Written by Mary Hathaway, OFRF’s Research & Education Program Manager
Maggie Dungan, farmer at Salad Days Farm
Salad Days farm is a diverse vegetable operation situated on 30 acres in Versailles, Kentucky. Certified organic since 2015, farmer Maggie Dungan’s interest in growing food started with an education in nutrition and the long dream for her family to be self-sustaining. The farm grows year round in the field and in hoop houses to supply their on-farm store, restaurants, schools, and four weekly farmers markets.
Maggie works hard to keep mechanization on her farm minimal, focusing on cover cropping, minimal tillage, and other soil health conservation practices. She keeps only 2-4 acres of the farm in production, allowing her to focus on the quality of her systems to grow high value and sustainable food for her community.
Impact of Solarization on Soil Microbiology
Solarization plots in the high tunnel.
Maggie was first exposed to the practice of solarization using clear plastic in 2022 when the farm participated in a research project with the University of Kentucky. The project studied the effect of solarization in high tunnels on root-knot nematode populations. She was impressed by the results of the trial, and saw first-hand how this technique impacted a persistent soil pathogen.
Organic farmers like Maggie that focus on minimizing tillage must still manage pathogens, weeds, and other common challenges, and solarization offers potential benefits. However, Maggie was concerned about the impact of the treatment on her soil health, and had some questions – if solarization kills pathogens, won’t it kill the good microbiology, too? How does heat smothering with a plastic tarp impact soil microbial activity? What is the impact on fungal to bacterial ratios?
Before beginning to incorporate soil solarization into her field plans, Maggie wanted some answers, and applied for OFRF’s Farmer Led Trial program to help her build out a solid research plan and find reliable results that would have a positive impact on her operation.