Practical No-Till Farming - A Quick and Dirty Guide to Organic Vegetable and Flower Growing

Do less, produce more, and grow the soil life that feeds crops using chemical-free, organic no-till methods

A no-nonsense breakdown of no-till market gardening that gets straight to the point and stays there. Practical No-Till Farming is arguably the most devourable technical manual I've come across. A great read and an even greater asset to organic flower and vegetable growers everywhere.

- JESSE FROST, author, The Living Soil Handbook

This is a book I wish I had when I was starting out. Helps clarify what the big deal is about no-till, how it's being defined, and how folks are actually making it work.

- JOSH VOLK, author, Build Your Own Farm Tools and Compact Farms

NO-TILL FARMING methods are taking small-scale farming by storm, promising less work, higher productivity, improved soil health, carbon sequestration, and weed control for organic growers.

There are many ways to approach no-till, including mulching with compost, cardboard, straw, silage tarps, and more-and there is no shortage of conflicting advice on how to get started.

Practical No-Till Farming is here to help, sorting the wheat from the chaff and the horse manure from the plastic mulch. Coverage includes:

• How to assess your farm for no-till options considering climate, soil, and crop selection


• Detailed descriptions of common no-till methods, including pros and cons, materials, and relative costs


• Choosing the most appropriate methods for your context


• How-to for each no-till method, including what to do and when


• Dealing with bindweed, symphylans, and other difficult weeds and pests


• Maximizing productivity of no-till beds


• Special coverage of both organic vegetable and flower no-till market farming.

Ideal for small-scale growers everywhere, this one-of-a-kind manual is the ultimate guide to getting started with no-till farming.

If you're looking for a practical, down-to-earth book that explains both the whys and hows of no-till market gardening, this definitely is the book for you.

- JOHN IKERD, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia

ANDREW MEFFERD is the editor of Growing for Market magazine and author of The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution and The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower's Handbook. He lives and farms in Cornville, Maine.

Sommario

Part 1: The Why of No-Till

INTRODUCTION

   Who This Book Is For

   Tilling Was Once the Only Answer

   Enthusiasm and Skepticism for No-Till

   Becoming a No-Till Farmer

   Defining No-Till: What Counts as Tillage Anyway?

   New Adaptation for Old Methods

   The Promise of No-Till

THE POWER OF THE SOIL

  Putting a Face on the Soil

   Soil: Where the Microbe Magic Happens

   Taking Care of Our Livestock

   Soil Life Drives the Success of No-Till Systems

   Soil Testing

   Healthy Soil Can Lead to Healthier Farmers

FARM SIZE

   Farming as a Career

NO-TILL: A GATEWAY METHOD

   Evolution of Your Farm

   Small Can Be Beautiful

NO-TILL VS. TILLAGE

   Tillage: The Agricultural Reset Button

   Tillage: An Ancient Practice We Might Want to Avoid

THE DISADVANTAGES OF TILLING

  Breakdown in the Nutrient Cycle

   Weeds

   Hard Work and Time-Consuming

   Physical, Chemical, and Biological Disadvantages

THE ADVANTAGES OF NO-TILL

   Advantages for the Environment

   Fungus: The Perennial Roots of the Soil

   Soil and Water Can Do Their Jobs

   Increase in Organic Matter

   Advantages for Growers

THE DISADVANTAGES OF NO-TILL

   Fields Are Slower to Warm in Spring

   Systems Can Take Some Time to Become Established

   Some Methods Are Hard to Scale Up

   Some Pests Can Flourish in High Residue

   Perennial Weeds

Part 2: The How of No-Till

GETTING STARTED: PRINCIPLES, TECHNIQUES, AND TOOLS

   Start with a Soil Test

   Clearing the Deck: Getting the Soil Ready

   Establishing New Fields

   Sod Bustin', No-Till Style

   Reduce the Weed Seed Bank First

TARPING

   Occultation

   Solarization

   Tarp Timing

   Decomposition Rates

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MULCHES

   Non-Decomposing Mulches

   Applied Organic Mulches

MULCH GROWN IN PLACE

   The Roller/Crimper Method

   Roller/Crimper Cons

   Winter-Killed Cover Mulch Crops

   Planting through a Cover Crop Mulch

   Which Crops Work Best in the Roller/Crimper System?

GETTING STARTED AND CROPPING STRATEGIES

   Composting in Place

   Compost as Mulch

   Ways to Improve Land and Exhaust the Weed Seed Bank

CROPS TO FOCUS ON

GOING FROM CROP TO CROP

   Dealing with Residue

   Planting

   Flowers in No-Till

CASE STUDY: GROWING HEMP

APPENDIX

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Info autore

Andrew Mefferd is the editor of Growing for Market magazine and author of The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution and The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower's Handbook. He spent seven years in the research department at Johnny's Selected Seeds, traveling internationally consulting with researchers and farmers on the best practices in organic farming. Before that he worked on the research farm at Virginia Tech, doing field work researching how organic no-till vegetable production compared to tilled organic production. He has worked on farms in Pennsylvania, California, Washington State, Virginia, Maine, and New York State. He now farms in Cornville, Maine.

Riassunto

Practical No-Till Farming is the ultimate guide to getting started with organic no-till growing methods. Coverage includes pros and cons of different no-till methods, customizing no-till for your farm, detailed how-to for each method, relative costs, handling pernicious weeds, and boosting soil health and crop yield.

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Andrew Mefferd
• Editore: New society publishing
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Tascabile
• Pubblicazione: 01.11.2022
• EAN: 9780865719668
• ISBN: 978-0-86571-966-8
• Pagine: 240
• Categorie: Saggistica > Natura, tecnica > Natura: tematiche generali, opere di consultazione; Scienze naturali, medicina, informatica, tecnica > Biologia > Botanica; GARDENING / Ornamental Plants, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Agriculture / Organic, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Horticulture, Organic Farming, Gardening: flowers, Botany & plant sciences, Sustainable agriculture, Modern Homesteading and Farming, Gardening: flowers & ornamental plants