Learn how to choose finished compost, compare homemade and purchased options, check contamination risks, and calculate how much your vegetable beds need.

19-19-19 fertilizer contains 19% nitrogen, 19% phosphate as P₂O₅, and 19% potash as K₂O by weight. It is an equal-analysis NPK fertilizer that supplies the three primary labelled nutrients in a 1:1:1 ratio. That does not mean it is automatically…

A bumper crop is an unusually large harvest. It means a farm, region, or country produced much more crop than expected in a season. For beginners, the idea sounds simple: more crop means more success. In real farming, it is…

Introduction Crop intensification means growing more crops or producing more yield from the same land. A crop intensification program is a planned way to do this through better timing, crop rotation, soil care, water use, and field management. Farmers have…

Good farming often starts with something we cannot see. Pull up a healthy bean plant and look closely at its roots. You may find small nodules attached to them. Inside those nodules, bacteria are helping the plant obtain nitrogen through…

Sugar beet farming involves growing Beta vulgaris for its large, sugar-rich roots. Successful production depends on a uniform crop stand, suitable soil, careful nutrient and water management, effective weed and disease control, and access to a reliable processor. Profit depends…

A cash crop can look excellent on paper and still be the wrong crop for your farm. I have seen the same problem in gardens on a smaller scale. You can grow a beautiful row of basil, tomatoes or flowers,…

Mixed farming is a farm system where crops and livestock are managed as connected enterprises rather than completely separate businesses. A corn field may provide grain, silage, or crop residue for cattle. Cover crops may provide winter grazing. Livestock return…