Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

Lynn, I was slow to understand the whys and wherefores of no-till and how
to manage without tilling. After seeing what Ken had to say I started
researching. Here are some of the results. The one thing I can't get around
is the hard fact that plowing and cultivation expose more soil to the air
and that oxidizes humus and decomposing organic matter, and we can't build
up soil organic matter levels when we keep tilling.

You've been growing here longer than we have. But as you pointed out, the
soil eats organic matter to the point that raw organic matter is added,
bypassing the usual composting, and one can never get enough of it into the
soil to help retain moisture and keep friability up. I have the same soil
an hour SE of you as the crow flies, in the Estancia valley. In spring I
dug permanent beds initially and framed them and built them up somewhat by
working in my mix of aged manure, alfalfa meal, more soil, and trace
amendments. I concentrated all of it on the beds instead of the permanent
aisles. I mulched with straw and only watered weekly. Productivity our very
first year was better than we've ever had in the past, while no one around
here seems to be able to grow anything but rabbit brush. BTW I only weeded
once before the onions were mulched. With intensive beds we got far more
production from the space than we'd have got with single rows, and saved a
lot of water. Result is we raise production without expanding the garden
and work required.

This year we don't turn the beds at all but just add a top layer of the
same mix and mulch, and let the snow and rain do the rest.

WHY NO- TILLAGE?
http://www.rolf-derpsch.com/notill.htm

Less is more: No-till agriculture helps mitigate global warming
U.S. Department of Energy
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2005-09/dnnl-lim091605.php

No-till, permanent bed farming by Ken Hargesheimer from the July/August,
2002 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal
http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/86/86-4/Ken_Hargesheimer.html

Economics drive many farmers to no-till planting
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_415344.html

NO-TILL FARMING OFFERS A QUICK FIX TO HELP WARD OFF HOST OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/notill.htm

No-till.com links to no-till organizations from around the world
http://www.no--till.com/switchboard.htm

A Guide to Creating a No-Till Garden
http://www.dacres.org/No-Till%20Garden.htm

THE NO-TILL + PAGE
http://www.newfarm.org/depts/notill/index.shtml

Missouri No-Till Planting Systems Manual, MU Extension
http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/manuals/m00164.htm

No-Till FAQs, Rodale
http://www.newfarm.org/depts/notill/faqs.shtml

No-till garden beds save water and labor
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=870&storyType=garde


Scientist: No-Till’s Biggest Obstacle is ’Mindset’
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/sty/2002/notill_farming011502.htm

No -Till Gardening
http://www.floydcountyinview.com/notillgardening.html

Soil fertility distributions in long-term no-till, chisel/disk and
moldboard plow/disk systems
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TC6-4G63J18-2
&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000
050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=55272a3427678e3d63384
7f31038588e

a No-Till Tactic on Global Warming (washingtonpost.com)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentI
d=A55389-2002Aug23&notFound=true


paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 1/6/2008 at 11:38 AM Lynn Montgomery wrote:

>Message: 7
>Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:02:16 -0800 (PST)
>From: Ken Hargesheimer <minifarms2@yahoo.com>
>Subject: [Livingontheland] no-till
>To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing
><livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
>Cc: jbyrd@centex.net, minifarms@gmail.com, rhf@airmail.net,
>susanich@earthlink.net, brad@homesweetfarm.com
>Message-ID: <255586.75647.qm@web36502.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>I watched a USDA video several years ago and on it the agent made this
>statement, "There is nothing more destructive of soil than a roto-tiller."
>
>  I wish I knew what to do to get gardeners and farmers to go no-till. I
>just keep preach'in.
>
>  The earth worms appreciate their home not being destroyed.  Soil
>appreciates not being ripped apart.  The rain appreciates going into the
>soil rather than running off carrying top soil with it.  The soil
>appreciates not being cooked by the sun. The farmer's body appreciates it
>for less work. The bank account appreciates it due to more profit.
>
> The weeds' seeds hate it for not being brought to the surface to sprout.
>Equipment dealers hate it due to no sales.
>
>Dear Ken,
>    Although roto-tilling might not be good for things in many places, I
>believe that my farm would not produce and gain fertility without it. Each
>place and garden is unique and the owner must find the best practices,
>varieties, and equipment for his or her particular plot. These can vary
>even on neighboring farms. Breeding one's own varieties is essential for
>sustainable production on small scale farms and gardens. Here on Sandia
>Mt., we have a unique soil. It is a silty adobe that is high Ph. It soaks
>up the rain, but has a strong wicking action that dries it out very
>quickly. It eats organic matter to the point that raw organic matter is
>added, bypassing the usual composting, and one can never get enough of it
>into the soil to help retain moisture and keep friability up. In this high
>desert, there aren't any earthworms, even with lots of precipitation. Only
>by tilling in organic matter endlessly do earthworms show up. Tilling does
>upset earthworms, but they recover very fast, as the soil is full of their
>dormant eggs. Comparing soil that has been tilled with that which hasn't
>reveals the benefits. Irrigation is necessary, so it is necessary to
>contour and make rows or terraces to make it possible to provide moisture
>and control erosion. My tiller is the ideal tool to accomplish this,
>period. Troybilts have a depth bar that works great, giving accurate
>tilling depths, so I only till a couple inches to turn in organic matter
>once things are well established. This is necessary so the precious
>organic matter does not wash away during irrigation. My farm is very
>old-pre-Columbian, and is still here producing away. I don't have a whole
>Pueblo of workers at my disposal, so I have to substitute a machine to
>achieve the same results. Observing a Pueblo farmer hoeing his field, it
>is the same process as the tiller with the same results. A good and
>successful farmer does not listen to USDA agents before his or her own
>observations. Observe, observe, observe, and keep your nose out of books
>or videos that make blanket statements. We all create little unique
>universes in our gardens and get to play God a bit.
>Regards, Lynn Montgomery
>
>