Practical No-Till Farming

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.

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