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Shortfalls of Our Zero-Till
For a few years now we have, at the end of each season, applied a large amount of compost to our zero-till beds. Through the years we experimented with different sorts of combinations of leaves, mulch and broadforking, all in attempt to loosen up our hard clay.
In general it worked. We accomplished our goals: consistent lettuce/greens production, easy-harvest carrots, green onions, parsnips, and leeks. We saw the soil open up with life and we saw the field explode with diverse organisms not seen in any of our more conventional cropping systems. But it had one big, big, big shortfall…weed pressure.
One of the several reasons we decided to go down the path of zero-till was that, as many a farmer-YouTuber-influencer claims, zero-till results in less weed pressure: all that is required is a little setup, and you’re off to the races, weed-free.
To some extent this was true, however we would always revert to having carpets of weeds, just like any other system. We made marginal attempts to address this, but did not see the response we wanted. In some cases the different tactics we employed worked for a short while, but would always end up back in a jungle of weeds.This is psychologically draining…accepting that weeds just exist, and you’ll have to harvest among them, ignoring every seed head burst with millions more, just waiting to add water. After years of covering this up with mulch and more compost at the end of the season, we decided to admit defeat and surrender in advance to the army of weed seeds lying in wait for us in spring 2024.
Our biggest zero-till lesson of 2023 is that we cannot continue to double down, triple down, and quadruple down on the same method that produced the problem and expect a different result. There is no reason for this, as we are not attached to any one method, other than finding the ones that are best for us. We always told ourselves it was a management issue, that we just didn’t get to the weeds early enough, or that it was possible to control the weed problem if we just worked a little harder, and put a few more hours in.
If we are attached to anything in this field, it is a principle of continuous experimentation with sustainable and biodiverse methods of agriculture that can produce high-quality and volume of crop on a small area that serves our community-based clientele. It is a principle that consistently furthers our own understanding on different farming methods. It has been the place we first eliminated chemicals, our first irrigation, our first zero-till attempts and many, many, many successful and high-quality crops that were otherwise not possible for us.
The next several weeks I will explore how we will find the next steps that will take us forward and continue on our regenerative path.
Big changes coming ahead!
Stay curious.
Graham
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Starting Over
One of the best parts of farming, or agriculture, is that starting over and doing it all again is built into the process.
You get the opportunity to do it all over again, bringing forward everything learned and experienced. It allows for growth, infrastructure improvements, and design efficiencies.We’ve had several years now with our zero till system, and it has given us an enormous amount of productivity. That’s not to say there are no shortcomings (mostly due to our learning curve in the system). Despite the issues we’ve had, we get to do it all again, reimagine it, redesign it, and approach it with fresh energy.
It isn’t quite time to say goodbye to the field for 2023, weather permitting we’ll be able to get a bit more work done on it yet.
Agriculture is in a constant state of forward movement, and fall is really the time that becomes apparent the most.
Graham
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Shifting the Culture of Food Systems
We live in a world with more choice than ever.
We also live in a world with an enormous amount of near-monopolistic corporate power and over decades, have conditioned consumers into certain purchasing habits. Many of these purchasing habits are sold with the language of convenience.
The same world allows for a movement of counter-culture.
I believe most people generally understand our food systems are broken, whether it is factory farming or chemical-laden vegetables. I also believe that if an alternative can be offered – even if it is slightly less convenient than the near-monopolistic store – there is more incentive than ever for the consumer to switch.
When the value of the product purchased exceeds that of the supposed convenience and dubious or dishonest quality of the supermarket is when the counter-culture can win.
It won’t happen overnight, but it is certainly happening. While our food systems may continue to be broken for some time yet, there are many viable alternatives of hard-working and honest folks delivering product of very high quality and value.
It exists for those who seek it.
It also exists for those who wish to create it.
There has never been a better time than now, to start a small farm, to start a small ranch, to start a community. There is always more resilience when people come together.
Graham
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Underwater Photosynthesis
In underwater plants observed in a planted aquarium, it is possible to see oxygen pooling on the leaves and releasing a mosaic of bubbles into the water column.
Even underwater, we can literally see that plants use light to drive the splitting of Carbon from Oxygen, and even underwater, plants harness microbial communities to survive and thrive as a symbiotic system. It turns out that the more plants you have in the system, the better. The more microbes you have in the system, the better.
This process is endlessly fascinating, and as it begins to be more understood it has broad implications for how we approach everything humans use as a resource, from agriculture to forestry.
Grahamthanks for reading complimentary blueberry juice
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4th Time Is a Charm: Growing Parsnips
Once upon a time I had a grand idea to grow Parnsips in a no-dig system.
The first attempt I used some old seeds lying around, and none came up. I would learn later that to get good Parsnip germination you need fresh seeds.
The second attempt I succeeded at germination, however our hard, thick clay was not broadforked, and giant parsnips grew in what was effectively concrete. A broadfork handle broke while trying to get them out, so we gave up, and decided to just leave them. Since Parnsips are biennial, they continued growing the following year and we had to deal with them anyway.
The third attempt we lost a battle with weeds, the bed was not properly prepped, and tiny Parsnips were laboriously dug up to prevent the biennial mistake from happening again. I also learned that other farmers similar to us are not bothering to grow Parsnips, so despite the failures I was determined to make it happen.
And now here in 2023, on the fourth attempt, we’ve harvested about 100 kilos of Parnsnips. We used fresh seed, we had a good bed, we kept the weeds down and although we lost a second broadfork handle to the Parsnip, we have emerged victorious with Parsnips.
As I said recently in Trials and Errors, “More often than not we are our own problem. The trick to a green thumb is to try again, with open eyes.”
And now…to enjoy some delicious Parsnips!
Maybe next year our Parsnip game will be even better. Working repeatedly and closely with any living thing grants you an intimate understanding of the nuances of what works, what doesn’t, and why.
Just keep growin’
Graham -
Life Finds a Way
Even though we had some very light frost….not all plants are down and out, even sensitive ones. Though the top leaves of our Patty Pan Squash crop was damaged by frost, the rest of the plant was able to hang on. With some nice weather following, the plants are starting to rebound….we may even get one last pick of fruit.
Resilience is a beautiful thing.
The best news is that we can build resilience into agriculture to tolerate a wide range of climatic stresses. Plants are phenomenal engineers and are amazing at solving problems if we are patient and give them the chance to do so.
Graham -
Life Without Sun
The last two nights we’ve had a very light touch of frost. All it took was 11 hours without the sun to freeze. To go from 18C to 0C.
We live on a precarious edge at all times. The only planet we know that exists to harbour life as we know it does so because of the energy of the sun. Without it, life would retreat back to small zones occurring around hydrothermal vents, utilizing other chemical pathways to synthesize energy. The conversion of solar energy into carbohydrates via photosynthesis is a beautifully elegant invention of evolution.
The sun is a powerful gift. We as a species have yet to fully comprehend the implications, and we have little time left to act.
Graham
sunlight even makes for great blueberry juice! share the gift of tasty fruity sugar with a sun-loving friend -
Trials and Errors
Regardless of how many books you’ve read, YouTubes you’ve watched, and examples you’ve heard, there is no substitute for doing the work, making your own observations, and trying again.
All the theory in the world only helps us understand what we’re seeing.
More often than not we are our own problem. The trick to a green thumb is to try again, with open eyes. -
Nature’s Economic Paradox
Several times this summer I have come across comments or opinions relating to fertilizers (specifically Nitrogen) on various social media platforms. Usually these comments are in the realm of needing to feed the world, the high cost of the fertilizer to the farmer, or how emissions from producing nitrogen are necessary and therefore shouldn’t be part of climate solutions.
In a world where everything is a commodity, it is easy to forget that we live on a planet which is based on a very firm rule set that doesn’t care one iota about any sort of invented mumbo jumbo humans made regarding the fictional world of our economy (I mean to say there are no natural laws that govern how money behaves).
We do a great job of denying we are a part of nature. We put an enormous amount of resources into making sure that that denial is inextricably linked to the economy…so much so that any reversal or course correction is loudly opposed.
Sooner or later we need to admit as a society that every natural system – be it a forest, a prairie or a bog – does not depend on however many bags of chemical whatnot are applied to force it to go. That what makes agriculture possible is not the application of invented chemicals, and that the success or failure of agriculture is not based on the price of said chemicals.
There has been no more urgent time to understand in greater detail the intelligence of plants, and how they communicate with their surroundings to obtain what they need to grow.
Graham -
Bumblebees Love Oregano
Was delighted to check on the herb garden and see an enormous amount of Bumblebees having a great time on Oregano flowers…and not just one species of Bumblebee but two. Nothing is more fascinating than watching bumblebees in late summer. They are easy to approach, and slowly walk all over each flower.
Having a wide diversity of plants is of great benefit to pollinators….and not always the types of plants or flowers you expect.
Stay curious!
Graham
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About Graham
Graham is an ecologist-farmer from Canada working on educating about the wonders and beauty of the natural world, and how we can design biodiverse food production systems.
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