10/6/2002 10:08:55 AM, "RiverValley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in response to a "No-Till" article posted by Jane:
>I'm wondering if members of the list >have experience using no-till in a >small farm, market garden setting, >particularly in mild climates like the >pacific northwest US. What problems, >successes have people had? What types >of tillage and tillage tools do people >use and prefer? Daniel, modern no-till involves first killing off the vegetation with chemicals and then planting through the stubble. For further proof of its insidious nature, I suggest you go down in the original article a few paragraphs until you find this sentence: "There are economic and environmental drawbacks to no-till, including the fact that more pesticide is usually needed to fight the organisms that find homes in the residue." The no-till scheme Jane posted is a chemical Trojan horse and I suggest you stay away from it. I suspect she was just trying to warn us of the danger. No-till pushers are in the category of those who coin "war is peace" and "slavery is freedom" doublespeak phrases. The half-inch of woody waste that no-till chemical shills brag about amounts to dip-squat when measured against the 5%-10% soil organic matter that good farming practice can achieve with consistent cover crop plowdown and proper soil remineralization. Having said all that, I'll add that there is one Pennsylvania farmer who has perfected a no-till system involving a huge flattening roller that he crushes his cover crops with. He then plants through the residue. As far as I know, he uses no toxic chemicals. I believe Rodale made a video of his tomato operations. Regards, Rex Harrill
