EMAU FARMS- SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

When farming according to or consistent with nature, one of the first steps is real-time monitoring the plant growing seasons for- based on weather patterns for the farm.  Another is real time monitoring of soil texture- as part of creating and sustaining healthy soil with adequate moisture and full of microflora as nature intended for plant growth. Here using simple technique of soil sedimentation (i.e place soil sample in a jar, add water, shake and let settle)- we have determined the soil texture as shown in the photographs below. We used two jars of different volumes (small and large) to minimize variation due to volume, if any. Glass Jar A- small size Glass Jar B - large   After 48 - 72 hours settling, we identified the clay, silt and sand layers (marked as shown).  Then by measuring total length, and intervals between the layers, we calculated the percent clay, silt and sand.   Then, using thee percent values in soil texture triangl...

Peter Emau One objective of EMAU FARM's sustainable agriculture program is to establish and preserve grains such as finger millet- that has been used for many generations as stable food in many regions of the world. Birds, including poultry, also love to eat millet. In May 2017, we started with the initial goal of testing if finger millet and sorghum can grow in gardens of Mansfield, Ohio. This hypothesis was based on the hot summer seasons in Ohio - closely similar to tropics- which we confirmed by measuring the rates of spring warming and summer temperatures (see http://amukurat.blogspot.com/2018/09/comparison-of-rate-of-spring-warming.html).  Therefore, we planted a few seeds of finger millet (India origin) and sorghum (Russia, origin) - received from the National Plant Germplasm Service- USDA. Planted the seeds on 22 May 2017 after the last frost and when both soil and ambient morning temperatures were above 55F (seehttp://amukurat.blogspot.com/2018/09/comparison-of-r...