New database, tours share information on cover crops

California orchard and vineyard growers have partnered with University of California agricultural researchers to create a searchable database to share information on planting cover crops.

The database includes a compilation of experiences of farmers who planted cover crops in hopes of reaping benefits for soil health and water retention. (See related story on Page 7.)

The database describes cover cropping strategies, details of field practices, benefits and challenges experienced by cover crop growers in orchards and vineyards in the southern Sacramento Valley, the Capay Valley and the North Coast viticulture region.

The cover crop grower database may be found at https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/covercropsdb.

The project is being undertaken by the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, UC Cooperative Extension, the Napa Resource Conservation District and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

As part of the informational effort, growers are being invited to tour orchards and vineyards and hear from other growers about their experiences with cover crops.

“The tours are part of a project for which we recently unveiled new tools for orchard and vineyard growers to learn about cover cropping from experienced growers,” said Sonja Brodt, associate director of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

Sign-ups for the tours are open in February and March:

• Feb. 8, Capay Valley: strategies for integrating cover crops into orchards and vineyards; impacts of cover cropping and grazing on soil health. To register, visit https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/events/grazing-cover-crops-orchards-and-vineyards-capay-valley-tour.

• March 8, Arbuckle area: visits to two two conventional farms in the Arbuckle area that are integrating cover crops into their orchard and vineyard systems. To register, visit https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/events/cover-cropping-conventional- orchards-and-vineyards-arbuckle- area-tour.

Featured speakers include: Amélie Gaudin, associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences; Hope Zabronsky, Climate-Smart Agriculture Program lead for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Rory Crowley, director of habitat programs for Project Apis m.