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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 49, Issue 5

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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost AT riseup.net>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 49, Issue 5
  • Date: Sun, 04 Feb 2007 10:36:05 -0700


As I said I haven't yet used the broadfork, but from what I've seen it's to
loosen deep soil without inverting or mixing it, much like the chisel plow.
That's not inverting and mixing, so far as I'm concerned that falls within
a definition of no-till. Inverting and mixing would certainly expose too
much soil organic matter to oxidation; and that's what I call tillage. I am
familiar with the tomato-vetch trials, and I'm all for it. But their trials
would have been more useful if they understood how to do it without
degrading the soil organic matter first by tilling, and if they used common
knowledge of how to suppress weeds without the expense of herbicides. Of
course these funded trials have to use machinery and chemicals; to suggest
otherwise is to bite the (taxpayer) hand that feeds them.

Where my soil is too thin and so low in organic matter to begin with,
initial digging and mixing with all the right amendments can only help.
After beds are established, there's no need to repeat the process every
year.

paul tradingpost AT lobo.net

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

>From: Steve Diver <steved AT ncat.org>
>Subject: [Market-farming] Coleman: "We no longer dig the garden."
>To: market-farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
>Message-ID: <45C60842.9090803 AT ncat.org>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
>
>Paul -
>
>Referring to the broadfork as "modified no-till" is more
>than a stretch, it is an incorrect description of no-till.
>
>The broadfork digs down *deep* into the soil and lifts
>up a huge soil chunk almost two feet wide. This has
>to be further harrowed to prepare a seedbed. This is a
>major form of beneficial soil tillage.
>
>"Beneficial" soil tillage, the "right kind" of soil tillage,
>and "appropriate" soil tillage combined with humus
>management has been the backbone of sustainable
>and organic farming systems for thousands of years.
>
>The spading machine is a major form of soil tillage,
>but it improves soil humus though its beneficial tillage
>action. A chisel plow and harrow combination
>improves soil humus. A broadfork and harrow
>combination improves soil humus.
>
>Here is an example of modified no-till. The USDA-ARS
>research station in Beltsville, MD, has published a series
>of journals articles and publications on no-till tomatoes
>raised with a hairy vetch cover crop mulch. Dr. Abdul-Baki
>and others have pioneered this approach. But when I
>visited the plots one fall in the late 1990s, the front side of
>the no-till planting system became more apparent. The
>vegetable field had been thoroughly tilled, followed by
>bed formation and seedbed prepration. This enabled a
>Brillion seeder to sow hairy vetch seed and achieve
>excellent cover crop stand establishment. Indeed, the
>thick cover crop mulch that is achieved the followed
>spring begins with excellent "stand establishment" in
>the preceeding fall. In addition, this Beltsville no-till
>plots relied on herbicide applications to knock back
>emerging weeds that grow thru the mulch during the
>growing season, and/or to knock back hairy vetch
>that may re-sprout.
>
>E.g.,
>
>Sustainable Production of Fresh-Market Tomatoes
>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/SustainableTomato.pdf
>
>
>Be that as it may, I'm sure you'll enjoy the broadfork.
>It's a valueable tool for raised bed, biointensive style
>home gardening. It is a complete alternative to double
>digging and it is a complete alternative to a fossil-fuel
>powered roto-tiller, since you can dig as many
>100-square foot raised beds as your family needs.
>
>Steve Diver
>






  • Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 49, Issue 5, TradingPostPaul, 02/04/2007

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