How to Organically Grow Soybeans

Start a compost bin at the beginning of springtime. Use dried leaves, twigs, vegetable scraps, newspaper, grass clippings and flower remains as material to turn into compost. Keep the compost ratio three parts dry to one part wet material to maintain a proper composting.

Mix the compost daily as you add more food scraps and other organic material. By the time the field is ready, the compost will also be ready. Look for fluffy loam in place of composted scraps to tell you when the composting is finished.

Till the ground with the rototiller working the old silage, weeds and plant cover into the ground three months prior to the first frost of your area. This breaks up compacted soil, distributes minerals and nutrients and allows the plant remains to be used as further fertilizer.

Cover the ground with compost. Till the ground to work the compost into the soil. Make sure the compost and soil are thoroughly mixed.

Plant soybean seeds in rows 1 inch deep with rows spaced 2 feet apart. Avoid over-seeding because most of the seeds will germinate. Set the seeds roughly 2 inches from each other. Soybean plants average 2 ½ feet in height at maturity.

Lay a layer of mulch or peat moss over the crop. This will help protect the seeds from being dug up, and maintain moisture in the soil.

Water the crop regularly. If it rains in a 24 hour period before you plan to water, hold off as nature has already watered the crop.

Watch the crop. When the plants reach 3 inches in height remove every other plant so the spacing is 4 inches between plants. This helps the surviving plants grow healthy roots.

Maintain the ground by weeding and checking on the crop during the growing season. Soybeans take between 75 to 100 days from germination to harvest. Look for holes and missing leaf parts to indicate possible pest problems.

Check the crop as the plants mature. Feel the pods for firm beans inside. If the beans are firm but not hard the pod is ready to pick. Harvest the crop before the pods turn yellow.