Well, we had a real hard frost this morning. I saw Adoniram foraging tomatoes yesterday, in the mostly frosted patch. I even picked one last strawberry from our new patch of fall bearing plants. I don’t think either of us will have such luck today.

As we look back on the growing season, I’m thinking about our adventures with minimal tillage. This fall, our gardens have more green cover than they usually have. Now, some of it is weeds (!) but there are also some annual cover crops that will have improved the soil by spring. By the way, weeds can also improve the soil, some more than others.

Why are we pursuing minimal tillage? Here are some of the benefits as I understand them:

1. Microbes and earthworms are preserved and encouraged. The roots of plants give off compounds that prompt bacteria to gather and break down nutrients, making them available to plants. With minimal tillage, fungi will develop a beneficial relationship with the roots of plants. We did see a lot of fungi on the roots of our plants this year.
2. Soil structure is preserved. Every time we till, the complex structure is broken, and the glues that bind particles into clumps are destroyed. We want our soil to be able to hold water all summer long, and be easily tillage damp or dry.
3. Building fertility. Since there is always something growing, there is more opportunity for plants to be grabbing nitrogen and carbon, and gathering minerals from the soil. We are gaining fertility faster. And since the plants send out signals to let the microbes know what they need, we are actually adding the minerals that the soil really needs; whereas if we simply added piles of compost, there would be a greater danger of imbalances.
4. Nutrient and water retention. Soil that is covered holds moisture better in the summer because it is shaded, and is therefore cooler. And there is less carbon lost to the atmosphere as well. Some plants such as Daikon radish will scrounge nitrogen from the soil in the autumn, and release it in the spring when it’s needed.
5. Better decomposition of organic matter. The plants are bent over on top of the ground, where earthworms and microbes can access them, and oxygen helps with breakdown. When residues are tilled into the soil, there is less air available for this process, and acids from breakdown are in the soil instead of on top where they are harmless.

Now for the drawbacks… and we have experienced some of those.

1. Less ways to control perennial weeds and grasses.
2. Soil stays wet and cool in the spring. And all the while the weeds continue to gain the upper hand! Especially with the cold, wet spring we had in 2017.
3. It’s harder to plant small seeds.

Well, I see the list I was able to come up with in favor of minimal tillage was bigger than what was against it, so I think we’ll keep experimenting with it next year!

We have in the past also used mulch for weed suppression, and we will continue to experiment with it as well. Mulch gardening has many of the benefits I listed above. However, there will be less plants growing if the surface of the soil is covered with mulch. It’s a lot harder to grow cover crops. Another problem is slugs. We often have had to deal with them when we mulched. The biggest issue is finding enough material to cover a large area. But we use it when we can find it, especially for certain plants that do well with mulch. If you want to try mulch gardening and you live in town, you will probably be able to access leaves, which are an excellent source of nutrients for the soil, and perfect microbe food.

Here’s what we are doing to make it practical to continue minimal tillage. We invested in an expensive no-till planter this year, which is enabling us to plant small seeds in an un-tilled bed. We are planning to build or buy a roller-crimper to better kill the cover crops, so they will not regrow and compete with the crop plants. Crimped cover crops provide a home-grown mulch which suppresses perennial weeds and holds moisture. You may have seen our video of the boys having fun rolling down a cover crop last summer. The rolled down plants did re-grow somewhat and the transplants had a hard time of it.

We are determined to be good stewards of the land that is in our care. Occasional tillage does have its place, but we will continue to avoid using it whenever possible, so we can help the tiny creatures under the surface. They are some of our best farm workers! Of course, I don’t want to forget the young human ones we are also growing here. They are one of the main reasons we are farming. But no-till may even be beneficial for our children!

If you have questions about any of our farm practices, we will be happy to hear from you.