The No-Till Systems I Use (and why)
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- Опубликовано: 21 май 2022
- In this week's Sunday video, I'm breaking down the different no-till systems we use on our farm in Central Kentucky--why, where, and with which crops. We talk about deep compost/no dig. We discuss shallow compost mulching, small scale cover crops, and (somehow) more!
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Charles Dowding baby! One inch of compost per crop with an amazing harvest! I have been known to just add compost to the furrow or the hole (in the case of squash) with wonderful results. I am speaking from heavy clay alkaline soil in zone 4.
Amen ! Of course, for folks in different climates, you may need to use some additional mulch on top. As he gets into in one video last year ( I think), with a viewer from South America I think. And hotter ( or only more tropical ?) climates may go through compost faster, although keeping it on top, no longer tilling it in, has made ALL the difference for a guy in FL, I forget his name ( wasn't a famous name, btw) ... but Jim Kovaleski is also in FL and he doesn't add much or often, I think, too. Well, he's in FL half the yr. :). On his Maine farm, he uses grass clippings pretty exclusively, as his mulch AND only form of food for the soil life, which he calls his micro-herd :) :) (as a former dairy farmer I get a kick out of that).
As a market gardener in the south of France, I am very inspired by your work and have bought and devoured your book :)
Thank you for what you do!
I always wake up sundays ready for farmers market… that intro song jacked me up for the day!
Nice, then mission accomplished!
(Also Sunday markets FTW 💪 )
As strange as it sounds, I have used fresh manure from our goats (wasted hay and goat manure ) as a winter mulch for years and it has always worked for me. The worms go crazy and I just part the partially decomposed manure in the spring and plant. I also use this for mulching my paths sometimes covered with some bark chips (mostly in the greenhouse) This is what I have access to and have learned to work with it and get massive yields every year..
Miller
If you live in a grain growing area, there are elevators or coops that store grain outside over the winter. These are excellent sources of tarps. These places normally throw away the plastic tarp after one season and they will give you the used tarp for free. I have some of this tarp that was heading for the landfill. I've gotten 5 seasons out them so far. Excellent video as always.
Good to know. I've only seen that done when I was in IL ( the grain facility just south of Garden Prairie, for anyone near there.. ), and I'm back in nw WI now, but I'm near lots of dairy farms and they very commonly use feed piles on the ground now, vrs. silos, for haylage, corn silage etc. . They usually cut off a section at a time, to get it out of their way as they access further into the pile with the skid steers etc. , and so they'll be odd shaped and may have feed stuck to em and sometimes mud, but for anyone starting small &/or needing to save $ anywhere they can, this may be handy to know. Stop in and ask em to text you when they've got a fresh chunk, and maybe you'll luck out with someone who's got time to do something like cut it straighter across, or let u know in time for u to stop by with a sheers/scissors ( vrs. extremely ragged tearing or pocket knife cuts). During dry weather and on a non-windy day obviously preferred. Sounds like not worth it, but u never know. On my folks farm there'd have been times we coulda done that for folks, and my BFF also farms with her husband now, organic dairy, and they save some sections off their piles for themselves & sometimes have had extra, already folded and under cover, for me to grab ! Not all grow much or any veg themselves, so you may be well able to bribe or thank them :) . Obviously, OG farm would mean u also wouldn't have to worry about persistent herbicide contamination. My folks are m/l conventional but my Dad doesn't use a lot of herbicides either, for ex. plastic covering his haylage would probably be quite safe. I don't think he does anything to hay ( alfalfa) ground besides applying lime and manure, then seeding with oats that 1st year, then it's in hay for at least the next 3 years following.
Great video Jesse🤙 I love the fact that you are focused on options other than Deep Mulch Compost. For a lot of us it's just not an economically viable option. Nice job as always 👏
We access horse manure and stockpile it to create compost while using it as compost in our fields lightly tilling it in the spring for beading areas. as well we use cover crops in the fall to keep the soil feed and active during the none growing of crop season. We are in zone 6-A NJ.
I've just subscribed to your channel because of this one video. A lot of information in only 14 minutes and it didn't even seem hurried. What strikes me is that no til/no dig here is taken to a fairly large scale, if I'm not wrong, and the feasibility of it all fills me with hope for future agriculture. Thanks a bunch!
I started 'no-dig' gardening in Spring '20. Used 2 different bulk compost sources, one was mushroom compost the other leaf compost in the first beds. I also found serious problems growing in the composts (leaf was much better than mushroom, tho). I've been researching 'why?' through the literature and developed an hypothesis that relates to your definition of "mulchy" compost, i.e., It dries out super fast in summer down to 4-5 inches. It likes to shed water until the surface becomes saturated, and doesn't support plant growth. One important element that most composts DO NOT possess is clay particles. I think that may be key. Scientific research found that 4-12% by weight of clay added to compost significantly improved biomass and (I think) flowering and fruiting of their subject plant. I've experimented this season with dousing certain areas like tomatoes and cucumbers with clay slurry (cat litter in a bucket of water), but I think I didn't add it early enough or perhaps in sufficient mass. Ever thought of doing something like this (adapted to your much larger scale of course)? I'm considering treating all my beds this Fall with the clay slurry for next season. (My sub-soil is heavy clay, and it appears to be integrating the organic matter applied in 2020 and 2021).
Love seeing these short videos! It's like the podcast, but we can see all the things your discussing! Hope the season has gotten off to a great start and the family is doing great!! Keep up the great work and can't wait to see what trials your are doing this year!
Once again, awesome entertainment and learning time. Thanks, Farmer Jesse! Much Love 💚
I really want to know how much time you spend on harvest and pack for the farmers market. Do you do that all in one day or spread it out? Do you have y walk-in cooler? Do you use refrigerators? It takes me four to five hours just to do microgreens on Friday. I also do cherry tomatoes which I can generally harvest/pack on other days. Since I have a high tunnel I also planted Turmeric and Ginger this year in lieu of some shorter season crops like okra. I have access to turkey litter (non organic) that I compost along with crop residue and used potting mix from microgreens and any other carbon such as grass clippings and leaves. I am in my second season of farmers market and find that there's a lot of hype about how easy it is to make money with microgreens. I have to spend a lot of time educating customers on their benefits. I don't really have time to chase after restaurants. We don't really have high end restaurants here in rural Missouri. I sold all of my radishes this spring and will plant four times as many next year. I work about 90 percent alone and want to expand my gardens. I have very little outdoor space in use currently. I own ten acres of Ozarks ridge and rocks. I could seriously use another partner. Do you do all of your gardening alone? How do you divide your labor if not?
Hey Ron, that's a lot of great questions. Hannah (my wife) manages the wash pack. It's about 6 hours per week of washing and packing and yes we do have a 8x8x9 cooler. We have one full time employee. Microgreens can be tough to sell. It's a trendy item and the trend is somewhat on the tail end (though certainly the market is still alive, just smaller with more competition). We sell about 6 trays a week and that's about as much as I feel like bothering with them. Maybe I can get a wash/pack video together this summer for everyone.
@@notillgrowers Yes please on the wash/pack video!
@@notillgrowers Hey now! Don't pick on the microgreens! It's actually still gaining momentum based on my book sales ;)
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@@harlowecustommicrogreens I genuinely find your experience interesting. I was a chef for 10 years in several upscale (but not necessarily Michelin level) and we considered micros to be a waste of time and money. I wonder if there's a lot of consumer interest as a turn key side hustle. In the last 5 years I've seen several microgreen growers come into the area and all fail.
The picture taken from above of your veg beds looks like a work of art. Just beautiful.Thanks for an inspiring video.
I love your videos, and enjoy your style. I really appreciate all the information you provide us. Thank you.
🙌
So much great info. Thank you. I'll order your book asap.
We’ll be trying the same garlic/winter squash rotation in our new plot, but I’m going to avoid broadforking our clay and try root intensive cover crops this fall and winter instead, followed by yearly light layers of homemade compost. Having such a long season in SC, we can get away with cover cropping between squash harvest and garlic planting as well.
Love the channel. I'm gardening in containers and fenceline outside and using no-dig with heavy chop and drop all year long (including thick application in winter), I've seen the soil improve in production quality every year of the last 4. Having some perennials and heavy reseeding in each bed and bin seems to jump start my soil life every Spring (choose the weeds you want, I say). High density and high diversity also seems to keep my soil healthy and kicking when other planters and pots run out of steam. This year I'm experimenting with micro varieties of peas placed to re-stimulate nitrogen in select bins. Still a work in progress, but the soil regeneration practices of no-till are working to boost and extend soil fertility on a container garden scale for me.
Thank you for these videos! We appreciate your methods
Great video! Love your perspective
With compost prices having gone up nearly 25% since last autumn in the corner Europe where I'm located, I've been doing my best to find alternatives. Glad I'm not the only one looking to cut back on compost. Thanks for sharing!
I'm from New Zealand and same issue here and even if you can get it, the amount of unusable material (rocks and big bits of wood)is getting ridiculous (along with the old trick of adding some burnt bits to blacken the compost to give illusion its rich and full of life) For my context I'm making as many worm 'farms' as poss. I grow mushrooms to help with the break down of the carbon and as a great source of nutrients for my worms. I use the t for helping the microbes on a budget and the castings for a top dress in the autumn. And yes this has taken a few years to do so that my entire bedding is 20% + in castings . Enough now that I can offer to sell....I think Compost is THE bottle neck for pros and home gardeners world wide. So if you got some land and carbon sources start now for next year.....
Very well done! Enjoyed this video very much.
Ordered your book. Looking forward to building our own self sufficient home.
Blessings to all!
Awesome Video as Always!!!
diggin the new vibes with the tunes!
Thank you so much Jesse! 🔥🐝✌️
Where I'm at with mushroom compost at $100 plus a yard locally, I built 5 deep compost beds last fall and I love them. Using them for radish, carrots, and brussel sprouts. Had to figure our a way to expand this year without dumping thousands into compost so I opened up an additional 7/10 of an acre with traditional means. Plow then disc and till if need be. From this point I doubt I will have to plow again. Once cash crops are out of whatever areas I'll be planting cover crops and adding my own compost I am making from the farm!! I wouldn't be opposed to chisel plowing if absolutely necessary the next couple years but if everything works out as planned I will have the same set up as raised beds only they won't be raised anymore. Wallapinas will be coming within the next 2 years as well!
Yeah, I grew up with that kind of growing for large gardens etc., but just want to let ya know that I've started a few no-till gardens now ( have moved a few times in recent years, as we came back to WI and are figuring out jobs and locations, one was at my SILs who we crashed w at 1st). Anyway, I had little $ and that 1st yr also got sick with 2 tick illnesses, so, was super glad I'd put in that initial effort then had basically no weeding to do. I'd had only a week or 2 to tarp, what area I had tarp for and not all of it was black.. and for compost all I had was some soil from outback where my FIL used to dump leaves for many years, years ago. It looked like it had too many weed roots etc. in it, once my hubby fetched me a wagon load... but I had no choice so I picked out the worst of it and used it. Had pulled up the tarps as I went, laid out what cardboard my SIL had saved for this and then only had hay - was able to get free from a ways away, a friend's old barn, 20 + yr old hay, avoiding those piled with coon crap - . Using that to much area, I applied the "compost" in minimal amounts in rows or hills, and then sprinkling some hay or grass clippings to much on top where it was drying out too fast. I didn't have a broadfork at the time and turned out where the tomatoes went, in a hastily added additional area late, was super compacted and sour. So, they struggled, but everything else did great ! Except carrots - It was too late, hot & I failed to keep em moist, but all else was actually great. Grew Oaxacan corn ( 1st time) which I thought would blow over, realizing it was on the cardboard area and maybe wouldn't root deep enough, fast enough... and we definitely had some windy storms but amazingly it only leaned a bit then recovered ! Again, basically no weeding, just patches of grass trying to come through where my hay mulch was too thin/not overlapped edges enough. Next, I had a borrowed space at a friend's farm, which they ran the equipment over before I got there... it was horrible trying to get and stay on top of the grass n weeds there that summer, esp. as I had no cardboard to use or time to tarp it 1st, just gradually mulched it but in tilled soils, the grass seems to fight back harder... . These weren't large areas, but I believe - with the help of some use of black plastic to cover large areas and just leave all season and grow squash, tomatoes, my friend even does cabbages well on it... , you may be a lot better off not tilling at all. If you have a subsoiler I'd use that (after mowing twice in short succession to weaken the plants, preferably), but that's it. But that's my conviction.
Entertaining and informative
For No-Dig, use good topsoil for the bottom half and compost for the top to save money
As usual, great work. #Keepupthegreatwork
I get that there are many option depending on crop, etc. However, I would like a way to better understand the why of what in all of those quick examples given here. I will say that my first attempt at no till with annuals has been a huge success. With additional organics over time it will be better. I have ruminant animals giving a fair amount of manure and hay to be composted or applied directly as needed. Looking forward to the future of my no till beds! Will check out your other vids for clarity. Thanks!
I have have put cardboard down for my paths with what ever I can get.Hay ,horse poop aged, pine needles,and grass clippings.I have red clay so anytime has got to help
Maybe you should team up with an arborist or a landscaper. The ornamental garden of my wife and the kitchen scraps provide me with enough compost for the veggies. I even had a compost surplus this year.
They're a seasonal release so we don't have any at the moment. We print them once a year, patreon members get first dibs and then we release them to the general public.
Excellent video. I'll have to watch it again because its packed and some stuff in here that I'm not sure I 've had time to think about yet. Noticed on the Instagram that yall are cranking out some strawberries. Is there any chance we get a video about these kind of crops and how they fit in schedule and profit wise?
Hey Paxton, the strawberries are a hilarious side project that I put almost no effort in. We want strawberries for the family so I plant a row and when we get a bumper crop it goes to market. I also prefer Earli glo for the flavor which is not really known for its production. Not ruling out a strawberry video just might have to find someone who tries haha!
Hey Jesse! I really like your videos. Right now I'm looking at the overhead view of your many narrow beds which seems great for crop rotations. What's got me wondering is that you have a lot of bed edges. In Florida there are several, especially one, type of low-growing crabgrass that is expert at sneaking into beds either by its above ground and also underground runners. Having so many bed edges would make me have to spend a ton of time keeping it out along all those thousands of feet of edges. How do you do it?
Wow, we do love our soil and all of the action that it can produce.
I love squeezing in a planting of bush beans in between garlic harvest and replant.
How do you feel about a mix of tillage (daikon) radish in with a cover crop for a deeper, long prep. Maybe, after the initial start to a bed.
I think that sounds great and I like what @racebiketuner wrote. Cover cropping after the initial prep is a good idea, though I generally would suggest possibly getting one good cultivation in before laying down the cover crop in new plots. The cleaner the slate easier everything is from termination to re-planting, etc..
Jesse you are awesome
I remembered I wanted to ask if you've given leonardite/leonardite extracts or suspensions a try. Spraying 1 Gallon per 2.5 acres sounds a lot easier than deep compost mulching, even if it doesn't work as well as d.c.m. I'm about to trial one liquid product which advertises "High content of Humic and Fulvic Acids with Ulmic acids, Humins. Acidic pH (4 to 5)... When used in heavy clay soils will help break the clay bonds thus making the soil lighter and at the same time increasing the microbial activity, air and water circulation and retention." I'll have to leave some untreated no-mulch native clay beds though to see if there's a noticeable improvement next growing season
Any more detail on your long and short rotation areas? Are they always a long and a short area or do you rotate them? Also what's your rotation for the long area?
Love your work Jesse and I hope to see another season on no till Australia!
I'd be keen to know this too Jesse!
Okay, dude . . . you talked a lot, but I got also a lot of ideas that I can use in my small garden ... thanks much and good luck :)
useful information
And you have good taste in music. Nice.
This is interesting. I am looking to start an aquaponics system but as a start i think doing a no till system might be more viable for me right off the bat. Where should i start?
The music is sometimes right over the last couple words. Otherwise - this was awesome 🤩 Looking forward to your video on the Static Aerated Piles. What walk behind tractor works well on KY’s bigger slopes? We’re about 30-45% grade on a lot of our farm
Black plastic was by far my best performer in terms of choking weeds and getting beds ready. Assuming a reasonable quality plastic, lots of uses before needing to trash it. I also think if the plastic is not laid down too wide, the impact on soil life has to be moderated. A big huge tarp of plastic I can see would maybe do some harm to that wide area.
Interestingly, Justin Rhodes has also discovered and shown that it didn't get as uncomfortable under there for the worms as he would have thought, even though it was fairly sunny and warm out during that time before he'd pulled it up again, surprised to find worm activity so near the surface. I started my last garden, at my rental on a relative's property which is super sandy and has usually been mowed a little too often and short, for it's health and/or for whatever reason, is basically dead. So, not like the grass and stuff here was exactly thriving and strong, and just using those rolls of brown construction paper (aka rosin or contractors paper apparently, finally found it !), and some hay on top ( idk what everyone's problem is w weed seeds in hay, I never have any problem. Love it.), and a few bricks here n there to help with wind, and just enough compost to have something to plant into, my new garden did amazingly well. I did broadfork a bit, although I didn't get to all of it by any means last spring, so, tried to be strategic. I did have to aquire more mulch, to cover on top where my compost ( too-sandy cowyard soil from an unsprayed farm nearby) was drying too quickly. Last summer was also unusually hot and dry here for nw WI. I had used some woodchips in pathways too. Later, as it was making my row of pole beans too hot and dry, I pulled up the black plastic between it and my squash ( happened to have bought some narrower lengths of it), with minimal moving of squash out of way, and laid down more woodchips I'd gotten by then, finally some for free again. The grass under there was completely dead by then too, of course, so didn't have to worry about chips alone being good enough. I could actually SEE my beans sigh in relief btw. ... .
@@ajb.822 Fun. I use basically every method in my beds just trying different things. Last year I did one 20' x 3' bed covered in black plastic starting in April for a "fall garden" to plant out in June/July, and the bed was pristine under the plastic. I think especially for folks who are breaking new ground and there is a significant weed seed bank in the soil, black plastic is a nice option. I just wouldn't use it too wide so moisture wicking can still happen into the bed.
Just bought your book! Ontario, Canada zone 6A.
Didn't know paper mulch existed - cool!
I’m in 5a, Colorado prairie, less than 15” of rain a year. I love learning from you, but curious about no till in dry Western climates. Any ideas?
We've done a lot of podcasts about this subject (just harder to do videos obviously since we're based in KY). But we will have one along those lines soon! Stay tuned
When did you go certified organic? I remember on an older video where you said it was very expensive
So what I am kinda wondering is if you have a plot big enough on your space would it be worth letting it grow to hay it I live up north. I like to lay hay over my beds in the late fall after last harvest with a layer of castings then another hay
Farmer Jesse, I am just laying down some new raised beds (backyard gardener). I forgot to fork the original soil first to loosen it, under the cardbd and compost. Is this gonna be a disaster? Should I go back and fork under there? Thanks!
Not necessarily! Get a piece of rebar or something sturdy and shove it in the bed. If you can get it 8 inches into the native soil or so without a ton of pressure, you're fine. If not, I would consider broadforking.
Just a thought.. what's the thought on using certain above ground parts we might normally pitch to the compst heap as a part of the ground cover? I understand certain plants we shouldn't necessarily compost but if the next plant online is not affected by that being in place, would this help to impart nutrients along with say the straw that's down? I'm thinking about pests as well but just wondering about people's take on this..
Is that not called "chop and drop" ? Very popular. Works a treat
Great Video! For hay, try not to use 1st cutting bales as they tend to have more weeds than 2nd or 3rd cuttings.
That's helpful to know! Last year I put down straw and got a lot of weeds from it. I recently read that you can buy straw without the seeds. I'll definitely be asking questions prior to buying straw next year.
Your heirloom tomatoes look really spaced out at 8:36. 2 or 3 feet? What trellising method do you use on the field ones?
The carbonaceous compost was a disaster for me in our climate. It became extremely hydrophobic. And it was a 4 hour drive to acquire this compost. I turned to composting in place like with a sheet mulch and focusing on making high quality compost to inoculate the soils beneath the mulch. I spend most of my time scything and gathering biomass.
Jesse, great video as always! Do you know a RUclips channel similar to yours but with the host growing in MN or near zone 3b.
Good question! Honestly, I'm woefully ignorant about other RUclipsrs. Maybe someone else will chime in?
I have a small patch (8'x25') that "d like to turn from a weed & grass filled mess into a garden, but 6 month ago I sprayed with a herbicide that says don't grow things like carrots and tomatoes for 24 months after application. I'm fine with taking my time with this and slowly transform the soil. what type of non edible cover crops would you recommend to help prepare this plot and get roots in the ground? I'm on the southern edge of Zone 7B.
Red clover!
The lily family is supposed to be good at cleaning soil of contaminants. Idk if they're the best option for that, if you even feel the need to bother since you plan on waiting anyways, or if would otherwise be practical for you, but I know that the old fashioned day lilies are often easily obtained for free. Otherwise I would think any cover crop which you'd have a way to kill off and then plant into easily enough, would be good. For me, that would mean something that doesn't get viney or tangley, or too succulent to mow with a normal lawn mower when it's lush ( lush clover can be tough... if u use it, u may want to only mow a small width at a time and on a high setting at 1st. If u plan to mow it at all, which I would to have a less tangly, matted surface to plant into even if using tarp to kill it. But I'm NOT all that experienced with all this stuff. ).
So I have a neighbor with a large bamboo cane break, and I harvested some canes to make trellises this spring and I ended up shredding the leaves with my mower and using it is a mulch, and it seems to break down really slowly which is great. If you have space you could plant bamboo (there are a few native varieties of habitat restoration is interesting to you) and with an electric shredder you could produce tons of mulch.
Hey Jesse. I noted from the drone shots of your farm that your beds in different blocks are orientated on widely different angles? Could you speak to this please? It looks rad but like, what are you doing? Maybe I didn’t get to that chapter in your book yet? Many blessings!
I don’t till.
I deep cultivate!! Lol
Done both and I believe tilling once a year has better yields.
Takes all kinds to make the world go around
As long as you are building soil, your plants are healthy and you're not spending all of your time cultivating--absolutely. Like I always say, it's not the tool but the user who makes the tillage. Many ways to achieve healthy soil, but dogma is not one of them.
@@notillgrowers absolutely. I’m always adding compost every season and crop rotation if needed. I’m in ga with red clay but all my plots are built up with 2x6. Red clay just has to be broken up. Maybe in five years I won’t have to till. I’m on my 3rd year so far.
Do you have a trick to deal with racoons? I have one around and it’s loving my garden.
The only real form of bulk compost I have access to as an urban gardener (not market gardener/farmer) is local farm manure and most of these farms either don't know or pretend to know nothing about herbicide contamination/aminopyralids (cue strange look at me and quote: Never heard of that).
The local bulk compost sources that aren't manure are very low quality municipal or a contracted company for city waste streams and mostly recommended for "non-vegetable beds/locations" as they have all sorts of other toxins, allegedly (their site smells rancid for many miles in all directions, which demonstrates very bad management).
I've tried looking into bulk compost from landscape/gardening centres, but when I look deeper into it, I realize that their compost source is the city waste stream company.
Really, I'm left with making my own compost (probably accounts for a 1/4 or 1/2?) including garden waste, arborist wood chips (makes end product take longer, but have not found a more reliable free source carbon), shredded fall leaves, and about 1/4 used coffee grounds (from local Starbucks that lets me dumpster dive with no hassle; also have to wait for the plant growth inhibition compound in coffee grounds to hopefully fully break down/vacate the compost). Benefit to this is that I can use about as much as I can handle of both woodchips and coffee grounds.
The other source is local manure and I just have to hope the farmer isn't lying or ignorant, because I refuse to pay bagged compost cost (and the selection for that is actually very low, 90% is mixed with topsoil or peat).
Edit: Oh, forgot cover crops as another compost option: I have a very short season up here in Zone 3, Canada so cover crops gets tricky for my limited garden space with limited days. I use it a bit, but not alot.
Always found alot of mulch by any squash give bugs great place to thrive, have u found that?
I haven't but different contexts may have different issues like that. Sometimes pests take a season or so to be balanced out in our experience.
Thanks!
Thank YOU! 🙌
Like the cap. Where can I get one?
How can I get one of those aeration hand tools I saw in the video. The one that pries up the soil with leverage. I have never seen one of those before.
Jesse, whats that cool tall fern looking plants you have there?
are you rolling out the rosin paper from home depot? or is it some special farmer paper?
It sounds like you have garlic in the same bed every year. Is there a video where you talk about crop rotation? Is it even necessary if you're planting a cover crop in the bed every year?
Awesome
How do you find hay that is organic? I'm in AZ so it is probably harder to find that. Ruth Stout said to get broad-leaf hay as it will be less likely to have added chemicals. But the people who sell hay here in Prescott don't even know what broad-leaf hay is.
We know our hay guy personally and he does not spray. That's the only way--buying it second hand from a distributor is where it gets tricky. By broadleaf hay does she mean alfalfa? Clover maybe? Broadleaf is generally a term relegated for broadleaf weeds like thistle or amaranth etc. That's probably why the confusion. Alfalfa is great but if you buy alfalfa you have to buy it organic because most conventional is GMO these days.
@@notillgrowers Yes, maybe that is it. I don't know much about hay. So, that helps me know what to ask for. But from what I could tell it doesn't seem like anyone sells organic hay around here.
There is your business idea
According to Ruth Stout hay is better since it has more nutrients than straw and makes a better crop. And she says if you put a high enough level of hay then you wont get unwanted plants growing too much.
Definitely all true, though I will add the caveat that weeds will sprout right in the mulch in wetter warmer climates (I think she was in Kansas?).
@@notillgrowers Yes, she was born in Kansas but later moved to Connecticut with her husband and that is where she came up with her gardening system.
The one nerve racking thing about her gardening system, in AZ at least. Is wondering if my house will burn down with all that dry mulch close to the house. I might just doe a wicking bed instead with some mulch on top. But I don't know if that will be a fire hazard either.
Unlimited Carbon from Chip-Drop if you can get that in your area over the long run it's much more sustainable
Yeah ! And I definitely don't meant the following to discourage anyone from trying it : the problem with chip drop is that until u get a load, you don't know if you will. I've signed up but never got anything that summer. Then I signed off, cuz it had been a temporary stay at a relative's place and no one there anymore to manage it if it came. Am as of yet not in a position to try that where I'm renting now, although I have a garden here ( no good place for anything to be dumped if I'm not here to direct things). So, we did finally make direct contact with a local tree service from whom I did get a few free lil truckloads last year ( thanked em w some cash for their trouble).
Shredded leaves or are you laying them down whole?
Does compost dissapear with time in your the soil?
Same problem here: unable to source quality compost! Any recommendations?
Yeah, we lack good composters all over (like Arizona worm farm, if you watched that video from last week). It's an issue we're hard at work on to get the educational resources out there so hopefully more people will start their own or team up with friends and start a small operation on someone's farm.
@@notillgrowers do you think it will be possible one day to grow without compost at all? Not chemicals too. Maybe like growing with liquid organic juices or something as such.
One of the best grower videos so far. ;) No time was wastet. hihi
I’m curious is anybody out there using post-extracted hemp biomass for mulch/fertilizer/compost? I have a good source for my own use but I am lacking experience as I’ve only used it for a few years. It is just the flowers. It has a lot of seeds but they have been frozen 2-60° after being soaked in ethanol. Very few of them sprout and they’re easy to deal with. There’s also no weed seeds.
Good moaning!! I'm so glad I found your channel. Top quality videos, packed with information with your personal vibe. I'm diggin it. See what I did there! haha Seriously though thank you for the great channel. cheers
Got the book but need that hat! Do you still sell those?
Not at the moment. Very seasonal but we will let you all know! Patreon members always get first dibs then we open it up to the general public
Can I store holganix in a food refrigerator or is it toxic to my food???????
What Manos Tsik said!! Ditto!!
How does a guy like me get one of those hats ? 🤠
How do I prepare a piece of land that is filled with forest 🌳 in the no dig system
IDK about Jesse, but my plan if I run into this on a property when we buy and move eventually here, was to pick a spot based on proximity to house ( I like to be close), sun exposure from the south and density of woods to south, east and west in that spot ( as in, I'd go further from the house if I had to, to ensure the best spot with least shade even once I clear the growing area. So, gets more than middle of day sun ! ). I'd then clear the trees by cutting them down then cutting the stumps down as close to the ground as I could. Maybe leaving some stumps cut high enough to use for corner, fence and trellis posts etc. until they rotted, if was worth it to my budget at the time. For large stumps too wide to trim down short ourselves, I'd also consider either leaving, or allowing my husband to pull em out with his old, heavy duty track-tractor thing he owns now. Since I may actually have a harder time refilling that hole, I may opt to leave it. Anyways, I'd lay down my materials per usual and then plant around all the trunks n stumps ! Have red flags if need be to avoid tripping over em. Hopefully lots of the skinnier ones could be trimmed to basically ground level and be down in with my woodchiped pathways enough that I'm not in danger of tripping, and the in-row ones, ditto with compost etc. ... I don't have a seeder, as I'm just a home gardener for now n on a small budget. So, won't be a problem for me to just skip over em as I plant, and harvest, by hand.
"The Lasagna Trials" is a good band name.
Would adding time stamps to your videos be too much trouble? You are awesome covering so much info and I would love an easy way to go back and watch specific bits again
Where are you located in Kentucky ?
Made me think- The killed crops are essentially taking carbon from the air and then turning it into carbon & nutrients for your future crops that you'll harvest. This will lead to more fertile soil overall instead of just harvesting and adding mulch/hay/nitrogen fertilizer because the nutrients from the killed crops are already in your soil and naturalized to the environment.
This still isn't the video on your new compost system, but I will allow it.
Haha, soon!
@@notillgrowers like I would come work the farm for free in order to give you the time to make it.
We live in zone 3
There is no place for me to get bulk compost that is safe for garden use. What can I do?
Yeah it's a big issue. We lack good composters all over (good composters like Arizona worm farm, if you watched that video from last week). It's an issue we're hard at work on to get the educational resources out there so hopefully more people will start their own operations or team up with friends and start a small operation on someone's farm. You can make your own if you have the means and materials, though it's a lot of movement so renting a skid steer/tractor with bucket is ideal.
No till. No cash Register 👍
I see what you did there
Hey Bro, Reduce the background blur and your video will look much better.
😀
So basically no till farming is raised garden bed farming without the beds.
Be careful using hay, grazon is widely used on hay fields and pastures, it will kill everything except for grass, so corn and grains would be the only thing that will grow.
Yea good note. I know my gay guy and he knows I can’t have anything that’s been sprayed. That’s essential
@@notillgrowers It's good to know your gay guy. I'm glad you're being open about that.
@@notillgrowers transparency is key when it comes to gay guys
Useful, thank you from Valencia Spain 👍💚🙏🦠
Hi, this is Rock Rooster Footwear. We sent you a collaboration inquiry email just now. Please check if it’s in the spam. Thanks!
No till is science
Organic is Agro santeria
Please do not difamate the no till with such a unsustainable thing as organics