Join the Soil Health Nexus next Wednesday, July 21st at 2pm CT to hear from Joel Gruver, Associate Professor of Soil Science at Western Illinois University about solar corridor planting systems.

Solar corridor planting systems create new opportunities for using cover crops to enhance soil health on conventional and organic farms. Joel’s presentation will summarize lessons learned from 3 years of investigation on solar corridor planting systems at the WIU Organic Research farm and other farms experimenting with the practice. Discussion will explore how strategic adjustment of crop spacing, both in-row and between rows, and complementary practices like carefully designed cover crop mixes and banding of N can greatly increase cover crop benefits while minimizing loss of crop productivity.