WoW this is Great!!! No Till for you, No Till for Me, No Till's the way Y'all We Agree! SOOO, now lets also Relax and get More Stress Free, and GROW the Fun with Paw Paw Gee!
Thank you so much for posting these, Mr. Battle. This is the corner of youtube i clearly belong. It's pretty challenging to be a regular homegardener who is trying their hand at experimentation with covercrops and no till. I don't belong with the traditional 'till it till it's sterile' homegardeners, who have a wealth of knowledge about veg and fertillizer but disregard the soil life completely, i don't belong with the regular market gardeners, not really soil builders in my opinion but some are going in the right direction and i don't belong with the large scale no till farmers because it's not easilly scaled down, toolwise. They all have their useful knowledge but these were the scale and techniques i was looking for that bind it all together and make it easier to implement. I'm so deeply interested in this subject that my plot looks more like an experimental site than a garden but i like it that way. At this point, the vegetables are merely a bonus because i'm way too interested in the soil conditions and catering to the many species of pollinators to notice them. Of course this is a wild exaggeration. ;) I eat good! I'm doing it all, live mulch with garden perennials, mowed mulch, covercrop, interplanting, live mulch with veg, compost beds, hugelculture, sawdust, woodchips, woodshavings, leafmulch. Show it, i'll try it. The best way i have figured out to make a quick start is the lasagna bed but i have a diverse patchwork of all kinds of other techniques as well that work fine too. (i could not dig soil if my life depended on it, that's how it all started) Especially woodshavings from the rabbit pen has been a lifesaver. That stuff is gold as a soil cover. I get it from the local petshop who save it for me. comes with covercrop species already mixed into it from the rabbit and hamster food plus their urine and manure. The pigeons come in, poke around in it and manure right where they should. Have to work with what you get! Let's see how that overwinters or not. Hope it all winter kills. Probably not.
Hey, I'd like to connect with you! I'm trying to figure out what/how to do my dream plot. Fruit trees, fruit bushes, berries, lots of perennials! I don't want to re-do the work all the time! Since I don't have much time I'd like to get to know your sucesses and failures so I can skip over them. Connect with me :)
Glad you are out there teaching - does anyone mass produce vermicompost? - I use compost tea early in my soil for 5 year and no pests or disease- just a little garlic and hot pepper spray the fist and second year to get rid of black bugs on my tomatoes. - take care
Vetch - will not die - I have used vetch for my small scale market garden over the past five years, I allow it to grow wild each season then, at its peak, I introduce chickens into the area...in large enough numbers the chickens will scratch out, knock over and kill most of it enough to allow my planting of beans, peas, melons, pumpkins, cucumber, corn, sunflower and tomato mixed seeds. This tangled mess makes for enough produce each season to allow me to make a small living over the spring summer fall seasons that allows me to work in the winter garden (Sub tropical SE Queensland Australia) when the weather is cool enough to allow full days of work. At current times, (February 2017) the weather is 30 degree C (86 degree F) with 87% humidity at 0730 in the morning.!
@ 16:00 just use a heavy piece of plywood and walk on it and jump , then just flop it foreward and do it again.......its a good way to pick wilde blackberries too..........that chain lift ergonomics will totally wear u out
That would compact the soil. The whole point is to pack down the cover crops but not compact the soil below it. But I agree that the chain link idea would be way too hard on the body. I'm sure they probably have figured out a better way by now being that this was over 7 years ago... But it was an awesome work in progress as far as new ideas go..
You slide the blade in a curving motion so it cuts as the sickle slides across the grass/weeds. No hacking required. I used this and learned the proper way to use it in Germany... You guys are working to hard hacking with it. 👍😎
The scythe is a cool tool. But what I’ve found very effective is doing no cut work at all. I let nature and weeds make the soil rich. Weeds die back as soon as I start planting a new cover crop of buckwheat and red clover/ mixed variety of small bird seeds as well so the finches come. It works wonders. By the time the plants all die and weeds come up the soil is beautiful. I used to have a very hard sand/clay soil that grew nothing. I can now grow everything. Even hard to grow plants inside that tiny area I’ve been experimenting on. It’s beautiful right now as the clovers and buckwheat die back. I found wild flowers thanks to birds inside. Just beautiful how nature lets it just work out. Of course, don’t let it go solo without planting something. I have a patch of weeds and plants I don’t touch for three years and the weeds really just overrun but I let it because bugs and birds prefer the weeds funny enough
Thank-you! From England. A few weeks' ago, I sowed a grazing rye plus vetch green manure mix on my new-to-me half allotment. Your heads-up on knocking it down is especially thought provoking re the vetch! Very bext wishes, John Courtneidge
place a strap on the top of your chainboard so you can slide your foot into it. The combination of a step board with weight of chain and using a foot and arms to distribute weight to lift and smash works wonders. Or just drag it if the crop cover isn't too tall. Fantastic video btw!
What an immense wealth of knowledge! Thanks so much for posting. I have two questions for readers. 1. I understand the concept of planting starts into roller-crimped or flailed green manures. But how does one use a hand-pushed seeder in this thick layer of green mulch? I've seen some videos on the subject, but no definitive answers. That is, could one grow carrots in this recently terminated green manure? Or do you have to get out the shovel and dig a narrow furrow so that the seeder can pass? 2. I've studied biochar quite a bit and think it's brilliant, especially when used with a fermented liquid soil amendment to activate the soil microbiology and colonize the biochar, which is used as habitat. BUT, I've studied its use in the Amazon, where soils are low in carbon, rich in clay and iron, and have poor drainage. What's the advantage of using biochar in an organic sandy loam in which there's already high carbon content and active microflora and microfauna? Seems like conventional farms with low C levels would need it more than an organic farm with rich soils.
I also studied bio char, and it does amazing in the right portions. We bought 6,500 pounds of bio char and use it in our soil with mushroom compost and use wood chips around fruit trees to create that microbial growth and our trees grow tons of fruit. We have fig trees ,orange trees, peach,plum,olive tree, and fruit trees which are Pruitt's plums/apricots, also have morranga trees growing all around. My yard is a fruit forest here in Northwest Florida. Biochar is the real deal if used correctly. I have chickens and it mixes perfect with a liquid mixture of chick manure and biochar, I also add mushroom compost and miracle grow liquid lightly...and you can use to much biochar it will stunt the trees growth if to much is added. Happy growing everyone
"No-till" isn't that new idea. When I was working in a local Agriculture department, years ago the subject was ever-present. No-till was what we tried to convince gardeners and farmers to practice. When I was studying horticulture no-till was very important in the horticulture education at the University in Krakow, Poland. Now I am in my middle seventies and I see that North America is awakening to this subject. Better late than never. I like your passion for recycling everything that could be reused. How little we need... But I would like to see the community not supported financially by any subsidy, except education. We need to be self-sufficient in everything. When you use cover crop and no-till metod, the plants need to be broken, or mowed and left in place.They shoud not let be going into seeds no mater what. In agriculture they roll over the cover crop and seed main crop in rows between the cover crop rows. quite often the cover crop is corn, easy to break. the broken plants tops are serving as mulch and the lower parts deteriorate like compost, build soil structure and leave some nutrients in the soil. In horticulture it is advisable to do the same. though many gardeners preffer straw. Wheat does this work slower because the capilars the root create are small and not as many as in the case if corn. While planting cover crop it is very important to use mixes of seeds, to supply as many nutrients as possible. The trick is plant only annuals. so even if they germinate next year they can be moved or broken and do the same purpose the next year. Cover crop is only for limited time i a year to enrich and rejuvinate the soil. I still garden and almost all my produce is from my little garden. And I still learn from others. Thank you for your work.
First note: to expand the market for tools, Food plotters for wildlife. Second: a 2x6 board with 2x2 angle iron screwed to it and use your weight it crimps as you go. use decent handles on it. Rest of the video I was just soaking up info. Thanks for sharing.
That hurt watching you sythe. Remove the blade, turn over the handle then re-install the blade on the proper side. The handle hump needs to be up. Not down. Slide the blade across the ground. Don’t chop.
@@RobertBurrell-f6c Don’t assume I know everything. I had to research how to use one. For someone to get paid to teach and they don’t know! He needs to do the research and personally know how to use them before teaching others about them. I’ve been working on my skills of spinning and weaving and yet I still would not teach because I don’t yet know enough and have enough hands on to actually teach. Now if you don’t get paid and are just learning you can mention but you’d still be wise enough to pass along proper information.
@@abittwisted - Shut up! He said in the video prior to using the tool he was not an expert and that he was still learning. You tried to belittle him!! Nah, not going for it you suck as a human being!
Hook that chain on the back of a rider with a rope, and DRAG IT down that row back and forth, and it will RIP OUT that crap. Wow. That's crazy to manually try and remove that vetch with the chain. I don't do no till. I do ONE TILL. I get it tilled up good, with stuff to build the soil, then I lay a heavy sheet of black plastic on, and cut holes for my crops. That way next year, all I have to do is plant the rows or holes. So easy and very little pulling weeds! I've even used strips of old carpet between the rows. Works great!
yes but , particularly here, the idea is a) no soil disturbance and b) organic soil buil up . With tillage soil gets turned upside down and those 2 inch soil richness ends up deep inside. Of course there are many ways to do organic ag; but here, the idea is to observe the nature and let it do the work since he often refers to Gabe Brown.
22:22 Looks like this guy was doing it smarter than the others. Stomping creates more compaction? Well maybe, since you have that stupid chain there. Get rid of the chain and now your "stomp" is more distributed. Plus...the green resilient material underneath is cushioning the stomp. To be that ticky-tacky and hyper vigilant over petty compacting actions seems like unnecessary stress both mental and physical. And then they feature this guy riding some motorized wheeled seeder...which obviously compacts more than a stomp on a flat piece of wood. The seeder even has a 100lb weight on the front...in addition to the weight of the driver and at least 100lbs of barbell weights and 40lbs of foam by the tires! Idiocy to worry about compaction in one sense and not care in another sense. The whole beginning of this was hard to watch. Watching that lady and those guys swing that scythe unsupervised and un-tutored was cringey and a big joke. The end was hard to watch too. 500 lbs of machine and man on three wheels...and it didn't even work, lol. But no...don't stomp the vetch 'cause compaction!
If you need a way to lay down the cover crop, look no further than people that make crop circles. A 2x6 with a hole in both ends and a rope through it. Set it down, step on it, move forward and repeat.
So much Information Here! Decades ...heck centuries of Observation and Knowledge! Thank You So Much Pat for your hard work time and dedication and especially for Sharing of this very crucial information, mush Aloha to you and yours (this will be my 2nd or 3rd time watching this seminar) *Homestead Crossfit!!!!!!!!!!!! Bwahahhahahahahhaahahaaaaaa what a shoulder workout for every one! love it! - Dont grow Vetch(love the advice)!!!!!! Were going to ponder how to possibly automate this process- so what is the best cover crop blend for intensive small scale market gardens Great lakes Green Belt? Pat what C.C gives the most back? Spring? Summer? Fall? Winter? we have made some Powerful Observations this growing season thank you all for the Teaching- we are here to learn and to share what works for our area (western Michigan Lower Peninsula) Living Web Farms has been essential in my education! thank you again.
It was mentioned in the video that the no till drill is being sold internationally. I'm developing a small regenerative agriculture demonstration farm in Vietnam and this is a perfect tool for my project. How can I get a hold of an agent in SE Asia? Thanks, Mark
@@SevtapThurston Hey Sevtap, I was doing fine but I have a stroke over two years ago and I'm battling back from my setback. I sold the farm and the house this year and I'm looking for a place to put my money. I'll probably go with a restaurant / coffee shop with my wife and kids. I'll have to see.
I'm surprised you don't just use a 3/4 sheet of plywood, paint it with linseed oil so keep it going longer and with a rope on the corners, just step on it. It will knock down the plants while dispersing your weight so as to not over compact the soil while being a lot lighter and faster. That way, it's place, step, place, step, saving your back, time, and making it more accessible to children and the elderly. (Not that my old man couldn't knock that out faster than I could!)
i love this idea. i think a 2' piece of 2x6 would not do much compaction. maybe a cutting edge on the front like an old straight saw, screwed in from underneath. much love
I think there was too much moisture; that machine is not for a greenhouse but rather a dry soil in an open field for instance. And they said at a certain point that "is not gonna work inside in wet soil) cheers !
freshly dried veggies and packaged in air sealed packages last for years and are just as fresh 19 years later with adding a little fresh water and 10 minutes of hydration add some meat and simmer into a meal fit for a king
If someone made a small sickle bar mower like a hedge trimmer with wheels wide enough apart to span a row and some vertical "wings" to keeps cuttings from tumbling sideways you could drop your cover perfectly along your row.
I’m wondering if a 3’ piece of angle iron screwed to the bottom of a 2X4 would do any better if you stepped your weight down onto it to crimp it off sort of like the guys faking crop circles were doing. Also, if you put a mulching blade on the mower and leave the dispensing chute closed it might do ok, but as thick as that vetch is it’ll definitely bog the mower down.
Push and drop action with a lifter rod type thing on couple of wheels would be much easier for that heavy chain tool! I think I will get it done for our farm.
Monsanto is a money making machine sustained by the Govs. The day when the Govs realize that Monsanto modus operandi in agriculture is slowly eliminating ecosystems on Earth and this issue becomes the nr.1 global priority on the political agenda (like Covid19) as well as govs. not letting themselves bribed, Monsanto will be banned and out of business.
I would say the seeder needs a row of square stock metal rollers. That would redistribute the weight and if you put them in a chevron they would also put the disturbance back. The front drive tractor needs tracks. Don’t think it needs to be so long either. Cutter wheel could be on front and yohman plow in the middle. Both need trailer screws with locks to add more precision to depth. Duel scissors could raise both with one lever. I’m not seeing a snap pin on the plow to prevent braking the plow. If it hits a big rock it could destroy the plow or bend it badly. If this could take paper pot planters on racks! Amazing! That’s a major time saver for long runs.
17:10.. Better to get a long plank and place it on the field.. walk across the plank to the other end readjust plank end position across field,, walk back and repeat.
Tillage has a future, in that, you need to start with something so till plant your cover crop and go from there. No magic, but get rid of the bad, and put in the good.
On a 30” bed you might plant up to 12 rows. What good is a single row planter? Use a sickle mower on the vetch. Don’t step on a bar wrapped in chain? The bar will spread out the weight.
Where do I get a sythe? I definitely need one, I just purchased a property, 2 acres, but it's 2 acres of weedy mountain inside. So I need a sythe that works, and is affordable. So where can I get one? Where did you get yours? I looked at tractor stores, and farm stores, they don't have them in my area. And I've been needing one really bad for this new property.
I have stopped using most chemicals, except some magnesium and 13-13-13, and some Hasta-grow, and some anti-fungals. My last problem weed is sedge. I have sprayed and dug and I it just comes right back thicker. I am not opposed to using chemical-geddon in those spots at this point. Any sure fire way to get rid of this? tia.
Could I get a spelling on the 'renabrusi' rye around minute 26? I doubt I've spelled it right and would like to search my area for it once I've got the right name. Thanks.
I LOVE JC TENNESSEE ,,, MY SISTER LIVED 1 EXIT WEST OF TRI-CITIES AIRPORT!!! Y'ALL COME SEE US! WE'RE LOCATED NEAR TO YOU; in TAZEWELL COUNTY, VIRGINIA!!!!
The first tool at 16:30 looks seriously inefficient. You either need something equivalent to a lighter garden roller or simply drag that item behind you as you would with a tractor. The repetitive strain injury factor looks high on that tool simply due to its weight and the unnatural body movements required to use it in the manner shown.
Number Eight they are really dumb...you want to show something but you don't know how to work,with what to work...I mean this guys don't know that the wheel was invented
Aldea Alexandru wheels wont work rolling thru vines it gets caught up id use the scythe but i have vetch not LOADS of it but i just pull it its thin and the root system doesnt go deep it pulls rather easily
@@zassu85 they are no dumb, of course they know about the wheel.... you miss the point here; the philosophy behind all this : no till / cover crops/soil conservation and compensate for use of heavy chemicals in large scale agriculture ( the movement tries try to work out with least tools or tools at hand or no tools at all ) The One-Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka, 1978 pdf - discharge it and have a look, you will understand . cheers!
Yes. Absurd to use on a market garden scale. Too tiring and hard in the body. Why not drag it behind the BCS? I wouldn't even consider using this for a minute.
No way vetch then! My place is a garden, not a market garden. I sowed rye and buckwheat - the rye overwintered (Q 1) what sort of Rye did you say???) with onions in it and will harvest those later and hopefully cut the rye maybe hoe it in? I bought lupins as a green manure but they didn't come up probably too cold -(Q 2) have you used this? Also sowed mustard and has done great looks quite fragile; maybe it will be more tenacious later. I have also sown Phacelia Tansetifolia in the bean beds. Afraid that the mix may include vetch - I am in France. (Q 3) Has that 'cup' plant got a latin name? I did dig year before on new ground as lots of couch grass with terrible mesh of roots. I am worried about using the straw as sure not organic! (Q 40 could i just use compost and green manures?
I've never had a problem with vetch spreading in my garden. I chop it finely onto the soil before it seeds. Borage pops up everywhere, again nip the seedheads off. Mustard is easy to incorporate, slice it in with a spade. Brown mustard overwinters, Ethiopian gives more ground cover. Rye is a pain though. It's not easy to incorporate with a spade, is not easily IDed against other [weed] grasses for a novice so a whole bed can easily be taken over with grass. It just needs a wet period - when it's fairly mature and impossible to dig - then it seeds.
Each plant bio accumulates different things like clover and beans nitrogen fix both dio it in a different way. Beans use bacteria clover takes it from the air.
But if the farmer is practising a soil health based approach he/she will be using that equipment less often because over time inputs are reduced dramatically and there's no tillage to be done, which coupled with the use of diverse covercrops, remediates compaction from prior operations. All of which is at least heading in the right direction i think.
all my buddies who took agriculture in college say "organic farms take up too much space" and "organic farms are bad for the environment". i reaaaalllyyy doubt those theories
No till is much easier with large scale ag because the equipment has been available for 10 to 20 years, its just expensive and hard to scale down. There is some available to do permanent 4 to 5 ft. bed work. with constant plant cover compaction becomes a non issue. Check out Dr. Ron Morse's work on RUclips and Rodale Institute's work also.
I do not think he is regularly using it, the point is , he is just showing it as a potential tool. (not being aware how dangerous that can be) I was afraid he will cut himself when he was holding it at the level of his throat and gesticulating , turning his head around. I know of a case when after cutting grass long hours, the guy stopped by a bar for few drinks with friends, after that heading home tumbles and when falling down the blade turns around and with the belly on top of it. Dead on the spot. So very careful handling that tool.
Thank You for the video. With all do respect. Couldn't you just use a good ole fashion sickle. Before swathers were made. Sickle n rake my uncle used for years... Convert one over to 3 or 4 ft. Length. Use PTO unit on smallest tractor u can find. Or even use maybe a portable drill for power source. And a walk behind.
IN EUROPE THEY HAVE MULTIPLE BLADES, SOMEBODY NEED TO GO IN THE LARGEST INDUSTRY FARMERS IN EUROPE TO COPY THERE MACHINE THAT USE THAT KIND OF MACHINE AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN CREATE OUR OWN NECESSITY MACHINE FOR A GOOD CONVENIENT NEEDS FOR THE FARMERS, LOTS OF YOUNG AMERICANS ENGINEERS CAN CREATE THAT MACHINE
There are no till planters (SD - Siembra Directa) everywhere not only in Europe; Argentina used it long ago, Brazil, etc, farmes are trying to switch over from heavy till/tilling to no till or partially till or strip till. Easy easy they realize that the technology applied until now is harmful for the soil and ecosystem long term. Thinking only crop yields and again yields / profit and again profits is very harmful medium/long term for Life in general. Health population is at stake here.
For real! I've got an old power pole I'm gonna use. I think one of their other videos they have a guy that said he hooked a treated fence post to the tool bar on his planter and planted right into that
Sometimes elderly people are too conservative. I agree in main points, but some of them are not necessary in this century, those can be changed, and become more efficient.
Oh yes Sir, they are in this century and beyond. The present fresh current in thinking is due to climate change and sustainability this is the way ahead in agriculture if we want to be healthy and our gran grand children survive. Didn´t you see in Turkey and Greece and beyond the soil is afected by desertification ? (your name is turkish) I would say they are back to square one after realizing how harmful to life and ecosystems is the modern agriculture based on genetically mods and synthetic fertilizers/chemicals (see Monsanto and others) That is the idea here, not because someone is "reinventing the wheel" . As you ve observed there are 2 retired agronoms (ag. eng.) there and I bet you that they know how modern agriculture works and perfectly aware of the harm the modern agriculture does; but the whole point here is regenerative (soil) agriculture. Cheers !
WoW this is Great!!! No Till for you, No Till for Me, No Till's the way Y'all We Agree! SOOO, now lets also Relax and get More Stress Free, and GROW the Fun with Paw Paw Gee!
Thank you so much for posting these, Mr. Battle. This is the corner of youtube i clearly belong. It's pretty challenging to be a regular homegardener who is trying their hand at experimentation with covercrops and no till. I don't belong with the traditional 'till it till it's sterile' homegardeners, who have a wealth of knowledge about veg and fertillizer but disregard the soil life completely, i don't belong with the regular market gardeners, not really soil builders in my opinion but some are going in the right direction and i don't belong with the large scale no till farmers because it's not easilly scaled down, toolwise. They all have their useful knowledge but these were the scale and techniques i was looking for that bind it all together and make it easier to implement.
I'm so deeply interested in this subject that my plot looks more like an experimental site than a garden but i like it that way. At this point, the vegetables are merely a bonus because i'm way too interested in the soil conditions and catering to the many species of pollinators to notice them. Of course this is a wild exaggeration. ;) I eat good! I'm doing it all, live mulch with garden perennials, mowed mulch, covercrop, interplanting, live mulch with veg, compost beds, hugelculture, sawdust, woodchips, woodshavings, leafmulch. Show it, i'll try it.
The best way i have figured out to make a quick start is the lasagna bed but i have a diverse patchwork of all kinds of other techniques as well that work fine too. (i could not dig soil if my life depended on it, that's how it all started) Especially woodshavings from the rabbit pen has been a lifesaver. That stuff is gold as a soil cover. I get it from the local petshop who save it for me. comes with covercrop species already mixed into it from the rabbit and hamster food plus their urine and manure. The pigeons come in, poke around in it and manure right where they should. Have to work with what you get! Let's see how that overwinters or not. Hope it all winter kills. Probably not.
Hey, I'd like to connect with you! I'm trying to figure out what/how to do my dream plot. Fruit trees, fruit bushes, berries, lots of perennials! I don't want to re-do the work all the time! Since I don't have much time I'd like to get to know your sucesses and failures so I can skip over them. Connect with me :)
My favorite: Hugelkulture!
Anne of all trades has some really good ideas on her channel
WoW this is Great!!! Thanks so much for posting.
touching tribute. great RUclips channel really inspiring for a home gardener
Glad you are out there teaching - does anyone mass produce vermicompost? - I use compost tea early in my soil for 5 year and no pests or disease- just a little garlic and hot pepper spray the fist and second year to get rid of black bugs on my tomatoes. - take care
in the garden, kitchen compost drilled full of hole cylinders in the ground plant feeders seems to work awesome
Vetch - will not die - I have used vetch for my small scale market garden over the past five years, I allow it to grow wild each season then, at its peak, I introduce chickens into the area...in large enough numbers the chickens will scratch out, knock over and kill most of it enough to allow my planting of beans, peas, melons, pumpkins, cucumber, corn, sunflower and tomato mixed seeds. This tangled mess makes for enough produce each season to allow me to make a small living over the spring summer fall seasons that allows me to work in the winter garden (Sub tropical SE Queensland Australia) when the weather is cool enough to allow full days of work.
At current times, (February 2017) the weather is 30 degree C (86 degree F) with 87% humidity at 0730 in the morning.!
Wow such a good idea!
@ 16:00 just use a heavy piece of plywood and walk on it and jump , then just flop it foreward and do it again.......its a good way to pick wilde blackberries too..........that chain lift ergonomics will totally wear u out
That would compact the soil. The whole point is to pack down the cover crops but not compact the soil below it. But I agree that the chain link idea would be way too hard on the body. I'm sure they probably have figured out a better way by now being that this was over 7 years ago... But it was an awesome work in progress as far as new ideas go..
You slide the blade in a curving motion so it cuts as the sickle slides across the grass/weeds. No hacking required. I used this and learned the proper way to use it in Germany... You guys are working to hard hacking with it. 👍😎
I know. It's such a great tool if you know how to use it. I love mine.
The scythe is a cool tool. But what I’ve found very effective is doing no cut work at all. I let nature and weeds make the soil rich. Weeds die back as soon as I start planting a new cover crop of buckwheat and red clover/ mixed variety of small bird seeds as well so the finches come. It works wonders. By the time the plants all die and weeds come up the soil is beautiful. I used to have a very hard sand/clay soil that grew nothing. I can now grow everything. Even hard to grow plants inside that tiny area I’ve been experimenting on. It’s beautiful right now as the clovers and buckwheat die back. I found wild flowers thanks to birds inside. Just beautiful how nature lets it just work out. Of course, don’t let it go solo without planting something. I have a patch of weeds and plants I don’t touch for three years and the weeds really just overrun but I let it because bugs and birds prefer the weeds funny enough
Thank-you! From England.
A few weeks' ago, I sowed a grazing rye plus vetch green manure mix on my new-to-me half allotment.
Your heads-up on knocking it down is especially thought provoking re the vetch!
Very bext wishes,
John Courtneidge
place a strap on the top of your chainboard so you can slide your foot into it. The combination of a step board with weight of chain and using a foot and arms to distribute weight to lift and smash works wonders. Or just drag it if the crop cover isn't too tall. Fantastic video btw!
What an immense wealth of knowledge! Thanks so much for posting.
I have two questions for readers.
1. I understand the concept of planting starts into roller-crimped or flailed green manures. But how does one use a hand-pushed seeder in this thick layer of green mulch? I've seen some videos on the subject, but no definitive answers. That is, could one grow carrots in this recently terminated green manure? Or do you have to get out the shovel and dig a narrow furrow so that the seeder can pass?
2. I've studied biochar quite a bit and think it's brilliant, especially when used with a fermented liquid soil amendment to activate the soil microbiology and colonize the biochar, which is used as habitat. BUT, I've studied its use in the Amazon, where soils are low in carbon, rich in clay and iron, and have poor drainage. What's the advantage of using biochar in an organic sandy loam in which there's already high carbon content and active microflora and microfauna? Seems like conventional farms with low C levels would need it more than an organic farm with rich soils.
I also studied bio char, and it does amazing in the right portions. We bought 6,500 pounds of bio char and use it in our soil with mushroom compost and use wood chips around fruit trees to create that microbial growth and our trees grow tons of fruit. We have fig trees ,orange trees, peach,plum,olive tree, and fruit trees which are Pruitt's plums/apricots, also have morranga trees growing all around. My yard is a fruit forest here in Northwest Florida. Biochar is the real deal if used correctly. I have chickens and it mixes perfect with a liquid mixture of chick manure and biochar, I also add mushroom compost and miracle grow liquid lightly...and you can use to much biochar it will stunt the trees growth if to much is added. Happy growing everyone
"No-till" isn't that new idea. When I was working in a local Agriculture department, years ago the subject was ever-present. No-till was what we tried to convince gardeners and farmers to practice. When I was studying horticulture no-till was very important in the horticulture education at the University in Krakow, Poland. Now I am in my middle seventies and I see that North America is awakening to this subject. Better late than never. I like your passion for recycling everything that could be reused. How little we need... But I would like to see the community not supported financially by any subsidy, except education. We need to be self-sufficient in everything.
When you use cover crop and no-till metod, the plants need to be broken, or mowed and left in place.They shoud not let be going into seeds no mater what. In agriculture they roll over the cover crop and seed main crop in rows between the cover crop rows. quite often the cover crop is corn, easy to break. the broken plants tops are serving as mulch and the lower parts deteriorate like compost, build soil structure and leave some nutrients in the soil. In horticulture it is advisable to do the same. though many gardeners preffer straw. Wheat does this work slower because the capilars the root create are small and not as many as in the case if corn. While planting cover crop it is very important to use mixes of seeds, to supply as many nutrients as possible. The trick is plant only annuals. so even if they germinate next year they can be moved or broken and do the same purpose the next year. Cover crop is only for limited time i a year to enrich and rejuvinate the soil. I still garden and almost all my produce is from my little garden. And I still learn from others. Thank you for your work.
Would you say it’s a common practice among farmers in Poland?
I been listening nearly an hour and have not heard a lousy gardening/ farming/ idea/comment yet!!!😅Dennis
First note: to expand the market for tools, Food plotters for wildlife.
Second: a 2x6 board with 2x2 angle iron screwed to it and use your weight it crimps as you go. use decent handles on it. Rest of the video I was just soaking up info. Thanks for sharing.
this video has a lot of good info, ya know!
great video and very touching
❤ watching from Nigeria
That hurt watching you sythe. Remove the blade, turn over the handle then re-install the blade on the proper side. The handle hump needs to be up. Not down. Slide the blade across the ground. Don’t chop.
Here is myself sything the grass around our trees. ruclips.net/video/OJvLYZO8lkk/видео.html
Sn
Hurt? How else is going to learn if he doesn’t try?! Mistakes will be made. Not everyone was born knowing how to do everything like you.
@@RobertBurrell-f6c Don’t assume I know everything. I had to research how to use one. For someone to get paid to teach and they don’t know! He needs to do the research and personally know how to use them before teaching others about them. I’ve been working on my skills of spinning and weaving and yet I still would not teach because I don’t yet know enough and have enough hands on to actually teach. Now if you don’t get paid and are just learning you can mention but you’d still be wise enough to pass along proper information.
@@abittwisted - Shut up! He said in the video prior to using the tool he was not an expert and that he was still learning. You tried to belittle him!! Nah, not going for it you suck as a human being!
Hook that chain on the back of a rider with a rope, and DRAG IT down that row back and forth, and it will RIP OUT that crap. Wow. That's crazy to manually try and remove that vetch with the chain. I don't do no till. I do ONE TILL. I get it tilled up good, with stuff to build the soil, then I lay a heavy sheet of black plastic on, and cut holes for my crops. That way next year, all I have to do is plant the rows or holes. So easy and very little pulling weeds! I've even used strips of old carpet between the rows. Works great!
yes but , particularly here, the idea is a) no soil disturbance and b) organic soil buil up . With tillage soil gets turned upside down and those 2 inch soil richness ends up deep inside. Of course there are many ways to do organic ag; but here, the idea is to observe the nature and let it do the work since he often refers to Gabe Brown.
22:22 Looks like this guy was doing it smarter than the others. Stomping creates more compaction? Well maybe, since you have that stupid chain there. Get rid of the chain and now your "stomp" is more distributed. Plus...the green resilient material underneath is cushioning the stomp. To be that ticky-tacky and hyper vigilant over petty compacting actions seems like unnecessary stress both mental and physical.
And then they feature this guy riding some motorized wheeled seeder...which obviously compacts more than a stomp on a flat piece of wood. The seeder even has a 100lb weight on the front...in addition to the weight of the driver and at least 100lbs of barbell weights and 40lbs of foam by the tires! Idiocy to worry about compaction in one sense and not care in another sense.
The whole beginning of this was hard to watch. Watching that lady and those guys swing that scythe unsupervised and un-tutored was cringey and a big joke. The end was hard to watch too. 500 lbs of machine and man on three wheels...and it didn't even work, lol. But no...don't stomp the vetch 'cause compaction!
Great job!
If you need a way to lay down the cover crop, look no further than people that make crop circles. A 2x6 with a hole in both ends and a rope through it. Set it down, step on it, move forward and repeat.
🤣😭😂true
Great video
So much Information Here! Decades ...heck centuries of Observation and Knowledge! Thank You So Much Pat for your hard work time and dedication and especially for Sharing of this very crucial information, mush Aloha to you and yours (this will be my 2nd or 3rd time watching this seminar)
*Homestead Crossfit!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bwahahhahahahahhaahahaaaaaa what a shoulder workout for every one! love it! - Dont grow Vetch(love the advice)!!!!!!
Were going to ponder how to possibly automate this process- so what is the best cover crop blend for intensive small scale market gardens Great lakes Green Belt?
Pat what C.C gives the most back?
Spring?
Summer?
Fall?
Winter?
we have made some Powerful Observations this growing season thank you all for the Teaching- we are here to learn and to share what works for our area (western Michigan Lower Peninsula) Living Web Farms has been essential in my education! thank you again.
some type of old fashion snow shoe to terminate the covers might work, the kind you see like on Grizzly Adams show
It was mentioned in the video that the no till drill is being sold internationally. I'm developing a small regenerative agriculture demonstration farm in Vietnam and this is a perfect tool for my project. How can I get a hold of an agent in SE Asia? Thanks, Mark
Did you set your small regenerative agriculture demonstration farm? I would love to here your story I am into that idea as well!
@@SevtapThurston Hey Sevtap, I was doing fine but I have a stroke over two years ago and I'm battling back from my setback. I sold the farm and the house this year and I'm looking for a place to put my money. I'll probably go with a restaurant / coffee shop with my wife and kids. I'll have to see.
I'm surprised you don't just use a 3/4 sheet of plywood, paint it with linseed oil so keep it going longer and with a rope on the corners, just step on it. It will knock down the plants while dispersing your weight so as to not over compact the soil while being a lot lighter and faster. That way, it's place, step, place, step, saving your back, time, and making it more accessible to children and the elderly. (Not that my old man couldn't knock that out faster than I could!)
this is a great idea. Im surprised no one commented on it. I will keep that one in mind this spring!
i love this idea. i think a 2' piece of 2x6 would not do much compaction. maybe a cutting edge on the front like an old straight saw, screwed in from underneath. much love
I really like this video.
25:00 exactly how to NOT use a scythe.
Every time he says ya know, plant some vetch.
Yeah holy shit
Thanks very informative.
great video
what you doing with all that mugwort though, its great for medicinal teas
You noted your seeding machine was disturbing too much soil. i.e. going too deep; w2ould it not go less deep if you lowered the back wheel?
I think there was too much moisture; that machine is not for a greenhouse but rather a dry soil in an open field for instance. And they said at a certain point that "is not gonna work inside in wet soil) cheers !
Could you use a set of skis and walk sideways like going up hill or maybe snow shoes
Should grow a mixed variety of cover crop - like Mother Nature does
Very good.....
Hey Pat, when video was it that you were breaking down the layer of the Earth such as the drillosphere?
freshly dried veggies and packaged in air sealed packages last for years and are just as fresh 19 years later with adding a little fresh water and 10 minutes of hydration add some meat and simmer into a meal fit for a king
If someone made a small sickle bar mower like a hedge trimmer with wheels wide enough apart to span a row and some vertical "wings" to keeps cuttings from tumbling sideways you could drop your cover perfectly along your row.
DR made a sickle bar front mouted , self powered, mower at one time. I think that would be the ticket.
Everything attachment makes a sickle bar mower for compact tractors. DR made a small self-powered walk behind.
I’m wondering if a 3’ piece of angle iron screwed to the bottom of a 2X4 would do any better if you stepped your weight down onto it to crimp it off sort of like the guys faking crop circles were doing.
Also, if you put a mulching blade on the mower and leave the dispensing chute closed it might do ok, but as thick as that vetch is it’ll definitely bog the mower down.
Push and drop action with a lifter rod type thing on couple of wheels would be much easier for that heavy chain tool! I think I will get it done for our farm.
Love what was said about Monsanto.
Monsanto is a money making machine sustained by the Govs. The day when the Govs realize that Monsanto modus operandi in agriculture is slowly eliminating ecosystems on Earth and this issue becomes the nr.1 global priority on the political agenda (like Covid19) as well as govs. not letting themselves bribed, Monsanto will be banned and out of business.
What will smother the weed creeping charley please? Thanks in advance.
What is the botanical name for that cup plant? Please and thank you.😊
I want one of those been planting machines! 😁
I would say the seeder needs a row of square stock metal rollers. That would redistribute the weight and if you put them in a chevron they would also put the disturbance back. The front drive tractor needs tracks. Don’t think it needs to be so long either. Cutter wheel could be on front and yohman plow in the middle. Both need trailer screws with locks to add more precision to depth. Duel scissors could raise both with one lever. I’m not seeing a snap pin on the plow to prevent braking the plow. If it hits a big rock it could destroy the plow or bend it badly. If this could take paper pot planters on racks! Amazing! That’s a major time saver for long runs.
Or double wheel cutter and plow with paper planters.👍
i would use a sickle mower on a garden tractor. you can also get walk behind model.
17:10.. Better to get a long plank and place it on the field.. walk across the plank to the other end readjust plank end position across field,, walk back and repeat.
Tillage has a future, in that, you need to start with something so till plant your cover crop and go from there. No magic, but get rid of the bad, and put in the good.
Pa10
On a 30” bed you might plant up to 12 rows. What good is a single row planter? Use a sickle mower on the vetch. Don’t step on a bar wrapped in chain? The bar will spread out the weight.
Where do I get a sythe? I definitely need one, I just purchased a property, 2 acres, but it's 2 acres of weedy mountain inside. So I need a sythe that works, and is affordable. So where can I get one? Where did you get yours? I looked at tractor stores, and farm stores, they don't have them in my area. And I've been needing one really bad for this new property.
Lehman's?? Amish supply stores? 👃✌️🥰🇨🇦. Takes lots of practice. Very efficient if you get good at it!! 👍👍
I have stopped using most chemicals, except some magnesium and 13-13-13, and some Hasta-grow, and some anti-fungals. My last problem weed is sedge. I have sprayed and dug and I it just comes right back thicker. I am not opposed to using chemical-geddon in those spots at this point. Any sure fire way to get rid of this? tia.
Could I get a spelling on the 'renabrusi' rye around minute 26? I doubt I've spelled it right and would like to search my area for it once I've got the right name. Thanks.
Wrens Abruzzi rye
piiksoup Many thanks for the correct spelling.
At 50:07 he mentions a plant that I can't find the spelling of. Anyone know it?
Found it: Phacelia tanacetifolia
Where can this be found and does it have another name?
Franco Guerri, also known as Lacy Phacelia or Blue Phacelia
The 'Seeds of Change' brand has it - sold at Tractor Supply.
@@shawnbottom4769 Known as Purple tansy. Many green manure suppliers stock it.
I wonder if one could replace a siegh with a hedge clipper with a extended handle.
He's saying, "Wrens Abruzzi Rye", for the cover crop.
(I couldn't figure it out and had to do research)!
what town are you located in again?
I LOVE JC TENNESSEE ,,, MY SISTER LIVED 1 EXIT WEST OF TRI-CITIES AIRPORT!!!
Y'ALL COME SEE US! WE'RE LOCATED NEAR TO YOU; in TAZEWELL COUNTY, VIRGINIA!!!!
The first tool at 16:30 looks seriously inefficient. You either need something equivalent to a lighter garden roller or simply drag that item behind you as you would with a tractor. The repetitive strain injury factor looks high on that tool simply due to its weight and the unnatural body movements required to use it in the manner shown.
Number Eight they are really dumb...you want to show something but you don't know how to work,with what to work...I mean this guys don't know that the wheel was invented
Aldea Alexandru wheels wont work rolling thru vines it gets caught up id use the scythe but i have vetch not LOADS of it but i just pull it its thin and the root system doesnt go deep it pulls rather easily
@@zassu85 they are no dumb, of course they know about the wheel.... you miss the point here; the philosophy behind all this : no till / cover crops/soil conservation and compensate for use of heavy chemicals in large scale agriculture ( the movement tries try to work out with least tools or tools at hand or no tools at all ) The One-Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka, 1978 pdf - discharge it and have a look, you will understand . cheers!
Yes. Absurd to use on a market garden scale. Too tiring and hard in the body. Why not drag it behind the BCS? I wouldn't even consider using this for a minute.
What about the fake crop circle process. You could even attach a piece of angle iron to the bottom to create a break or crimp in the stems.
Merry Street my exact thought, lol. I even posted it! Haha
That doesn’t kill it in some cases though
I do think your scythe handle is upside down
Henry Wright killing me to watch them trying to use in the background smh
@@ruffledfeatherfarm7626 I was half expecting to see a head roll with how they were swinging hahaha
CHEERS!!🆒
No way vetch then! My place is a garden, not a market garden. I sowed rye and buckwheat - the rye overwintered (Q 1) what sort of Rye did you say???) with onions in it and will harvest those later and hopefully cut the rye maybe hoe it in? I bought lupins as a green manure but they didn't come up probably too cold -(Q 2) have you used this? Also sowed mustard and has done great looks quite fragile; maybe it will be more tenacious later. I have also sown Phacelia Tansetifolia in the bean beds. Afraid that the mix may include vetch - I am in France. (Q 3) Has that 'cup' plant got a latin name? I did dig year before on new ground as lots of couch grass with terrible mesh of roots. I am worried about using the straw as sure not organic! (Q 40 could i just use compost and green manures?
I've never had a problem with vetch spreading in my garden. I chop it finely onto the soil before it seeds. Borage pops up everywhere, again nip the seedheads off.
Mustard is easy to incorporate, slice it in with a spade. Brown mustard overwinters, Ethiopian gives more ground cover.
Rye is a pain though. It's not easy to incorporate with a spade, is not easily IDed against other [weed] grasses for a novice so a whole bed can easily be taken over with grass. It just needs a wet period - when it's fairly mature and impossible to dig - then it seeds.
who is Located near TAZEWELL ????
if you ahve animals like cows or goats, will these eat the veg?
is the vetch a nono-culture?
What's a nono-culture?
Hope not!
why is it necessary to terminate the cover crop
is it simply the sun access?
Each plant bio accumulates different things like clover and beans nitrogen fix both dio it in a different way. Beans use bacteria clover takes it from the air.
@@deathmarch5 yes, and combined synergy of diferent plants makes wonders to the soil in a cover crop
Im not wonder and sowing direct. I much rather plant in Modules 😅
This is how crop circles are made.
Would a weed whacker cutting suffice?
Generally yes
Better get a farmer to demo that thing, Mr. Engineer.
What happened to the no till idea
Preach
you look like the grim the grim reaper with that. sorry maybe a day after Halloween and my imagination Saludos desde Costa Rica :) good content man!
whats the name of that biodynamic accumulator he like @ 50 min mark with the latin name?
Phacelia tanacetifolia
I need that machine.
Please, turn the handle on that scythe, it is a great tool but not that way!!
I was cringing just a little bit watching them try to use that scythe lol.
So, what instead of vetch? Did I miss something?
He said, I think, Red Abrusi Rye
Why don't you dig a swale to guide the wet weather spring away from your garden maybe even drainage tubes?❓❓❓❓❓❓❓
59:42 Preach!
❤
how about a pair of cross country skis and just walk all over it?
Snow shoe's
I think that actually could get Patryk's approval, since it distributes the weight of the person pretty well. :D
you guys are thinkers!
what about a tool like a broad fork but its a blade instead of a fork. You can just chop rows down. Instant straw.
Oh geez, snow shoes are a good idea...
a local goat or two could eat the vetch
To lay the grass, ruclips.net/video/_kgFL8Z4yr0/видео.html around 00:36
so no tilling is not for big scale agriculture?
Yea it is, but this is for small scale and gardeners. Farmers do it with much bigger kit that's all.
But if the farmer is practising a soil health based approach he/she will be using that equipment less often because over time inputs are reduced dramatically and there's no tillage to be done, which coupled with the use of diverse covercrops, remediates compaction from prior operations. All of which is at least heading in the right direction i think.
all my buddies who took agriculture in college say "organic farms take up too much space" and "organic farms are bad for the environment". i reaaaalllyyy doubt those theories
Gabe Brown does large commercial zero till. equipment is just different.
No till is much easier with large scale ag because the equipment has been available for 10 to 20 years, its just expensive and hard to scale down. There is some available to do permanent 4 to 5 ft. bed work. with constant plant cover compaction becomes a non issue. Check out Dr. Ron Morse's work on RUclips and Rodale Institute's work also.
Can someone please show them how to use that Sythe? That's painful to watch.
I do not think he is regularly using it, the point is , he is just showing it as a potential tool. (not being aware how dangerous that can be) I was afraid he will cut himself when he was holding it at the level of his throat and gesticulating , turning his head around. I know of a case when after cutting grass long hours, the guy stopped by a bar for few drinks with friends, after that heading home tumbles and when falling down the blade turns around and with the belly on top of it. Dead on the spot. So very careful handling that tool.
Why not drag it?
Thank You for the video. With all do respect. Couldn't you just use a good ole fashion sickle. Before swathers were made. Sickle n rake my uncle used for years...
Convert one over to 3 or 4 ft. Length. Use PTO unit on smallest tractor u can find. Or even use maybe a portable drill for power source. And a walk behind.
Half while mustache tech guy ! That was insane
IN EUROPE THEY HAVE MULTIPLE BLADES, SOMEBODY NEED TO GO IN THE LARGEST INDUSTRY FARMERS IN EUROPE TO COPY THERE MACHINE THAT USE THAT KIND OF MACHINE AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN CREATE OUR OWN NECESSITY MACHINE FOR A GOOD CONVENIENT NEEDS FOR THE FARMERS, LOTS OF YOUNG AMERICANS ENGINEERS CAN CREATE THAT MACHINE
There are no till planters (SD - Siembra Directa) everywhere not only in Europe; Argentina used it long ago, Brazil, etc, farmes are trying to switch over from heavy till/tilling to no till or partially till or strip till. Easy easy they realize that the technology applied until now is harmful for the soil and ecosystem long term. Thinking only crop yields and again yields / profit and again profits is very harmful medium/long term for Life in general. Health population is at stake here.
The hell zip ties?? Lift and drop not drag?
tie wraps are not regenerative
steel tie wire when it breaks it will turn to rust
*JESUS, Just ROLL a LOG down it, lol*
Hell, ask my wife out to the field then push her down and roll her down the row. Oh no, he she codasregdfjgjhscvsa sdgchjukk, k..........aghk!
Yes!...I vote for dragging a log instead of chain...my back already hurting just by watching.
For real! I've got an old power pole I'm gonna use. I think one of their other videos they have a guy that said he hooked a treated fence post to the tool bar on his planter and planted right into that
I don’t like the tool at about 16:00, We can make it easier.
Your titles are impossible to read, especially in thumbnail size. Just a heads up.
Sometimes elderly people are too conservative. I agree in main points, but some of them are not necessary in this century, those can be changed, and become more efficient.
Oh yes Sir, they are in this century and beyond. The present fresh current in thinking is due to climate change and sustainability this is the way ahead in agriculture if we want to be healthy and our gran grand children survive. Didn´t you see in Turkey and Greece and beyond the soil is afected by desertification ? (your name is turkish) I would say they are back to square one after realizing how harmful to life and ecosystems is the modern agriculture based on genetically mods and synthetic fertilizers/chemicals (see Monsanto and others) That is the idea here, not because someone is "reinventing the wheel" . As you ve observed there are 2 retired agronoms (ag. eng.) there and I bet you that they know how modern agriculture works and perfectly aware of the harm the modern agriculture does; but the whole point here is regenerative (soil) agriculture. Cheers !