Never Till Practices / Benefits
We do not till.
Aside from making holes for transplants, occasionally stirrup hoeing or broad forking and poking seeds in the ground our land has not been tilled in at least 25 years. We build new, organic matter rich soil on top; leaving our underlying soil structure undisturbed. This means the ecosystem of our soil does not have to contend with the destructive nature of fast moving metal. Instead, we engage in biologically-intensive, human-scale methods to manage our fields and growing spaces.
Benefits of this no-till system include:
• Less dependence on expensive machinery
• Less pollution from tractors and runoff caused by tillage
• Reduced loss of organic matter from over-aeration of the soil
• Improved soil structure and reduced compaction
• Increased long term biological soil activity
• Increased water holding capacity and resistance to drought
ISSUE
|
APPROACHES
|
||
Conventional
|
Organic
|
No-Till / Beyond Organic
|
|
Soil Preparation | Heavy tillage | Reduced tillage | Plant through residues into undisturbed soil |
Fertility | Synthetic fertilizers | Organic fertilizers | Cover crops, organic matter, and soil biology |
Weeds | Herbicides | Tillage, cultivation, bare fallow | Undisturbed soil and organic mulches |
Pests & Disease | Synthetic pesticides and biocides | Organic pesticides | Biodiversity and soil health |
Labor | Mechanization with minimal labor | Labor seen as input to be minimized | Human-scale practices that favor productive labor over mechanization |
Markets | Commodity markets with set prices | Regional wholesale markets | Local sales directly to consumer |
There are numerous approaches to farming a no till style.
They run the gambit from large scale agriculture to homesteading; each developed based on available resources, existing soil type, crops and scale of the farm.
We are utilizing a combination of tarping, Ruth Stout method and various permaculture design techniques to develop our land in a long term productive, functional and artistic display of sustainable land stewardship.
See also: The Ruth Stout Method & The Safe Farm Pledge