Whether you have a backyard garden or a full-scale farm with crop production, growing things can be a challenge in the Rocky Mountains. But, an upcoming training will offer tips and tricks to alleviate some stress.
“It is Wyoming. It is different. It is difficult,” said Jeremiah Vardiman, University of Wyoming Extension educator in Powell.. “So the stigma is real, the soil problems are real. But is it manageable? Can you do it? Yes, you can. But it does take a bit of educating yourself and changing.”
That’s why Vardiman’s office is offering a two-day seminar on crop production in our region, with a specific focus on alkaline – or high pH – soils. These kinds of soils are common in Wyoming and come from a dry, arid climate. They don’t offer a lot of nutrients for plants.
“[Alkaline soil] limits nutrients available to the plants, and also limits how we can get those nutrients into the soil [and] into the crop,” Vardiman said. “And so we're just trying to alleviate that.”
He added that there isn’t a lot of information available on alkaline soils, rather, most of it is focused on acidic, or low pH, soils. Those types of soils are found in areas with high rainfall.
The seminar will offer some solutions and ideas for growing crops in alkaline soils – like how to sample soil to figure out its pH levels and properly fertilize this type of soil.
“Organic fertilizers, or synthetic fertilizers, those can get tied up in the soil. And thus, I'm putting money into the field, and it's not available to the plants still,” Vardiman said. “So how do we best manage that and stay profitable as an operation?”
The seminar is in Cody Feb. 14 and 15 and will also be available virtually.
