Even just leaving the weeds is ok for soil health. They even help prevent soil erosion. So, fo the too busy or lazy farmer/gardener, let the weeds grow and deal with them in the Spring 😊
I have a portion of my garden that I have not been tilling for just over two years now. I have also been using crimson clover in it. I absolutely love the clover. It is non invasive and very prolific yet easy to control. Yesterday I dug some Purple Peruvian potatoes in the "worst" portion of that garden. I gave it no attention the last couple of years except to include it in the cover crops plantings. The potatoes I dug there were beautiful. Just amazing. And, the best part was the worms!! I have never seen so many worms in one area for any reason ! It was a thing of beauty. Soil loaded with potatoes and worms. They seem to be feeding in the upper levels of the soil now and I'm assuming they will go deeper as it gets colder. The soil is very loose. It is in better condition than any soil I have ever "worked" on with a rototiller. I still will keep my tiller as it is useful under some conditions but it sits in the shed a lot now. I like your videos. I didn't know that about the 90/120 rule. It makes good sense.
It's kind of astonishing, isn't it? We've been BS'ed for soooo many years into pouring too much money into expensive equipment & patented products that don't really work and have to be purchased over & over. I'm starting with crimson clover for the first time this year. Being both cheap and lazy, I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the very high rate of return I've been getting from very inexpensive & easy-to-use seeds for covers & companions, and will keep trying more of them as I go along.
@@dystopiagear6999 It really is amazing. My latest experiment is going to be cover with Daikon radish. I bought a bunch of seed but they also have been propagating themselves for several years in a portion of my garden that I don't use much. I'm going to pickle some next year like the Koreans do.
@@kirkjohnson9353 I've heard a lot about daikons, but haven't used them yet. There's some cool info about sunflower roots being great at soil-building as well; I will definitely be planting a row of those next spring.
Hi Kirk! I'm trying to get into no-till gardening in my small urban beds and have a bunch of crimson clover I can use (this will be my first time with cover crops, too!) Do you dump a bunch of compost onto the bed before sowing the crimson clover, or after cutting it down? Or don't dump in compost at all? I'm trying to plan out my order of operations and my beds definitely need more soil after two growing seasons of settling.
I'm also in 6B northern kentucky. I have several raised beds. I use cold frames I made for them from 2x4s and tufftex panels which I will use in early spring and late fall extending my growing season. Once all my crops are harvested, I cover the soil with rabbit manure and straw. One year I did do cover crops mid-november under the cold frames and many of the 13 varieties of seeds sprouted, they just didn't grow as vigorously as I had expected. It basically came down to straw is cheaper than seeds for many beds. Straw seems to work best for me for my situation.
You motivated me, and thank you. I just came in from leveling a bed and planting about 200 Sweet Loraine Fava beans I wuz gonna plant in spring. I'll interplant sprouting broccoli starts in February then potatoes in May. I've been jealous that other people have fully planted beds nearly all year in zone7, so umma try it.
Kinda’ an off topic question. I have recently learned that in a Permaculture system, that one can plant asparagus at 12” and determinate strawberries at 6” in n the same bed. This way they feed on a different nutrient load. Do I plant this bed in spring or fall, or does it matter? Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks.
Really happy to have found your channel. Lot's of solid content I'm finding here. I wonder if there is a neat collaboration we could somehow do to get our respective channel audiences to know about the others work... I could imagine a ton of the folks that watch my channel enjoying the great info you put out!
Just finishing up a season here in Virginia, you have a lot of the same philosophies as my boss. Hoping to reference your channel a lot moving forward. Great stuff!
@@notillgrowers right? Without healthy soil we're all in big trouble. In recent years I have learned to think about the soil *first,* then roots, then vibrant plant structure and finally *then* whatever is to be harvested, very much in that order.
You just inspired me to try janging in some old mache seed into a bare bed as a cover crop/ who knows maybe a harvest.. I also like the wood chip thought.. I’ve got a slight slope off the edge of a greenhouse that I’m building. Maybe I’ll Put a thick layer of wood chips on what will Otherwise be back-filled bare ground dec 1. Maybe it’ll help that soil erode less. good vid. Thanks Jesse
You have no idea how much Im appreciating the information in this video. I have been wondering about when it will be safe harvesting after applying my own chickens manure. I have avoided using it in my garden for fear of getting sick. Now I know 90 days for above ground veggies and 120 for below. So if I apply it now It will be fine for everything come spring time. I have so much manure Im so excited for next spring! Thank you so much!
Wonderful video on the benefits and types of organic covers for gardens. Very easy to understand. I'm just south of you, in Bowling Green. I've used fall leaves and some grass clippings for about four years. Organic covers are wonderful.
I'm in zone 6B Pa. I was so happy to find another gardener in my zone. I find it so hard to follow gardeners in LA. or Hawaii even the Carolines state because the weather is different from mine.
Hey Jesse, spot on information! Keeping the soil covered at all times is the way to go! I do want to say about grabbing the fallen leaves in Autumn to cover your soil, these are great habitats for a variety of insects (including the larvae of butterflies and moths), which you might not always want to introduce directly onto your beds. Same goes for slugs and snails with mulches like straw and hay! And if your land is exposed the leaves really need to be weighed down if you don't want them to fly away! Anyways, great video and thanks for sharing!👍😉
Slugs will always be there. I see no difference between the mulched beds. Or between different mulch material. In other words, they will always find the salad no matter what covers the soil.
Good information about manure, the 90 and 120 day procedure. Always hear people talking about "hot" (cow, pig, poultry) and "cold manure" (rabbit, goat), and that cold manure can be used right away. Not if you want to claim organic. Only heat treated, processed manure can be used right away? The NOP sounds like a pain in the ass, but the documentation is readily available. Your videos are set apart by the fact that you are Certified Organic, so your tips include it! Also, whether I want to be certified or not, I am not comfortable using any manure raw on plants that I want eat.
Not a gardener but working on building up soil, I’m 7a here in Utah and contact a seed supplier about getting some cover crop seed (Great Basin Seed Co) To my surprise she called me back and echoed the same thing you did, “I’d hate to sell you something and have you be unhappy, but it’s just getting to be too late into the season, typically it’s sown in august for best results” 👌🏾 Thanks for the other ideas.. just spread a chip drop out and I’m hoping to get some horse manure spread as well.
I'm in Kentucky as well and would really be interested in a planting timeline for our area. I'm just a summer gardener but started no till 2 years ago and you can work the ground so much sooner in the spring this way. Would love advice on starting to learn about spring, fall and winter plantings. 😁
Here in zone 7 I got my field peas in late and they will probably only get a few inches tall at most before they die back, then I will cover them heavily with fall leaves. But at least it's something. In other areas I'm using crimson clover, annual rye and winter rye. The seed is cheap on my small scale so I figure it certainly can't hurt. And there's still time for me to put more garlic in.
Hi! I'm using crimson clover for the first time this fall - can you add compost after cutting it back and plant after a couple weeks? Wondering what your strategy is. :) Thanks!
I just do the Richard Perkins thing. Cover the beds with a quality bed cover (I’ve got some UV stable really thick weedmat). Under that I put an inch of compost and let the beds have a good “sleep”. It’s too cold where I am to grow anything and I can’t bear to leave the soil bare and open to the elements. Great video Jesse.
I agree that bare soil is the enemy. Some of my garden areas have nothing but tightly-mown weeds, cardboard and woodchips but it's better than letting it freeze deep and/or erode. We get a lot of varying cold and thaws here, sometimes with rain, so it can get pretty messy if it's just exposed.
Can you plant what we call in UK, field beans. Like Broad beans. We pick the tops and steam. They keep growing all through winter. You can sell I presume...they taste really fresh and deposit Nitrogen back into the soil.
I have a back yard raised bed type of gardener ever so I can use most of the technics you mention without the worry of harvesting for profit. Its just for my husband and me
I left the garden get run over by grass and weeds and now I am putting 2 inches of cow and goat manure and following by 4 - 6 inches of hey and goat bedding to do it's thing in the beds all winter.
Cardboard under woodchips and fallen leaves has been my go to. But this season theres a particular flower bed I wanted to add some compost to, for the winter shall I place compost first under the cardboard, or over?
The agronomy courses of Laval and McGill universities that use ramial wood chips and mulch to rebuild farm and forest soil, don't suggest cardboard but another inch or so of mulch as being more positive. I think a lot of people may be using wood chips from conifers or even conifer sawmills. Chips should be no more than 15% softwood branches; the golden "ramial wood" is hardwood branches less than about 5 years old.
Loving your videos bro. I am currently in the process of moving to western kentucky from california and I am planning on starting a market garden. would love to be able to connect with you once i make it out there.
Question..I have a friend who is a coffee roaster. I have an endless supply of burlap bags they get from their beans....can burlap be laid down like cardboard into soil? Will it break down? Love the channel thanks!
I have got a lot meant I will be putting horse Miller Dam but will that kill any roots or in if not will it burn anything because I've been told on allotment person it will do it will not set flames off but will do something else if you can get back to me on this one please
You guys seem to have the winter to help you build up your soil. I stay in an 11a zone. Our winter never gets frost. Literally can walk in shorts and a warm top all winter long. Is there any advice on what how I could manage a cover crop? Rye and oats grow wonderfully here in winter. Maybe mowing that and then covering it? How long does a crop need to be covered with a tarp before it dies?
I did that too, as the mucky new wicking beds still needed remedial work. We get plenty of rain so I ditched to drain, lightened and leveled the soil by double digging, applied wood ashes, then green hardwood (ramial wood) mulch, and tarped it down to mellow and speed up the environmental process a bit for an early spring plant. I'll probably leave the tarp on and plant through it the first year. I still underfertilize, haven't been much into buying, so the plants are happy but more like naturally subsisting than optimized. I'm not a certified farmer so I'll probably water with a shot of urea when I put them in. I feel it's pretty safe but on the other hand I avoid sea soil, which is better fertilizer but made of farm fish offal and tree bark. I think I'll choose kelp, a local product ;)
Sadly cover crops don't work here in NH: We've already had a half dozen frosts (snow tomorrow), and we're usually still harvesting veg right up to the end. So I personally chop/drop all my plants, and cover with some mulch like leaves. But the leaves can blow around.... tarp sounds like a fine solution, to me!
Have been confused with the fsma/gap rules on composted manure. Do the same 120/90 day rule apply to anything composted or just raw manure? If I do mostly salad greens I would think waiting that long wouldn’t work very well if you put down compost before seeding or transplanting.
So I am not sure if they have finalized the intervals yet on manure applications for FSMA (though they recommend the 90-120 day rule for now which is better than the original 9 month interval proposal), but neither FSMA nor Organic are generally concerned with non-animal products. So veggie or mushroom or leaf compost is fair game. Otherwise manure must be composted following their guidelines. That’s my understanding at least.
No-Till Growers going through the gap process now and the writing is confusing. Seems like it says all composted manure or any composted material is treated the same as raw manure. I just assumed this has to be wrong. Doesn’t seem that anything that is properly composted would be a food safety risk? Trying to get my local county agent to ask the gap auditor about this but no response yet.
@@sgrin2300 huh, that’s interesting. My impression is that they are worried about animal products, but I’d have to dive into the GAP stuff a little deeper. Our organic certifier is almost exclusively interested in manure and where we get our water. Not sure about GAP though I imagine it’s in line with FSMA (which is more or less the same as NOP about compost).
it's not to late. get a crimper. You can always cover crops. I foot crimper works as well if you aren't into huge equipment. (we don't winter kill "much" here...) but we crimp and graze a lot.
That seems like a rather bad idea. Why break it all up now, that will just let it freeze deeper. I would just mulch heavily and plan to fork it and plant clover or ryegrass as early as possible next spring to start getting the soil going.
I have a cemetery in my neighborhood. They always collect the leaves and stuff from the ground and leave the bare soil over the winter. 😔 There are 5 guys putting hard work in it to destroy the planet literally.😔🤔 I tried to talk with the “gardeners” about that. I guess they do it because it’s always being done so and it looks „better“. Any tips how to convince those guys to do the right things?
Great question that I neglected to address. I guess your options are to add a small amount of compost or add a tarp overtop of it all. Maybe some row cover if a tarp is not preferred.
In my experience once the leaves get wet, they won’t go anywhere unless you have a prolonged dry spell plus strong wind. I would put them down right before some rain or even give them a quick hose down if the area isn’t large.
I think I've got everything growing a cover except the garlic bed. I think I'll steal one from your play book and inter plant with the Austrian winter peas. Do you think its too late for that?
That depends where you are. It probably doesn't hurt to try planting some peas, they're pretty cheap. Perhaps try sprouting some of them indoors first for a headstart? (Just soak them in warm water for a couple days.)
Heck yeah, Paxton. I love the austrian pea but you do have to plan to pull it out in the spring when it starts to really compete. Great companion, though!
I'm totally good with that. I think teas and extracts can be great, especially if you have some healthy plants/cover crops onto which you could apply them. For sure. On bare soil it may not be as beneficial. That's my understanding at least.
It's my understanding that humic acids and beneficial fungi don't really do any good unless they're working *with* live roots in the ground. But if you already have living roots I don't see why not to try it.
It is better to char the organic matter and mix with the soil. Biochar should protect good bacterias from anything, include the Sun because the are dying in huge amount when you move the soil and disrupt the layers. Especially the anaerobic nitrobacterias that are valuable!
Good point. I didn’t talk about this at all. Huh. Get your soil tested by a lab that does serious soil analyses (we use Logan labs) , add the amendments recommended. That is also a good thing to do over winter. We are overloaded with P because of animal manure compost, so that may be an easy fix? Follow the recs though
How long is manure considered as "raw" ? We have manure piles that we keep for 6 months before using in the garden, is this considered as "raw"? Thanks:)
To FSMA and organic certifiers it is raw until it is properly processed under their guidelines. look up NOP composting guidelines for more info on that. So manure, no matter how old, is still considered “raw”. Hope that helps!
HOW DO I KEEP OUR FARM CATS OUT OF THE MULCH? THEY REALLY LOVE LEAVE MULCH AND ALSO WILL GO INTO WOOD MULCH. THEY ARE MAKING A HUGE MESS! HELP US, I KNOW YOU LOVE CATS LIKE US🙌
Unfortunately your 6B climate zone is going out to window this winter. We had a short season out here in Utah I would say about 25% shorter between frosts. It's been challenging. Good luck
Haha, not at all! We are colder than most people think. Not sure the avg off habd but we get down to ~0 Fahrenheit at least a couple times every winter.
One of the most valuable vids I have viewed! Always had this burning question about winter prep. Thank you Farmer Jesse!!
Even just leaving the weeds is ok for soil health. They even help prevent soil erosion. So, fo the too busy or lazy farmer/gardener, let the weeds grow and deal with them in the Spring 😊
Our pastured flock over-winters in our high tunnel. It is a great addition to our planting area.
I have a portion of my garden that I have not been tilling for just over two years now. I have also been using crimson clover in it. I absolutely love the clover. It is non invasive and very prolific yet easy to control. Yesterday I dug some Purple Peruvian potatoes in the "worst" portion of that garden.
I gave it no attention the last couple of years except to include it in the cover crops plantings. The potatoes I dug there were beautiful. Just amazing. And, the best part was the worms!! I have never seen so many worms in one area for any reason ! It was a thing of beauty. Soil loaded with potatoes and worms.
They seem to be feeding in the upper levels of the soil now and I'm assuming they will go deeper as it gets colder. The soil is very loose. It is in better condition than any soil I have ever "worked" on with a rototiller.
I still will keep my tiller as it is useful under some conditions but it sits in the shed a lot now. I like your videos. I didn't know that about the 90/120 rule. It makes good sense.
It's kind of astonishing, isn't it? We've been BS'ed for soooo many years into pouring too much money into expensive equipment & patented products that don't really work and have to be purchased over & over. I'm starting with crimson clover for the first time this year. Being both cheap and lazy, I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the very high rate of return I've been getting from very inexpensive & easy-to-use seeds for covers & companions, and will keep trying more of them as I go along.
@@dystopiagear6999 It really is amazing. My latest experiment is going to be cover with Daikon radish. I bought a bunch of seed but they also have been propagating themselves for several years in a portion of my garden that I don't use much. I'm going to pickle some next year like the Koreans do.
@@kirkjohnson9353 I've heard a lot about daikons, but haven't used them yet. There's some cool info about sunflower roots being great at soil-building as well; I will definitely be planting a row of those next spring.
Kirk Johnson indeed it does. Like what I am hearing n the clover cover crop as well!
Hi Kirk! I'm trying to get into no-till gardening in my small urban beds and have a bunch of crimson clover I can use (this will be my first time with cover crops, too!) Do you dump a bunch of compost onto the bed before sowing the crimson clover, or after cutting it down? Or don't dump in compost at all? I'm trying to plan out my order of operations and my beds definitely need more soil after two growing seasons of settling.
Love it! Much gratitude and respect, have an awesome winter!!!
I'm also in 6B northern kentucky. I have several raised beds. I use cold frames I made for them from 2x4s and tufftex panels which I will use in early spring and late fall extending my growing season. Once all my crops are harvested, I cover the soil with rabbit manure and straw. One year I did do cover crops mid-november under the cold frames and many of the 13 varieties of seeds sprouted, they just didn't grow as vigorously as I had expected. It basically came down to straw is cheaper than seeds for many beds. Straw seems to work best for me for my situation.
Thanks for the explanation on fresh manure application/waiting time
We quack the soil up with funny Ducks. Aways have happy plants the next spring.🤣
You motivated me, and thank you. I just came in from leveling a bed and planting about 200 Sweet Loraine Fava beans I wuz gonna plant in spring. I'll interplant sprouting broccoli starts in February then potatoes in May. I've been jealous that other people have fully planted beds nearly all year in zone7, so umma try it.
Kinda’ an off topic question. I have recently learned that in a Permaculture system, that one can plant asparagus at 12” and determinate strawberries at 6” in n the same bed. This way they feed on a different nutrient load. Do I plant this bed in spring or fall, or does it matter? Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks.
A lot of good points here. I should be taking notes.
Really happy to have found your channel. Lot's of solid content I'm finding here. I wonder if there is a neat collaboration we could somehow do to get our respective channel audiences to know about the others work... I could imagine a ton of the folks that watch my channel enjoying the great info you put out!
I watch both, love you two!
YES! Thank you for info I can use now... tired of waiting for spring to do anything garden related. 🙏
Greetings from Bulgarian Mountains and thank you for this video
Just finishing up a season here in Virginia, you have a lot of the same philosophies as my boss. Hoping to reference your channel a lot moving forward. Great stuff!
Possibly the most important (and most often ignored) topic of the whole year.
Agreed. Doesn't get enough attention
@@notillgrowers right? Without healthy soil we're all in big trouble. In recent years I have learned to think about the soil *first,* then roots, then vibrant plant structure and finally *then* whatever is to be harvested, very much in that order.
You just inspired me to try janging in some old mache seed into a bare bed as a cover crop/ who knows maybe a harvest.. I also like the wood chip thought.. I’ve got a slight slope off the edge of a greenhouse that I’m building. Maybe I’ll Put a thick layer of wood chips on what will Otherwise be back-filled bare ground dec 1. Maybe it’ll help that soil erode less. good vid. Thanks Jesse
Superb video 1/2 foot of leaves left over autumn and winter plenty food for the worms
You have no idea how much Im appreciating the information in this video. I have been wondering about when it will be safe harvesting after applying my own chickens manure. I have avoided using it in my garden for fear of getting sick. Now I know 90 days for above ground veggies and 120 for below. So if I apply it now It will be fine for everything come spring time. I have so much manure Im so excited for next spring! Thank you so much!
Great information as always! Thank you Farmer Jesse.
Wonderful video on the benefits and types of organic covers for gardens. Very easy to understand. I'm just south of you, in Bowling Green. I've used fall leaves and some grass clippings for about four years. Organic covers are wonderful.
I'm in zone 6B Pa. I was so happy to find another gardener in my zone. I find it so hard to follow gardeners in LA. or Hawaii even the Carolines state because the weather is different from mine.
Hey Jesse, spot on information! Keeping the soil covered at all times is the way to go! I do want to say about grabbing the fallen leaves in Autumn to cover your soil, these are great habitats for a variety of insects (including the larvae of butterflies and moths), which you might not always want to introduce directly onto your beds. Same goes for slugs and snails with mulches like straw and hay! And if your land is exposed the leaves really need to be weighed down if you don't want them to fly away! Anyways, great video and thanks for sharing!👍😉
All great points! Thanks for the addition. I also think shredded leaves are generally better, but some coverage is definitely better than nothing.
Slugs will always be there. I see no difference between the mulched beds. Or between different mulch material. In other words, they will always find the salad no matter what covers the soil.
Good information about manure, the 90 and 120 day procedure. Always hear people talking about "hot" (cow, pig, poultry) and "cold manure" (rabbit, goat), and that cold manure can be used right away. Not if you want to claim organic. Only heat treated, processed manure can be used right away? The NOP sounds like a pain in the ass, but the documentation is readily available. Your videos are set apart by the fact that you are Certified Organic, so your tips include it! Also, whether I want to be certified or not, I am not comfortable using any manure raw on plants that I want eat.
Thanks for the info. I'm collecting cardboard and will be getting a truck load of compost to spread over it. It's my fall garden project.
Nice! Great way to do it
How did it work out? Did rain wash the compost off the cardboard?
@MrThatguy333 -- I added a good amount of compost. Also, I used a wooden frame around the garden bed. The compost stayed put compacted down some.
thanks for the info.. we turn are chickens in to work our garden on top of the cover crop for the winter months here...
Your really amazing 😉
Another great video. We keep our chickens in the greenhouse as well over winter and I didn´t know this 90/120 rule. Good to know 🙂 Thanks! 👊
Thanks and yes. That 90/120 day rule is a big deal to certifiers
@@notillgrowers We grow for ourselves. Either way it is good to know and grow good food, right 😉
I had no idea 💡 n the 90/120 rule. Thanks.
Elu on ilus! V
Not a gardener but working on building up soil, I’m 7a here in Utah and contact a seed supplier about getting some cover crop seed (Great Basin Seed Co)
To my surprise she called me back and echoed the same thing you did, “I’d hate to sell you something and have you be unhappy, but it’s just getting to be too late into the season, typically it’s sown in august for best results” 👌🏾
Thanks for the other ideas.. just spread a chip drop out and I’m hoping to get some horse manure spread as well.
I'm in Kentucky as well and would really be interested in a planting timeline for our area. I'm just a summer gardener but started no till 2 years ago and you can work the ground so much sooner in the spring this way. Would love advice on starting to learn about spring, fall and winter plantings. 😁
Here in zone 7 I got my field peas in late and they will probably only get a few inches tall at most before they die back, then I will cover them heavily with fall leaves. But at least it's something. In other areas I'm using crimson clover, annual rye and winter rye. The seed is cheap on my small scale so I figure it certainly can't hurt. And there's still time for me to put more garlic in.
More garlic ftw!
Hi! I'm using crimson clover for the first time this fall - can you add compost after cutting it back and plant after a couple weeks? Wondering what your strategy is. :) Thanks!
I just do the Richard Perkins thing. Cover the beds with a quality bed cover (I’ve got some UV stable really thick weedmat). Under that I put an inch of compost and let the beds have a good “sleep”. It’s too cold where I am to grow anything and I can’t bear to leave the soil bare and open to the elements. Great video Jesse.
I agree that bare soil is the enemy. Some of my garden areas have nothing but tightly-mown weeds, cardboard and woodchips but it's better than letting it freeze deep and/or erode. We get a lot of varying cold and thaws here, sometimes with rain, so it can get pretty messy if it's just exposed.
Can you plant what we call in UK, field beans. Like Broad beans. We pick the tops and steam. They keep growing all through winter. You can sell I presume...they taste really fresh and deposit Nitrogen back into the soil.
I have a back yard raised bed type of gardener ever so I can use most of the technics you mention without the worry of harvesting for profit. Its just for my husband and me
I left the garden get run over by grass and weeds and now I am putting 2 inches of cow and goat manure and following by 4 - 6 inches of hey and goat bedding to do it's thing in the beds all winter.
Cardboard under woodchips and fallen leaves has been my go to. But this season theres a particular flower bed I wanted to add some compost to, for the winter shall I place compost first under the cardboard, or over?
The agronomy courses of Laval and McGill universities that use ramial wood chips and mulch to rebuild farm and forest soil, don't suggest cardboard but another inch or so of mulch as being more positive. I think a lot of people may be using wood chips from conifers or even conifer sawmills. Chips should be no more than 15% softwood branches; the golden "ramial wood" is hardwood branches less than about 5 years old.
yep thank you.
Take care that those soluable salts aren't building up if you're wintering poultry in your tunnels. I like that intro music and drone footage!
Loving your videos bro. I am currently in the process of moving to western kentucky from california and I am planning on starting a market garden. would love to be able to connect with you once i make it out there.
Solid information 👍. Keep the soil food web going, cover crops for me..
Question..I have a friend who is a coffee roaster. I have an endless supply of burlap bags they get from their beans....can burlap be laid down like cardboard into soil? Will it break down? Love the channel thanks!
Great thoughts man! Awesome vid! Finally some sheep stuff . Did Josh have anything to do with it haha.
Haha, I like to throw him a bone from time to time.
@@notillgrowers lol
Pa is zone 6b I was shocked when you announce north Kentucky is 6 b as well.
Oh for sure. People think were the south. We're like Southern ohio.
I have got a lot meant I will be putting horse Miller Dam but will that kill any roots or in if not will it burn anything because I've been told on allotment person it will do it will not set flames off but will do something else if you can get back to me on this one please
Thank you 🙏
Great video thanks for the info
Thanks, glad it's helpful!
You guys seem to have the winter to help you build up your soil. I stay in an 11a zone. Our winter never gets frost. Literally can walk in shorts and a warm top all winter long. Is there any advice on what how I could manage a cover crop? Rye and oats grow wonderfully here in winter. Maybe mowing that and then covering it? How long does a crop need to be covered with a tarp before it dies?
I’m too late to cover crop since I let so many things grow late. So I’m just re building beds and tarping.
I did that too, as the mucky new wicking beds still needed remedial work. We get plenty of rain so I ditched to drain, lightened and leveled the soil by double digging, applied wood ashes, then green hardwood (ramial wood) mulch, and tarped it down to mellow and speed up the environmental process a bit for an early spring plant. I'll probably leave the tarp on and plant through it the first year. I still underfertilize, haven't been much into buying, so the plants are happy but more like naturally subsisting than optimized. I'm not a certified farmer so I'll probably water with a shot of urea when I put them in. I feel it's pretty safe but on the other hand I avoid sea soil, which is better fertilizer but made of farm fish offal and tree bark. I think I'll choose kelp, a local product ;)
Sadly cover crops don't work here in NH: We've already had a half dozen frosts (snow tomorrow), and we're usually still harvesting veg right up to the end. So I personally chop/drop all my plants, and cover with some mulch like leaves. But the leaves can blow around.... tarp sounds like a fine solution, to me!
Amen to that!
Greetings from Bowling Green!
It is Nov 3 here. No frost expected for the next 10 days at least. Is it too late to plant garlic!
No way man! As long as the ground is not frozen you can put it in.
Yup I agree with Pizza guy. Go for it.
No-Till Growers Thanks.
central ky huh?
in in spencer co. (taylorsville) and would love to see yer place when it’s going full steam
Have been confused with the fsma/gap rules on composted manure. Do the same 120/90 day rule apply to anything composted or just raw manure? If I do mostly salad greens I would think waiting that long wouldn’t work very well if you put down compost before seeding or transplanting.
So I am not sure if they have finalized the intervals yet on manure applications for FSMA (though they recommend the 90-120 day rule for now which is better than the original 9 month interval proposal), but neither FSMA nor Organic are generally concerned with non-animal products. So veggie or mushroom or leaf compost is fair game. Otherwise manure must be composted following their guidelines. That’s my understanding at least.
No-Till Growers going through the gap process now and the writing is confusing. Seems like it says all composted manure or any composted material is treated the same as raw manure. I just assumed this has to be wrong. Doesn’t seem that anything that is properly composted would be a food safety risk? Trying to get my local county agent to ask the gap auditor about this but no response yet.
@@sgrin2300 huh, that’s interesting. My impression is that they are worried about animal products, but I’d have to dive into the GAP stuff a little deeper. Our organic certifier is almost exclusively interested in manure and where we get our water. Not sure about GAP though I imagine it’s in line with FSMA (which is more or less the same as NOP about compost).
Great info for my new no dig organic allotment. 😊
it's not to late. get a crimper. You can always cover crops. I foot crimper works as well if you aren't into huge equipment. (we don't winter kill "much" here...) but we crimp and graze a lot.
Is there any advantage to broad forking at the end of the season if you are building a new bed?
That seems like a rather bad idea. Why break it all up now, that will just let it freeze deeper. I would just mulch heavily and plan to fork it and plant clover or ryegrass as early as possible next spring to start getting the soil going.
Not really any advantages I can see. You could bfork then sow a cover to help with root penetration but even that may be overkill
I have a cemetery in my neighborhood. They always collect the leaves and stuff from the ground and leave the bare soil over the winter. 😔
There are 5 guys putting hard work in it to destroy the planet literally.😔🤔
I tried to talk with the “gardeners” about that. I guess they do it because it’s always being done so and it looks „better“. Any tips how to convince those guys to do the right things?
Codependent Anonymous?
If you use a leaf mulch, then what do you do to keep the wind from blowing the leaves away over fall and winter?
Great question that I neglected to address. I guess your options are to add a small amount of compost or add a tarp overtop of it all. Maybe some row cover if a tarp is not preferred.
Keep them wet or apply layer of compost on top or apply layer of cardboard on top it will break down in time for spring
In my experience once the leaves get wet, they won’t go anywhere unless you have a prolonged dry spell plus strong wind. I would put them down right before some rain or even give them a quick hose down if the area isn’t large.
I lay down leaves, and cover with a light layer of straw, and then lay a cattle panel on top of the straw.
Multch them Ha ha
I think I've got everything growing a cover except the garlic bed. I think I'll steal one from your play book and inter plant with the Austrian winter peas. Do you think its too late for that?
That depends where you are. It probably doesn't hurt to try planting some peas, they're pretty cheap. Perhaps try sprouting some of them indoors first for a headstart? (Just soak them in warm water for a couple days.)
Heck yeah, Paxton. I love the austrian pea but you do have to plan to pull it out in the spring when it starts to really compete. Great companion, though!
Hey Jessie, any thoughts on spraying humic substances and/or Mycorrhiza like John Kempf AEA talks about?
I'm totally good with that. I think teas and extracts can be great, especially if you have some healthy plants/cover crops onto which you could apply them. For sure. On bare soil it may not be as beneficial. That's my understanding at least.
@@notillgrowers I'll try it this year for the first time (soil is covered) :) we'll see
It's my understanding that humic acids and beneficial fungi don't really do any good unless they're working *with* live roots in the ground. But if you already have living roots I don't see why not to try it.
It is better to char the organic matter and mix with the soil. Biochar should protect good bacterias from anything, include the Sun because the are dying in huge amount when you move the soil and disrupt the layers. Especially the anaerobic nitrobacterias that are valuable!
So no comments on amendments? 4B here with Phosphorous in the single digits, Was really looking for some input on soft rock P.
Good point. I didn’t talk about this at all. Huh. Get your soil tested by a lab that does serious soil analyses (we use Logan labs) , add the amendments recommended. That is also a good thing to do over winter. We are overloaded with P because of animal manure compost, so that may be an easy fix? Follow the recs though
How long is manure considered as "raw" ? We have manure piles that we keep for 6 months before using in the garden, is this considered as "raw"? Thanks:)
To FSMA and organic certifiers it is raw until it is properly processed under their guidelines. look up NOP composting guidelines for more info on that. So manure, no matter how old, is still considered “raw”. Hope that helps!
may I come to work 😁
HOW DO I KEEP OUR FARM CATS OUT OF THE MULCH?
THEY REALLY LOVE LEAVE MULCH AND ALSO WILL GO INTO WOOD MULCH. THEY ARE MAKING A HUGE MESS!
HELP US, I KNOW YOU LOVE CATS LIKE US🙌
Unfortunately your 6B climate zone is going out to window this winter. We had a short season out here in Utah I would say about 25% shorter between frosts. It's been challenging. Good luck
winters down there are like what 90 degrees? llolol jk
Haha, not at all! We are colder than most people think. Not sure the avg off habd but we get down to ~0 Fahrenheit at least a couple times every winter.
Mosh?
Ryan Willett Mâche
I lasted 40 seconds.
G Kuljian that’s what she said
Thanks men