
Print copies may be ordered from: Shepherd Publications in Memphis, TN).
USDA/ARS Vegetable Lab
Rm. 213, B-10A
BARC-West
Beltsville, MD 20705
mcgahan@ars.usda.gov
On-line in PDF format at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/
SustainableTomato.pdf
Feed the Soil. 1982. By Edwin McLeod. Organic
Agriculture Research Institute, Graton, CA. 209 p.
The classic tale of Hylas the Hare who goes to work as
a seasonal farmer, only to bump into Mr. Earthworm
who teaches Hylas all about green manures and soil
biology and the importance of “feeding the soil.” It is
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 17
18. 3.22 Cover Crop Web Links Overview of Cover Crops and Green Manures.
ATTRA
Green Manures http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/PDF/covercrop.pdf
The Basics of Green Manuring
P. Warman Cover Crops – Vegetables
EAP Publication 51, Ecological Agriculture Projects
http://eap.mcgill.ca/Publications/EAP51.htm Commercial Vegetable Production: Cover Crops
for Vegetable Growers
Green Manures Kansas State University, MF2343
Greenmount College of Agriculture and Horticulture, http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/Samplers/
Northern Ireland MF2343.htm
http://www.greenmount.ac.uk/organic/manures.htm
A 28-page fact sheet from K-State, published in 1998.
Catch Crops and Green Manuring in Ecological One of the better Extension publications on cover
Agriculture crops for vegetables geared to a specific region.
Proceedings of the Ecological Agriculture NJF-
Seminar 166 Multiple Impacts Cover Crops
http://zeus.bibul.slu.se/documents/slu/ John Luna, Oregon State University
ekologiskt_lantbruk/EKL05/EKL05Z.HTM http://ifs.orst.edu/pubs/
multiple_impacts_cover_cro.html
Cover Crops – General
In addition to the Cover Crop Fact Sheets published
by Oregon State University, John Luna and associates
Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 2nd Edition have a special topics web page on use of cover crops
Sustainable Agriculture Network in sustainable vegetable production; especially note
http://www.sare.org/handbook/mccp2/index.htm the research results on strip tillage.
Cover Crop Fact Sheets Cover Crops for Sustainable Vegetable
Oregon State University Production
http://eesc.orst.edu/tango/pubsearch/ Debbie Roos
0124.qry?function=search http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1118/
Michigan Cover Crops Cover Crops & Green Manure Crops for
Michigan State University & Kellogg Biological Vegetable Farms
Station Ohio Vegetable Production Guide 2000
http://www.kbs.msu.edu/Extension/Covercrops/home http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/b672/
.htm b672_1.html
An impressive and valuable collection of information Cover Crops For Weed Control In Lettuce
sheets and research reports on cover crops used in New Alchemy Quarterly, No. 40
association with vegetables and row crops. Mark Schonbeck, Judy Browne, and Ralph
DeGregorio
Cover Crops http://www.fuzzylu.com/greencenter/q40/
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and weed9009.htm
Rural Affairs
http://www.gov.on.ca:80/OMAFRA/english/crops/ Cropping Systems of Intensive Desert Vegetable
facts/ cover_crops01/covercrops.htm Production
University of California, Riverside
• Adaptation and Use of Cover Crops http://cnas.ucr.edu/~bps/hcoopextcrop.html
• Choosing a Cover Crop
• Cover Crop Types
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 18
19. Cover Crops for Soil Improvement in An Evaluation of Cover Crops to Reduce the
Horticultural Crops Potential for Environmental Damage from
Alan Ware, Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture Intensively Cultivated Soils
http://www.kerrcenter.com/kerrweb/html/pub4.html Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsaf/rs/greenplan/resource/con
Summer Cover Crops for Tomato Production in servation/035.htm
South Florida
http://www.imok.ufl.edu/veghort/pubs/workshop/ Legumes and Crop Rotations
Bryan99.htm
Crop Rotations for Vegetables and Row Crops
Green Manure Crops in Organic Vegetable
Steve Diver, ATTRA
Production
http://ncatark.uark.edu/~steved/rotation.html
Danish Institute of Plant and Soil Science
http://zeus.bibul.slu.se/documents/njf/
Soil Improvement with Legumes including
utredn_rapporter/NUR114/NUR114N.HTM
Legumes in Crop Rotations
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Cover Cropping in Potato Production
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/land_wat_clim/soil
EAP Publication 71, Ecological Agriculture Projects
Scs0395.asp
http://eap.mcgill.ca/Publications/EAP71.htm
Organic Rotations Practiced
Interseeding Cover Crops Ohio State University, Special Circular 174-00
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/ sc174/
Observations on Interseeding Cover Crops sc174_9.html
Vernon Grubinger, University of Vermont
http://ctr.uvm.edu/ctr/intrseed.htm Legume Green Manuring
Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
Interseedings in Vegetable Production http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/agdex/100/2300202.html
Chantal Foulds, REAP Canada
http://eap.mcgill.ca/MagRack/SF/ Crop Rotations in Organic Agriculture
Summer%2089%20D.htm Andreas de Neergaard
http://www.kursus.kvl.dk/shares/ea/02Materials/
Relay Intercropping Brassicas into Chile and Crop-rotations.PDF
Sweet Corn
New Mexico State University, Guide A–609 An Organic Vegetable Crop Rotation Aimed at
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A-609.html Self-Sufficiency in Nitrogen
K. Thorup-Kristensen, Danish Institute of
Catch Crops – Sucking Up Residual Nitrates Agricultural Sciences
http://www.agrsci.dk/pvf/gronsager/ktk/
oeko%5Fgronsagssaedskifte/
A Farmer's Guide To Reducing Nutrient Loss
hp%2Dcrop%20rotation.html
Using Catch Crops
Janet Wallace, Nova Scotia Organic Growers
Association
http://gks.com/nccrp/Finalr.php3
Management of Residual Nitrogen with Cover
Crops
Technical Notes, Agronomy 38. Pullman Plant
Materials Center.
http://www.wsu.edu/pmc_nrcs/technotes/
agronomy/tntag38.htm
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 19
20. 3.23 UC-SAREP Cover Crop Resource Selecting the Right Cover Crop Gives Multiple
Benefits
The UC-SAREP program at University of California is a UC-SAREP
leader in cover crop research and information http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/CCPubs/
dissemination. The massive resources UC-SAREP has SelectingCoverCrop.html
devoted to the integration of cover crops into annual and
perennial cropping systems is astounding. These materials A 4-page web article that discusses: adding and
are so extensive and informative, they deserve their own conserving nitrogen, water use by cover crops, pest
special section. management, cover crops in annual cropping systems,
self-reseeding cover crops, and potential advantages
UC SAREP Cover Crop Resource Page and disadvantages of cover crops.
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/sarep/ccrop/
Survey of Annual Crop Growers Regarding
This is the database of all databases when it comes to Cover Crops
cover crops. Includes over 5,000 items gleaned from UC-SAREP
more than 600 separate sources, including journal http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/newsltr/v7n3/sa-8.htm
articles, conference proceedings, standard textbooks,
unpublished data, and personal communications from
researchers and farmers. The information in the
database concerns the management and effects of more
than 32 species of plants usable as cover crops. More
than 400 different cover crop images are also available
for on-line viewing.
One limitation—the database is regionally geared to
the Mediterranean climate of California. Ideally, each
region of the U.S. should enjoy such site-specific
information.
Cover Cropping in Row and Field Crop Systems
UC-SAREP
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/slideshows/
rfshow01.htm
An on-line educational slide series that provides visual
images and text describing the benefits and uses of
cover cropping in annual crops like vegetables; 52
slides.
Cover Crop Biology: A Mini-Review
Robert L. Bugg, UC-SAREP
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/ccres/
35.htm
A 10-page web article that reviews several aspects of
cover crop biology: seeds, seedlings, root zone
biology, nutrient uptake, the fate of cover-crop-
derived nitrogen, community dynamics, and
allelopathy.
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 20
21. Eight Points to Remember
Samples of UC-SAREP Cover Crop Research
and Education Summaries 1. For many farms, cover crops offer the only practical
means of supplying the organic matter needed to
maintain soil physical, chemical, and biological
properties. Barnyard manure and other manures
Release of Nitrogen From a Leguminous Cover cannot meet the requirements of extensive areas.
Crop and the Subsequent Utilization by Bell
Pepper 2. Cultivation decreases the amount of organic matter in
Richard Smith, Louise Jackson, and Phil Foster the soil and increases soil erosion on sloping land.
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
Program, University of California 3. As organic matter decays, it provides nutrient elements
for succeding crops. Cover crop legumes substantially
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/ccres/2.HTM
increase the nitrogen available to the subsequent crop.
Fall Planted Cover Crops May Improve Tomato 4. The value of a cover crop is determined primarily by
Yields the amount of organic matter and nitrogen it will add
Gene Miyao and Paul Robins to the soil. Therefore, use the crop that will produce
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education the greatest growth in the particular region and the
Program, University of California alloted time.
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/ccres/1999/
3.htm 5. Most winter cover crops should be planted with
irrigation, since early seeding is necessary for a good
stand and a lack of rain coupled with no irrigation can
Cover Crop Use in Vegetable Production
prevent satisfactory results.
in the Southern California Deserts
Chad Hutchinson and Milt McGiffen 6. Most winter cover crops should be seeded before the
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education first of November. Seedbed preparation is important.
Program, University of California
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/ccres/1999/ 7. The best way to work a cover crop in is with a heavy
4.htm cover crop disk. Two or three diskings may be
necessary. In an orchard, you need not completely
Non-Leguminous Cover Crops In Cool-Season incorporate the cover crop.
Vegetable Crop Systems
8. Allow legume cover crops to grow as long as possible
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
before working them into the soil.
Program, University of California
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/ccres/1996/ Source:
3.HTM
Cover Crops for California Agriculture. 1989. By P.R.
In-Field Insectaries for Vegetable Crops Miller, et al. University of California, Division of
Bill Chaney Agriculture and Natural Resources, Leaflet 21471.
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education 24 p.
Program, University of California
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/ccres/1996/
7.HTM
Non-Leguminous Cover Crops To Reduce Nitrate
Leaching In Vegetable Cropping Systems
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
Program, University of California
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/ccres/
1996/13.HTM
ATTRA // Resource Guide to Organic & Sustainable Vegetable Production Page 21