Celeryville+Muck+Crop+Fields


 * =Birding in Ohio=

Huron County
=Celeryville Muck Crop Fields= OH-103 @ Holtz Road Willard, Ohio 44890

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Celeryville Muck Crop Fields (view from roadside only)
Coordinates: 41.0169363, -82.731393 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips for birding Celeryville Muck Crop Fields
The agricultural fields used to grow fresh market vegetables, "muck crops," may be explored from side roads in this area. Buff-breasted Sandpipers and other shorebirds sometimes use these fields during migration. Bird this area from roadsides only. Do not enter the fields. OH-103 can be very busy. Side roads often provide safer viewing opportunities.

About Celeryville Muck Crop Fields
In 1869 Henry Wiers traveled with his family and other Dutch immigrants from Kalamazoo, Michigan to purchase 5 acres in the muck lands near Willard, Ohio. At that time, the muck consisted of swampy and poorly drained land, but Henry Wiers along with others used draining techniques from Netherlands to make the land farmable. The area came to be known as Celeryville. Celery was grown and shipped to local markets using horse and wagon and transported to further locations using the railroad. From Wiers Farm webpage

The rich, black soils of Huron County, Ohio, are perfect for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Muck Crops Research Station, the oldest location among the outlying stations. It is here, in the heart of the fresh market vegetable country, that Ohio State scientists study radishes, parsley, cilantro, green and bulb onions, and many other leaf and root crops.

The station got started in 1948 when a group of area producers (called the Golden Rule Association) purchased and donated 15.5 acres of muck soil near Celeryville to the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station (now OARDC) for use as an experimental farm. The soil here is almost 45 percent organic matter, whereas most mineral soils only have 3 to 5 percent organic matter.

Ohio's muck crop growers face unique problems. These specialized vegetable crops experience diseases, insects and weed growth uncommon to other areas of the country. Scientists overcome these challenges with new cultural practices and management techniques. Important areas of research include soil fertility; seed quality; seed treatments; transplant production; stand establishment; irrigation; insect, disease and weed control; and cultivar evaluations. From Muck Crops Research Station webpage

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media type="custom" key="29207477" || L3103773 US US-OH US-OH-077 41.0169363 -82.731393 OH-103 @ Holtz Rd.