No no-till

No-till

No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming

When I first heard about no-till, it made a lot of sense to me.
So, I tried using more no-till ideas and principles in my garden.

I called it the 'Sepp Holzer Experience' and blogged about it.
While it clearly comes with some benefits, in my context here, it's terrible.

Succesful till

This year, I used the exact same plot and planted like I normally would;
Into tilled soil.

I also blogged about that.

I don't have a plough or tiller.
I turn the soil with a spade. By hand.
The way I do that does not compact the soil like a big tractor and plough would.

This is the last of the potato harvest:

High Yield

I had excellent yields this year.
It's hard to measure, since I harvested in stages, had no scale and gave a lot away right after harvesting.
...I think I pulled out around 50kg of produce out of this patch.

The Last 2 Rows

In the picture above, I marked the 2 rows I harvested the other day.
Here is the result, left out in the sun before cleaning them and transport:

Conclusion

I write this post, because I want to make a point.

[...] tilling kills ALL the biology crops need to be healthy.

@goldenoakfarm commented this under another post of mine.

First of all:

bio-logy

bio: means 'life'
logy (logos): means 'science' (in this context)

Both words are of greek origin.

Biology is the science of life (of everything living).
You can not kill it.

I know what she means, though.

[...] tilling kills ALL the life crops need to be healthy.

This can also not be true.
I have healthy crops. I had a very succesful harvest to prove that.

[...] tilling disturbs ALL the life crops need to be healthy.

Tilling disturbs the soil, and disturbs the life in it.
That, I can agree on.
Does this hurt the plants?
Clearly not.

I really wanted this no-till approach to work.
It just did not.
I would have probably had better results, if I had used much more mulch.
But I don't have access to that much mulch. Not even close.
I'd have to have it transported here and would probably have to pay for it.
That is not sustainable.

@goldenoakfarm

I hope you don't take this too personal.
I follow your blog and vote on it, occasionally.
I respect what you are doing on your farm and with certain things you are well ahead of me.

But: No-till is not always the best solution for everyone and every crop.
Here, in this climate, with this soil, with the things I have available, tilling is superior in some cases.
Far superior for potatos.

I have been growing this stuff for decades and copy the methods my grandparent's generation used.
I try incorporating new ideas, too.
I try to stay objective.
Mulching has its place. I adopted that practice. I mulch a lot now.
But that does not replace proper tilling and aeration.

Low Impact

I call my approach 'low impact gardening' from now on.
I am trying to get the best results from as little work as possible.
Gardening is not a precise thing. Results vary.

The End

I conclude with this shot of a spider.
Totally random, no hidden meaning.
I just liked that photo and wanted to share it.