Preparing your land for winter requires a lot of preparation. As the mild autumn weather fades, some farmers have already accumulated the resources required to help ensure that the farm runs smoothly.
Cold weather conditions during winter are known to make harvesting crops more difficult, which is why every farmer in cold climates must be prepared. In this episode, agronomist Lerato Botha shares her expertise on preparing your land for the winter.
Cold regions vs warm regions
“Speaking from my experience in a colder region, our temperatures extend from -7 degrees to -10 degrees in winter. This affects crop growth,” Botha says.
Botha’s advice to farmers who plant during the winter is to choose a crop that has a high cold tolerance. There are not many crops that can take the cold and not many crops recover after being affected by frost, she explains. Therefore, it is important to understand the type of crop that will be planted.
“Usually, what farmers in the colder regions would plant [is] cover crops. [Cover crops] will help rehabilitate your soil in the winter. These crops don’t usually get harvested, usually it [is] ploughed back into the soil [producing] green manure.”
Botha explains in the podcast episode that they use this time, which is about three to four months of winter, to prepare the soil for the coming seasons.
In this episode, Botha also discusses:
- Irrigation and water systems;
- The impact of nitrogen and more.
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
Option 1: Click here to listen on Spotify (all mobile and other devices).
Option 2: Click here to listen on any Apple device.
Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
ALSO READ: ICYMI: Mzansi’s tractor sales show improvement
Sign up for Farmer’s Inside Track: Join our exclusive platform for new entrants into farming and agri-business, with newsletters and podcasts.
