Bower, A. 2024, Proactive Climate Smart Farming, Desert Farming Initiative, University of Nevada, Reno, Blogs

During my summer academic internship at Desert Farming Initiative (DFI), I have learned quite a bit - especially hands on! While I learned some of the diseases, pests, kinds of cover crops and weeds as well as identifying plant species, I can now say that this experience has furthered my knowledge and put it into good use. I must admit, when starting my internship, I thought growing my own food was easy, but there was so much more to it that just planting a seed to the ground and calling it good. For our food to come to our table organically and sustainably, there was more that I needed to know especially about being proactive in climate smart farming.

To further my knowledge on how our food get to the farm to table I had to do the basics: setting up the soil by weeding it and applying amendments in the soil to ensure healthy growth. I also pruned many plants and harvested vegetables as well as some fruits on the farm. The labor in ensuring that all produce is organic and that we are giving back to the soil is somewhat intense. We are ensuring that we have the right nutrients from the soil to feed the plants, by planting crops that will enrich the soil naturally. In my horticulture and soils classes, we talked about the importance of giving back. For example, planting spinach then planting peppers makes for great plant growth and yield for said peppers. The spinach provides nitrogen and potassium back into the soil as well as helping suppress weeds. More vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots, turnips, corn, and herbs provide nitrogen in the soil as well as good soil microbiology.

Furthermore, we ensure that our soil is healthy by monitoring water usage, making sure that we are not using an over abundance of water - and not too little either. Every year the weather is getting warmer, and this can cause the salinity in then soil to rise. Too much fertilizer or even salts in then irrigation water exacerbate the issue. To combat the loss of water and ensuring the water is used efficiently we use a drip tape system, soil moisture monitors, overhead irrigation, mulch, and avoiding water intensive crops. We also ensure that the crop varieties we choose are appropriate for the weather.

We welcome beneficial insects and watch for those pests that can cause harm. We welcome beneficials by rotating a variety of crops and ensuring that we have a plan in place on how to mitigate pests according to national organic standards. We were trained to identify pests (which has helped me put my classroom knowledge to the test) and how we should handle them with care without harming soils, plants, ecosystems and ourselves. We can anticipate pests for each season from monitoring in prior years.

With all of this in mind, DFI has taught me so much in how to partake in smart climate farming. I have learned a lot, especially about water management and how to manage soils. I also learned there are more ways than one to combat climate change on farms, and I know how to do my part.

 

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Melon Survival, Yield and Quality in Nevada's High Desert Climate
This study evaluated melon varieties and agricultural practices for melon production in the high desert. Conclusions identify melon varieties that demonstrated advantages in terms of plant survival, time to harvest, fruit size, number of fruits per plant, and sweetness.
Moe, J., Kratsch, H., Barrios-Masias, F., Hanson-Mazet, W., di Santo, Heinrich 2024, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno, SP-24-02