Build living soil with farm compost and wood chips Would you like to know what farm compost can do for the fertility and structure of your soil? During this workshop, we will share the initial results of the project on farm composting with grass clippings from nature conservation. We will explain the entire process: from managing wooded edges and mowing […]
Workshops: Valorisation of biomass from landscape management Read More »
In 2016, Farmers Nature Flanders pioneered the incorporation of woodchips into agricultural soil. As part of the Bodemgoud project, they are now taking the lead in gradual spreading of wood chips together with the Proef- en Vormingscentrum voor Landbouw and the Regionaal Landschap Lage Kempen. At a demonstration event in Pelt, this technique was explained.
Timber edge management for resilient soil Read More »
What started as an experiment is today a practice that is taking hold all over Flanders. From our work on landscape management, we at Boerennatuur Vlaanderen were looking for ways to valorise the released wood in a way that was useful and accessible to farmers. That's how we ended up with the incorporation of wood chips into the soil in 2016.
Local wood, healthy soil Read More »
The soil is the foundation of every aspect of garden life. Without healthy soil, plants cannot root, grow or flower properly. Yet we tend to focus our attention on what happens above ground, while often knowing little about the condition of our own garden soil. This observation led to the creation of the Limburg citizen science project “Bodemleven” (Soil Life). Within this project
Soil life: How healthy are Limburg's gardens? Read More »
After 2 wetter years, farmers faced drought again this spring. However, not everywhere on a plot the drought threshold is crossed as early. We can respond to this to grow even more efficiently. Variable irrigation offers a smart and sustainable solution. The last two years we were mainly confronted with waterlogging. This spring,
Watering smarter and more efficiently Read More »
At first glance, tubercyperus appears to be a harmless grass-like plant, but appearances can be deceiving. This weed has been a persistent problem in Flemish agriculture for some time and is still spreading. It can crowd out your crops, reduce yields and even restrict your crop rotation. In Flanders, tuber cyperus first appeared in
Tuber cyperus: a pest in Flanders for 40 years and still relevant today Read More »
Over the past three decades, farmers, including from a policy perspective, have already implemented many interventions that have improved water quality, although this improvement has stagnated over the past 10 years. On sandy soils, a decrease in organic matter content is also observed. Boosting this again will have a positive impact on soil quality, the water retention capacity of
Use of green cover for an integrated approach to water quality Read More »
Remediation of tuber cyperus When dealing with tuber cyperus, there are a number of specific concerns. These mainly focus on avoiding propagation and spread, as control and suppression are only possible with herbicides in a limited number of crops. Persistent weeds Tuberous cyperus is a very persistent, grassy weed belonging to the family
How do I control tuber cyperus in my field? Read More »
With the implementation of the new CAP and IPM guidelines, farmers are obliged to practice crop rotation on their plots. Crop rotation is an important measure to make a farm climate-resilient: by improving soil health, one gets more stable yields and the farmer is doing risk spreading. But how do you start this
Need for irrigation In recent years, farmers are increasingly facing extreme weather conditions. During the growing season, we usually experience this in the form of prolonged drought. In northern Limburg, where we also encounter a lot of sandy soil, irrigation is therefore sometimes necessary to achieve an acceptable yield and quality of forage. This is often done using
Drip irrigation - Smart irrigation techniques in maize in northern Limburg Read More »