Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["David Inglis" <mhcsa@verizon.net>]

> I'm sorry, but anybody who thinks you can work the fields in the dark is
> too clueless to bother with.  How can he really believe you get less weeds
> by tilling in the dark??? 
While tillage or seeding  at night may not be practical or desirable the
fellow is correct that far fewer weed seeds germinate if the final pass is
made in the dark. Most annual weed seeds are photo sensitive i.e. require
exposure to light in order to germinate. Attempts were made in the eighties
to build cowling over seeders to take advantage of this fact but, for
obvious reasons, it proved impractical. Also 10% weed germination still
leaves a considerable problem.

I believe that  organic no till faces the same obstacle that organics once
did and that is that the chief benefits build up over time and are not
available when one first starts which is also when the practitioner is the
least experienced; this is scary for a lot of folk.
Clearly, as Ken points out, No Till is highly  successful over large
acreages for some crops. However one can hardly be surprised that growers
are cautious about extending that success to their own unique situation.
 As Ken also says  the problem is in peoples heads and  habits of thoughts
are very hard things to change. Even expert No Till growers such as Steve
Groff only converted their land gradually and as he told me once it is not
immediately suitable for all crops [at least not his version ] and he would
make his crop selection based on what works best for his system and not
alter the growing system to suit particular crop needs.
It takes a leap of faith for Marty's friend to invest in new equipment [at a
minimum, a no till drill, a no till row planter and rolling stalk chopper]
when he will have to keep his present equipment package financed until full
conversion is achieved. Doesn't mean it can't be done but I can understand
his need for detailed answers and, preferably, examples.
He is also correct that no till started out backed by the 'chem boys' but
that is changing. He is also correct that green manures can become the new
weed if not dealt with properly, especially vetch and annual rye. This can
be used to advantage though. I once met a German Farmer in Ontario who
allowed red clover to go to seed repeatedly over two seasons so that after
that all he had to do for the green manure crop to come up was -nothing.
Brilliant.
David
Z5