Growing Farms Online: Organic Nutrient Management for Vegetable Production

Nutrient management—providing crop nutrients in the right amount and at the right time—is one of the most important aspects of managing a farm. This course is designed to improve farmers' nutrient management skills, to help them reach the production and profit goals they have set for their farm business. In this course, we use the word organic in its broadest sense to indicate an ecological, whole-system approach to nutrient management.

What You'll Learn

This in-depth course covers the key concepts, principles and practices of organic nutrient management. By working through this course, you will:

Develop a whole farm perspective and apply that perspective to nutrient management decisions.
Be able to evaluate different organic nutrient sources in terms of their nutrient content, available nitrogen, soil-building capacity and other key characteristics.
Know how to use soil testing to assess the nutrient status of your soil.
Develop a nutrient management plan that includes goals, strategies and a process for evaluating and modifying your plan going forward.
Establish a framework for making decisions about nutrient management that spans multiple growing seasons and balances crop performance, profitability and environmental sustainability.

Advanced Training for Working Farmers

This course is targeted toward managers of small- to medium-scale diversified vegetable farms. Although the course focuses on organic nutrient sources and methods, it is not just for organic farmers. Anyone interested in developing a more holistic approach to nutrient management will benefit from taking this course. The techniques, strategies and skills covered are relevant to all types of farms.

This is an intermediate- to advanced-level course, so we also recommend that participants have at least four years of farming under their belts. Beginning farmers are welcome to join, but may find the material challenging.