ccasey

Is there a reason, other than the standard which is now clearly foolish, that only the top 6" of soil was sampled?

Apologies for ignorance - is that what they call winter wheat?

Very interesting project! If you can, please comment on the idea that we can change our intestinal microbes (gut microflora?) by changing what we eat.

How will you measure the big question you mentioned above? "...how much will be available to the wheat crop, at planting and then later on before and after green-up in late Feb early March? We think the biomass will decompose a lot quicker than the residue, but much will be temperature dependent."

I don't have time to visit my favorite "certified naturally grown" vegetable grower, W. Rogowski Farm, so the money I'd spend on a rental car to go there is headed for this project instead. Very grateful for all the virtual farm visits Buz and partners have provided already! Your careful experiment inspires me to tighten my casual one: I picked up bags of trash and over 34 recyclable bottles from a street tree pit and trimmed all the weeds to stubble (2-3 inches instead of 2-3 feet). Then covered the whole soil and stubble area with 3 layers: discarded Halloween straw, sheets of cardboard, and a top layer of mulch from Christmas trees shredded at last winter's mulch fest. Will these layers turn to soil over the next 7 months of rain and hopefully snow? All tips welcome!

Great question! And what kind of fertilizer? Go cover crops, go science!