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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Could someone help me? (No Till)

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  • From: Dieter Brand <diebrand@yahoo.com>
  • To: c1fenner@comcast.net, Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Could someone help me? (No Till)
  • Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 15:45:43 -0700 (PDT)

Catherine,
 
Converting to no-till is not just a matter of giving up tilling or digging.
It requires a degree of knowledge and experience regarding what you do
instead of tilling. You need to understand how you can manage weeds
by cover crops under your local conditions. On the garden level you can,
to an extend, use mulch (if you have plenty of mulching material on hand)
to suppress weeds. On the farm level there is no way around cover crops.
You need to understand the live-cycle of the different cover crops that will
grow in your area: when to sow, degree of weed-suppression, when to
cut so that it won’t grow again so as to be able to plan the planting of your
cash crop. You need to understand the properties of the different types
of cover crops: legumes will fix nitrogen in the soil, deep-rooted crops
will loosen the soil, etc.

Not tilling obviously saves fuel and reduces pollution. Tilling also causes soil
compaction because the organic structure of the soil is disturbed. Soil fertility
is destroyed by tilling because the soil layers are turned upside down: organic
material of the anaerobic lower soil oxidizes when it comes into contact
with the air while organic material in the aerobic upper soil which is not yet
completely broken down by aerobic microorganismes will be enclosed under
anaerobic conditions where it can develop into substances toxic to plant roots.
Tilling also exposes the soil to erosion.
 
There is plenty more one could say, but you would have to be a little more
specific in your request.
 
Regards, Dieter

Catherine Fenner <c1fenner@comcast.net> wrote:
Is it a rule set by community garden administrators to not rototill because
of energy use or pollution? Or, are you trying to keep the substrata from
compacting? Perhaps if you could define why we can be more specific about
some tools.

Catherine

-----Original Message-----
I need some simple materials to discourage (or encourage to no till)
community gardeners in New Haven, CT from wanting to rototill their plots.
Thanks, Cordalie

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