Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Ken Hargesheimer <minifarms2@yahoo.com>]

Issue 7 had some interesting statements and discussion.

 

When the final answer comes in on how to control Johson grass I sure want to know. 

 

The size of the farm, 10 acres or 1000 acres, has nothing to do with being no-till or not.  One needs a small hp tractor with a no-till planter [for row crops] or a no-till drill [broadcast crops]. 

 

Dr. Morrison, Temple, TX research station, proved over a 12 year period that using permanet beds on a farm would increase yields 10% to as much as 15%.  The width of the beds are based on several factors.  He used 80 inch alternating with 40 inch widiths.  Use 100 inch but had a problem with harvesting equipment.  Wheels are alway run in the permanent tracks.  This does not compact the growing bed.

 

Use organic, no-till, permanent beds whether with a 1000 sq. ft. garden or a 1000 acre farm. 

 

People worry too much about weeds. Do not let them go to seed and cut them off at the ground level and that is more organic matter.  By the 3rd year, weeds are history.

 

 My demonstration garden has Johnson grass but I just dug out the roots one season and that was the end of it.  The next season I took out a few roots I had missed.

 

When I first remember the farm, we used horses.  I like the idea instead of a tractor.  To be no-till would take some original thinking to adapt the no-till drill and planter to hook up to horses.  The horses need to walk in the permanent tracks; not in the beds packing the soil.  I would like to see someone take this idea and perfect it.  There is at least one school that trains people to use horses for farming.  No-till equipment is easy to pull compared to regular equipment.

 

Ken Hargesheimer

 

Ken

Go to: http://bibledvd.googlepages.com/home and www.nabuur.com

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