This episodes features a listener submitted interview with Dr. Joe Kovach of Ohio State University. Dr. Kovach describes a small-scale mixed fruit-vegetable polyculture designed to produce steady, high-yields with a good economic return on investment. Labor inputs, pest pressures, weed control, crop selection, retail sales, and marketing are all discussed in some detail. Thanks to podcast listener AJ Tarnas for conducting this interview. Follow AJ on Twitter at @ajtarnas.
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One response to “Episode #144: $90,000 an Acre”
Most excellent Frank! Thanks for publishing this interview. It would be exciting to know if anyone has attempted to mimic Joe Kovach’s experiment with full documentation. I’ve been horribly lazy and haven’t done much with my land over the past two+ years in this regard. (In my defense though, I live on the side of a rocky hillside — not flat sandy loam!)
Here are some links related to Dr. Kovach’s work:
http://extension.missouri.edu/sare/documents/ArthropodIPMstrawberriesII2012.pdf
http://oardc.osu.edu/5005/Polyculture-%E2%80%98Modules%E2%80%99-for-Small-Farms-Suburbia-Fewer-Pests-$90000-an-Acre?.htm
http://extension.osu.edu/news-releases/archives/2010/december/osu-urban-farming-study-whats-the-best-way-to-turn-a-parking-lot-into-a-garden
http://oardc.osu.edu/phone_single.asp?id=959
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/delivering-fungicides-on/
http://ipm.osu.edu/