Don't Believe this No-Till Gardening Lie!

Our backyard garden is finally dry enough to get some work done. Today we'll be planting another cover crop for our backyard chickens so that we keep rotating them around each of our garden plots.
We'll also start getting our fall pumpkin plots ready because our transplants are growing so fast in our greenhouse!
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[@johnndavis7647]

The chickens are doing your tilling and fertilizing and pest control for you. The chickens are the hardest workers around my place.

[@brianmorris364]

I have a lasagna garden which has never been tilled and it is 100 percent weed free all year long. It was mulched with grass clippings once and has remained moist and plants are thriving. So whatever works for you, do that lol

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

The mulch is the key there. Bare soil WILL get weedy without herbicides, no matter what technique you use. That is just how nature works. The "problem" with no-till is that way too many people simply don't till... and that's it. They don't understand the whole concept, which includes something covering the soil to keep new weeds from growing. That could be a heavy layer of hay, grass clippings or leaves/leaf mold, or water- permeable plastic. Even just laying down cardboard works well. Whatever you prefer or have handy. Done RIGHT, no-till works great and it will save you money. Done half-assed, it will be a real mess.

[@brianmorris364]

@@dogslobbergardens6606 I see. So I must have taken good advice when I laid down cardboard beneath as a weed barrier and made sure my top layer of compost was seed free before I applied it by letting it get hot first. It's actually a double layer the first layer was wood chips and spent flower bed mulch with a top coat of dried grass clippings several inches thick. I left not one inch uncovered. Research and luck for the win lol

[@markware4933]

@Drewspores on Instagram WRONG PLACE FOR THIS ADVERTISING. PLEASE DELETE.

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

@@brianmorris364 yes, that's a wise approach. Eliminating weed seeds in the compost is very helpful, as is the barrier below. Eventually that cardboard will decompose into the native soil and it's likely that weeds will try to come back through, because some weed seeds can last a couple years. But if you keep putting mulch on top, that will prevent most of those new weeds from getting established. In a system like yours new weeds that do make it through, or come from airborne seeds, tend to be shallow-rooted and easy to pull out. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll be fine :)

[@Vicariously_gifted]

@@dogslobbergardens6606 with most no tills I have seen cardboard with witj heavy(6 or inches) of compost. Plant right in the compost. I think it take a couple years to be completely weed free

[@edensbounty6679]

I use the back to Eden method. You are correct you must stay on top of the weeding! You must continually add compost as well. But it will eventually pay off and grow more while watering less than conventIonal Row gardening.

[@pottstribe7881]

amen

[@gerhardbraatz6305]

I even get weeds growing in some of my grow bags that I use on my porch. Weed seeds can get anywhere.

[@sarahrose1665]

I'm amazed at all the comments of people growing things... And being knowledgeable about what they prefer etc... IT'S A WHOLE COMMUNITY OUT THERE... Well I'll be a ring-tailed bobcat... I'M SO THANKFUL THAT I STUMBLED ON TO THIS POD TODAY... 😊 YAY!!! FOR YOU! 🙋🌹GA USA 👍

[@DonnaRatliff1]

I'm sorry you don't like the no till Back to Eden garden method but I've been using it for 5 years now and just love it. Honestly its the best garden I've ever had. I have definitely noticed each summer season less pests and less disease every year. As soil health gets into top condition, you have good microbiome, living soil. I do have admit the first year of using this method pests were a problem but they were a problem when I tilled just as bad but I sprayed and killed them and broke the life cycle of the pests that were living in the soil there's great improvement in woms and beneficial insects. And your right, it can get weeds and frankly tons of them because weeds love lose soil but that only happens if the mulching is not done properly in the fall like it's supposed to, and if the soil has not been disturbed or turned over there shouldn’t be many of them at all. I'm talking very, very few and if there a few, they're really easy to pull up because of the mulch they don't have good root systems. So it is vital that every fall or until the soil fully established which at that point new layer of wood chips doesnt need to be added but about 2- 3 yrs to keep refresh things and put a nice thick layer of organic composted horse stall muck- (poop, pee and organic hay) toppes off with about 3 inches all over and cover that with about 3 inches of heavy mulching. I just pull back the wood chips in spring to plant and once plants are up, I pull the mulch back up to the plants. The only time I ever disturb the soil is to freshen up mounded rows for sweet potatoes or sweet corn. For the corn, I do a different garden area all together. It gets the old fashioned till then I dig trenches about 6 deep in the rows. Put corn seed in and cover them. As the corn grows I fertilize with urea and pull dirt up to the plants. By the time its tassling the corn is down about 8 to 10 inches deep with mulch added to suppress weeds and I never get blown down corn from a storm or what have you. I'm in NE Alabama on Lookout mtn. I have had some Fire ants on occasion but oil of orange takes care of that. My hayman, a 70 yr old commercial farmer came to my house in June and his eyes lit up wide. He was amazed how green and lush my garden was. At that time okra was 8 feet tall green Peppers 5 ft. Everything huge and taller than us but easy to pick. So, Needless to say he couldn't believe it and was really interested in how to do this type gardening. He had been growing food all his life and hadnt see anything like it. I told him how easy it was to do, now he wants me to help him get his garden started so that he doesn't have to work so hard growing food now. God is Good. So I'm really sorry this method didn't work well for you. I suppose it may be different in different areas. Zone 7a in AL it works great.

[@johnndavis7647]

Tell us more about orange oil and fire ants. Please. Where do you get it and how do you apply it? Thanks, John Davis Jax Fl

[@IowaKeith]

I grew a tomato plant this year in a random spot away from my garden. I just dug a small hole and put a seed in it and composted over it. I left it alone all summer long, no weeding or mowing around it, no fertilizers or any other amendments, just watered randomly. The plant has weeds completely wrapped up in it and surrounding it, but it produced the biggest cleanest most tasty tomatoes in comparison to my chemically treated manicured garden tomatoes. Why does everyone worry so much about weeds? The weeds seemed to help my tomato plant quite a bit.

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

Competition for water and nutrients is real. Grasses in particular suck up a LOT of water and quite a bit of nitrogen that you'd rather have your tomato plant (or fruit tree or whatever) getting. Your tomato plant did well because of the compost you added. NOT because of being surrounded by weeds. It would have probably done even better if you had mulched around it and kept those weeds down. Letting a tomato plant get all wound up with weeds can also make any fungal problems worse; mater plants tend to be healthier with more airflow. Dense vegetation with high humidity is the perfect breeding ground for mildew, blight and other nasty stuff that likes to attack tomato plants. Watch out for that. If you don't want to use regular mulch, consider "living mulch" which is simply planting groundcover/cover crops that don't compete so much for water and nutrients in your rows and around your plants. Clovers are just about perfect for living mulch; they don't use much water and they actually help put more nitrogen in the soil.

[@IowaKeith]

@@dogslobbergardens6606 i was taught all that about weeds and nutrients too. But just seeing the difference between my garden tomatoes and the the experimental "all natural" plant makes me wonder. When I mentioned covering the seed with "mulch" I mean just the detritus that was already on the ground. The tomato plant and the area around it is unsightly, but very healthy in appearance. It was just an experiment I tried this year, and will experiment with more next year.

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

@@IowaKeith I say again, competition for water and nutrients is real. There's no way around that. If you happen to have lovely rich soil and an appropriate amount of rainfall, you can get away with having a weedy tomato plant. But the weeds are NOT making the tomato plant better.

[@IowaKeith]

@@dogslobbergardens6606 I didn't think of that. Tilled soil lacks biology, which is what makes the nutrients and water available near the surface. So since its in non-tilled, covered soil, there's plenty of water and nutrients for the weeds and the tomato plant to grow together.. Makes sense.

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

​@@IowaKeith Sort of, yes. You're definitely getting on the right track. We have to be careful about blanket statements like "tilled soil lacks biology." You can shallow till the top couple inches and not really disturb the microbes etc very much... but yes if you till deeply and several times a year, you will screw up the soil biology, especially the mycelial networks of beneficial fungi. Deep repeated tilling also tends to result in compacted soil. That's counterintuitive but it definitely happens. The compaction is largely why if you till deeply you tend to have to KEEP doing it season after season to break it all up again. Compacted soil results in more rain runoff and ponding - that's less efficient use of water, requiring more irrigation. The rain just can't seep deep into the soil like it should. Done really wrong, deep tilling can be sort of an endless cycle of continually making the soil worse, not better. Combine all that with the fact that deep tilling nowadays very often goes along with methods like using salt-based ferts, vast expanses of monoculture, lots of synthetic herbicides/pesticides etc... it can become a real nightmare over years and decades. You can end up with acres and acres of dead soil that's no longer really soil at all, but more like an inert hydroponic medium that requires constant inputs. The US Great Plains used to be rich, lush living soil that was FEET deep. It took a lonnnng time to develop that deep, rich soil. Hundreds of generations of polyculture and grazing animals built that soil. It's now largely dying soil only INCHES deep due to decades of "conventional" industrial agriculture.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

That was some good looking soil. Yeah no till there's nothing wrong with string up the top couple of inches when you need to, nothing wrong at all.

[@marysurbanchickengarden]

Travis you don't want them to eat the actual beans. After they eat them they will expand in the crop and cause serious crop problems called sour crop. I've lost a couple hens over the years to that and it's a rotten way for the chicken to die. They suffer a lot before they give up. If they ever get it give them monostat to treat the yeast infection in the crop.

[@sarahrose1665]

This is my first visit and I must say I am totally amazed at your motivation... Who does this !?.. You move the A-frame and the chicken's graze a section ??... I'm 74 and I had no idea any of this went on... YOU CERTAINLY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND YOU'VE GOT A PLAN... But the scope and the energy it takes to accomplish all these loose ends... I'm just marveling at your "LET'S GET IT DONE" ATTITUDE. Well it's been mesmerizing ...and I do declare and decree to your family ..."nothing broken...nothing missing" SHALOM...🙋🌹GA USA 👍

[@slick66]

Seeing a lot of comments about the post puller so wanted to mention if you guys can find an old time bumper jack with a big bottom plate you can wrap a small chain or tow strap around any type of posts and it will jack them right up. I pulled many old fence posts using one when I was younger. Not sure if those jacks are easily found now though

[@rickjay4639]

Travis. I agree that soil in your no-till bed is absolutely beautiful. Good job building your soil. Turning over an inch or two is not going to hurt any of the soil life that benefits your plants. Thanks for your time and knowledge.

[@Bamamike223]

HOW UP BRUH!! Alabama Math?!?! I’m Appalled. 🧐🤓

[@LazyDogFarm]

I have to poke fun at Alabama for something because they always beat us so badly in football. lol

[@shirleyk623]

My 3x5 raised beds are no till just because of the size. I have weeds all the time so I agree with you that no till doesn't mean no weeds. You just have to stay on top of the weeds to keep them pulled out. I put most of my weeds in the worm composting bin unless they are diseased or have a lot of seed heads, then I just cut the seed heads off.

[@davidward1259]

I may be mistaken, but I think even the "no till" folks do believe in using a lightweight Tilther to lightly work the top 1 to 2" of soil occasionally. Even Elliott Coleman endorses their use. It's more or less the power version of a set of rake tines working the soil top layer to prep a seed bed (the ones I've seen are usually powered by a 18V drill - Johnny's Seeds has them).

[@LazyDogFarm]

Yes, many of them do use that tool to prep their beds after adding compost.

[@tommathews3964]

Eliot "invented" the tilther, he's definitely a proponent! (as well as having an economic interest)

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

Yes indeed, no-till people who actually know what they're talking about ROUTINELY say that the first couple inches of soil is fair game for digging or turning. They will also openly tell you that it's perfectly fine to till deep to get a new bed started, to break up heavy clay mix compost in etc, and then back off on the heavy tilling in future seasons. It's only people who haven't actually read up on it who claim you should never ever dig anything at all. They basically just heard the words "no till" and simply stopped learning, without really knowing what the heck they're doing. On a similar note, "Back to Eden" style is very often maligned by folks who never read the original website or watched the film. They hear "wood chips" and think it means bags of pine bedding. Then it fails and they say "B2E doesn't work." The very important part they missed is that B2E depends on chipped branches *with lots of fresh leaves and small twigs in it* The leaves and twigs are what give you the nitrogen source and minerals. NOT just plain chips of wood... that's mostly carbon, the "brown" part of composting. You have to have the "green" part too or it won't work.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

No till has been shown in multiple studies to outyield tilled areas which is pretty interesting if you ask me

[@Chris-bx4vk]

Excited for the upcoming fig footage 👍

[@Jwayne1020]

Would love to see a video on how you store and organize all your seeds

[@leeannandrews932]

Have fun. We're finally got some decent rain today

[@billgates480]

Just letting you know, I love your content! Super informative and relatable, especially to me, living in the deep south.

[@mattpeacock5208]

I envy your rain issues! Texas is thirsty as all gitout right now!

[@BroqueCowgirlHomestead]

Yes indeed Texas is thirsty.

[@deejayg1632]

Praying for rain in the great state of Texas and all states that need rain!

[@jPigguts]

No doubt! Hasn't rained in this part of Socal since April or May. Water bill is nuts, but it's worht it!

[@citylotgardening6171]

It's a fact there's always something to to do in the garden and you sure do have a very nice one 👍

[@stevefromthegarden1135]

The current chicken plot should work out good with the light wheelhoe action mixing the manure into the soil.

[@growingstrongrootsSummerWest]

YALL are coming to our neck of the woods. Safe travels and STAY HYDRATED. It’s hot down here and HAVE FUN. 😊💚🦋

[@LazyDogFarm]

It was warm down there, but hot too much hotter than here. I did like the fact that there weren't any gnats though!

[@AcornHillHomestead]

I find the layering no till method works awesome for me here in the upper midwest zone 4. I have very sandy soil and it needs amendments like wood chips in fall after grass and/or straw as mulch during the growing season. If I dont use wood chips my soil is way too loose. We don’t use horse manure because of the potential for weed killer in the grasses. We do add some commercial cow manure and compost in spring. I do VERY LITTLE weeding after 5 years. We have a 50 x 50 plot inside the fence and another 5 x 40 plot just outside the fence. I have one traditional raised bed and the others are made by using large logs to border the beds instead of lumber. My goal is to use what is available from tree crews and our property to keep cost down. Straw mulch for the peppers and potatoes, and grass mulch for the tomatoes has been great to suppress weeds. Onions need help with moisture retention. Next year I may try grass and finer wood chips. Very happy so far but I don’t have a commercial operation. We got rid of our tiller the first year we made up the garden and never used it. We have a pretty good soil web and lots of worms. Your garden looks great!

[@LazyDogFarm]

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[@KenJohnsonUSA]

Instead of growing new basil from seed, why not take cuttings and stick them in moist soil? Basil roots extremely well.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I could, but basil tends to get mildew down here in the summer. Basil seeds are cheap and I thought it might be best to start with disease-free plants.

[@KenJohnsonUSA]

@@LazyDogFarm that's crazy. I live in NW Florida and we rarely have much mildew issues. Well, you have to do what is best. As you are always saying, every area has different conditions and not every application is right for you and your growing situation.

[@victoriajankowski1197]

If nothing starts growing in your empty soil I'd be concerned. Weeds are just plants where you didn't want them

[@Frank-fs5nv]

That post puller is a God send.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Sure is!

[@jason_young]

I got one of those fancy flame weeders. They work on pigweed way better than I thought. I’m not no-till, but it’s been so wet we could run the wheel hoe through there. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea to heat up that chicken litter though. Might make for a little smelly mess !!

[@matthewcooper9419]

FLOWERS 🌺🌺 do annual wildflowers make a good Cover crop I wanted to try it have you tried ?...what do think of the idea .. yay or nay

[@shadyman6346]

My garden has become so weedy this year, due to neglect. Even the Johnson grass is being eaten by something. Never seen that...

[@chadicenogle7235]

love from california!!

[@LazyDogFarm]

Thanks Chad!

[@not1moreinch332]

That t post puller is a game changer. It's definitely on my birthday wishlist

[@slick66]

We used to just use an old time bumper jack with a small chain. Find one with a big bottom plate and it pulled all kinds of posts. ;)

[@thegardnersgarden]

I don't think a garden can exist without weeds. they always find a way. ;)

[@jonlewis6630]

I just cleaned up a big section of my garden. Already have a row of zipper cream peas planted. I need to start something else, but don't really know what. I think its to early for my fall stuff, and to hot for much else. Any ideas?

[@markb3129]

Have fun on ya'll trip to Louisiana, I know them Cajuns will show you a good time!!! ✌🏻

[@rickthelian2215]

Enjoy your trip😀 Post Puller is a good investment 😉

[@chasbader]

I got a chipper/shredder. Lots of 160F compost. Top dress. Hill taters with it. NO weeds. Don't need to till. Don't get me wrong, I got an awesome tiller right here and I used to till. Now there is NO NEED. The key is HOT compost and lots of it. No weeds, no compaction. Lots of red wigglers and mychorrizae. I mostly compost saplings and the like. Lots of nitrogen in that cambium.

[@chriswhitley3283]

Them chickens really worked that ground. I don’t care for no till. I’m somewhat a low till kind of gardener. I don’t work that much ground, maybe 2 to 3 of your plots. And you are right about the post puller.

[@ivanlangley4529]

You're the best brother Travis. Looks great man.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Thanks Ivan!

[@Mrbfgray]

Trivial preference but I've gone to hemp or cotton string for my little gardens to avoid plastic scraps everywhere. That post puller is an excellent idea that I didn't know existed before this channel. (yes they seem to be a little more expensive now post scamdemic inflation tax)

[@LazyDogFarm]

I've used cotton string for my Florida weave, but it stretches too much. I like the non-stretch of the poly twine, although I do have to clean it up.

[@ashleycampbell8767]

For tying my tomatoes up, I use strips of old cotton bed sheets for the same reason. They’re also pretty gentle on the plants. I use cattle panels for supports.

[@Mrbfgray]

@@ashleycampbell8767 That's a good idea. I just violated my plastic avoidance (not a hard rule) by purchasing pile of string clips, faster and easier to use. Wonder how long they last in the sun being translucent, cheapy little things, generally black plastic lasts much longer in sun, say zipties for example.

[@carolynmoody9460]

Blessings ❤️

[@columbasanchez6809]

Hello, I planted my vegetables the first year digging and artificial fertilizers and produced a few vegetables. The second year I did the no till method and my vegetables produced the triple amount on each plant. Try what's best for you. Good luck in your planting.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Our no-till plot wasn't that great the first year, but it keeps getting better and better.

[@joshuab738]

Haha.... Alabama Math.... As someone from the Huntsville area woking along aside Marshall Space and Flight that is really funny.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Haha! Your version of Alabama math is much better than mine! lol

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

Thanks!

[@LazyDogFarm]

Thank you Titus!

[@MsGrannyfrog]

Honestly I was very put off by the BS comment I am not sure any one person has all the answers. I always thought the no till was more about preserving soil structure and soil quality as opposed to complete elimination of weeds. I have been using that approach for the past few years and am really pleased with the results and plant growth with the garden beds improving every year. The idea of keeping the soil covered with either mulch or plants is what keeps the weeds down. My uncle had a traditional tilled garden the whole time I was growing up and he was either out there all summer with either a hoe or a cultivator fighting weeds. And I loved that man to death but my dirt sure looks a lot better than his did!

[@tommathews3964]

Dang, I hope to be as smart as you Georgia boys one day, but I doubt it! Guess I'm a candidate for some of that ocean front property in Arizona! So glad you got yourself a t post puller! Been a very rough year in these parts! Hoping for a better fall!

[@LazyDogFarm]

Hah! Fall should be better if it's not too wet.

[@jimt6151]

That's the truth about that T-post puller! I've had mine for several years. Last weekend, I used it to pull a few T-posts that had been driven about 15 years ago in un-tilled heavy clay soil. With the dry weather, that soil is almost too hard to DRIVE a T-post into right now. That puller sucked those T-posts right out, no trouble!

[@loganyoutube4818]

Travis, a $20 food plot broadcaster(the bag style) from tsc would really improve your cover crop stands over hand broadcasting…I used to do what you do and thought it worked just fine but then I got a broadcaster and the stands were much more even and would reach full canopy quicker for weed suppression

[@LazyDogFarm]

Probably would. I've used many of those in my college days working at a golf course. Sometimes it's a little tough to gauge your start point just right so you're not putting seeds where you don't want seeds.

[@loganyoutube4818]

@@LazyDogFarm that is true but there are ones now with shields and stuff to help with that, for more money of course lol

[@timfetner8029]

Great update Travis. Looking forward to seeing your Fall garden this year, and what you plant.

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

I would do the Chicken thing except it's illegal here to even put just One chicken inside a vegetable grow bag, something about it not having enough room.😉

[@LazyDogFarm]

Haha!

[@DonnaRatliff1]

What happened to your Hoss Tool channel? Damn, I'm so glad I found you. I haven't seen you in a video in ages. I'm subscribed to this channel now. 😊👍

[@LazyDogFarm]

I resigned from there in 2021 and started this channel shortly after.

[@alveygardens]

Loved the Cajun b interview. I looked for a webpage or someway to buy trees or cuttings from him. Do you sell cuttings? Or just trees. Planning for the future.

[@LazyDogFarm]

We sell trees on our website right here: lazydogfarm.com/collections/fig-trees We don't sell cuttings.

[@tmac6593]

You're going to have weeds in the country. Wind moves weed seeds around

[@LazyDogFarm]

Yep. Wind, water, and birds move weeds seeds all the time.

[@ambers9463]

Hello, random question. I am having a little trouble finding/understanding how sweet potatoes grow. I see you can get multiple potatoes from 1 plant. Can you plant them on a trellis or with ground cover plastic? Or do the vines need to put out new roots in the ground to make more, or are the potatoes all around the central slip?

[@LazyDogFarm]

You want the vines on the ground so they can pin down new roots. Most of the sweet potatoes will be around the middle of the row that was initially planted, but you will get some on the outer vines as well.

[@malcolmt7883]

You must have the hardest working chickens in Georgia.

[@LazyDogFarm]

They're pretty tough!

[@milkweed7678]

Fields that farmers plant no-till here in IN, corn after beans, beans after corn, are full of weeds come planting time in the spring especially if planting is delayed. Much less weed problem where ANY kind of tillage is done the fall before if possible in those same fields or side by side comparison. Great video!

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

It doesn't matter if it's no-till or tilled heavily, if you leave soil bare it WILL get weedy. That's just how nature works. Heavy tilling disturbs the cycle of new airborne seeds or old seeds in the soil growing, but if you leave it uncovered the soil WILL eventually fill up with weeds, unless you spray it with herbicides. On a large scale, no-till farmers almost never mulch their fields and they generally don't use much if any herbicides, that's why you're seeing their fields fill up with weeds so fast.

[@milkweed7678]

@@dogslobbergardens6606 Farmers do use chemicals when they no-till. Eliminate the tillage and use chemicals instead. Then the fields are totally clean of weeds. I'm talking grain farmers.

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

@@milkweed7678 some use a lot of glyphosate, some don't. Others use persistent broadleaf herbicides, some don't. Some use both, some use nothing. It depends on the farmer. Regardless, my point stands. Bare soil WILL get weedy unless you poison it.

[@milkweed7678]

@@dogslobbergardens6606 oh yes bare soil grows weeds most definitely. No one up here in central IN goes without herbicides unless they are a certified organic farmer which I've never seen around here.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

Fields that farmers till get weeds just as bad if not worse unless they spray

[@michaelblanks4284]

I have almost no weeds

[@vlunceford]

What is that rake you’re using? I always have a hard time raking in seeds without going in too deep with my garden rake. Thanks!

[@LazyDogFarm]

It's just a basic aluminum landscape rake. If you search "landscape rake" on Amazon, you'll see quite a few options and price points.

[@primeribviking3688]

Do you combine cover crops? Like you said the sorghum sudangrass and red ripper peas. Were they together?

[@LazyDogFarm]

I don't always, but I do sometimes. I only like to combine when they have similar maturity dates.

[@lindahopkins4091]

What brand is your tpost puller and where did you get it? Thanks!

[@danjackson2987]

Tractor supply

[@harveyrousejr.2069]

Do you run the Agrothrive organic fertilizer through your drip?

[@LazyDogFarm]

I do.

[@GAGEICUS]

What is your thoughts on using buckwheat, this is what I use during the summer and then abruzzi rye during the fall/winter?

[@LazyDogFarm]

I don't use buckwheat much because it matures too fast. I need my cover crops to last more than just a month or so before flowering, so that's why I don't use it. But if you have a short window, buckwheat works great.

[@GAGEICUS]

@@LazyDogFarm that makes sense, I just cut it after it seeds and get a double crop. Granted I plant mostly in raised beds for now so aside from getting some seed in my walk ways it seems to be working.

[@Jeremystitan]

I'm surprised the deer haven't cleaned the leaves off the soybeans. I have noticed you don't seem to have any wildlife pressure, how do you keep the wildlife out off your plots?

[@LazyDogFarm]

We're surrounded by hundreds of acres of cotton and peanuts. Deer would have to travel a long way through open spaces to get to our garden. They tend to stay in the woods.

[@mikeedenfield4076]

What fall pumpkin seed are you growing

[@LazyDogFarm]

Polar Bear, Cargo, and Warty Goblin

[@legalyzeit]

i need that remover

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

How long do you give the chickens at each plot for grazing?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Just depends on the situation. We always do at least one round on a plot, which takes about 28 days. Sometimes we do multiple rounds though.

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

Ahh, thanks, @@LazyDogFarm How far do you move them? Can you pull that up to New England and let them munch on some of my garden beds? I can promise that they'll enjoy it. Well, except for our accents and our driving.

[@bigl4765]

Travis off subject a bit but I have some zinnias beds in my garden, can you incorporate these or is it best to get rid of them

[@LazyDogFarm]

They'll volunteer like crazy if you incorporate them. If you're okay with that, go for it. If not, probably best to just pull them.

[@shirleyk623]

@@LazyDogFarm zinnias reseed themselves a lot unless you deadhead the plants regularly. This can be good sometimes, but not always.

[@1new-man]

"T" if I bought that mechanical T-post puller my wife would be out of a job. Although it does look like a nice tool....

[@LazyDogFarm]

Mine was purchased out of necessity. I broke my back last year we had to have something easier to get them out. When they're a foot in the ground and it's wet, it can be tough.

[@1new-man]

@@LazyDogFarm Ditto "back" issue; I will be buying one! As I grow older I depend upon tender mercies; as simple pleasures become necessity! Thanks for adding value to the quality of those simple pleasures. Psalm 25:6 Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

[@charliemcgriff7643]

I haven't till my garden in about a year how often should i till?

[@LazyDogFarm]

You don't have to till it ever if you don't want. My plots might get tilled 2x a year at the most.

[@wwsuwannee7993]

Absolutely right...my no-till plots grow more weeds than they do veg :)

[@brianmorris364]

Idk about that one. I made a lasagna garden that's never been tilled and there hasn't been one weed all year. It was mulched in grass clippings heavily and worked great.

[@wwsuwannee7993]

@@brianmorris364 1st year lasagna plots are like that, the weeds will return with time.

[@brianmorris364]

@@wwsuwannee7993 as long as I use fully composted mulch and cover it completely with a thick layer it should stay fairly free of weeds. Also I plant my plants very close together so as to shade out weeds before they could even start. The vegetation is so thick I barely see the soil beneath. Not even the maple helicopter seeds or cottonwoods germinated. Better than treflan.

[@brianmorris364]

@@wwsuwannee7993 I also keep the yard from invading by tearing out the creeping Jenny by hand and chopping down dandelions before they go to seed and turn white. I mow right into the outside edge of the garden afterward. I really hate weeding and this has been a great way to minimize it.

[@wwsuwannee7993]

@@brianmorris364 Sounds like a good system. My self, I just let the weeds grow in the pathways and knock them back occasionally with a grape hoe and let them lie. I try to keep them from encroaching into my rows but not always successful :) It's a small matter as the veg that's in the rows loves the method and produces out the ying..so keep it up and gg

[@rickpearce4653]

Are 10-20 x 3 1/2” deep trays bottom watering if setting in water ?

[@LazyDogFarm]

They can be if the seedling has roots growing towards the bottom of the tray. I prefer top watering, but many folks prefer bottom watering.

[@rickpearce4653]

@@LazyDogFarm Thanks Travis , I’ll keep an eye on the root growth .

[@jackwest5123]

How did you save any time by driving to Atlanta and flying to New Orleans? You're like in Central Georgia, right?

[@LazyDogFarm]

We're in south GA, which makes for a 9 hour drive to Thibodaux, LA. I'm not a fan of driving anywhere for nine hours and I had a bunch of airline miles to redeem. So we opted to drive 3 hours to Atlanta and take the hour flight to New Orleans.

[@larrysheetmetal]

I am asking this because, I just found out that these are no only a Chinese food ingredient , but also used on EUROPEAN/BELGIUM CRUDITES ( a platter of stick like raw vegetables often severed with a dip ), HAVE YOU TRIED GROWING BABY CORN ???? There might be big market for these .

[@LazyDogFarm]

Have not tried growing baby corn. Seems like you'd have to get a couple dollars per piece for it to be worth the space.

[@richardisbell8561]

Did you get the peas to come UP yet

[@LazyDogFarm]

Haven't had a chance to replant yet. Still raining a lot here and the travel set back my garden progress some.

[@keitholiver1286]

How much damage do you get if any from deer

[@LazyDogFarm]

Deer don't get close to our garden. Too much open farmland to traverse before they'd get there.

[@fizer718]

Basil tea

[@tnjon66]

Things are looking great 👍 Just a thought how about planting pole beans on the trellis along with pumpkins . They could be a dry bean type like in a three sisters planting. Check and be sure the soy in your planting is palatable for your birds some types of soy is toxic and has to be processed before consuming it. Hope this helps. John S.

[@LazyDogFarm]

The Laredo Forage soybean is said to be great for turkey and quail in wildlife plots, so I assume chickens would love it too.

[@great0789]

CajunB is known for his Smith cuttings. Getting some from him??? Ask him how well Ronde de Bordeaux does for him there. It is a different fig than the Violette de Bordeaux. Much earlier fig. Strong berry flavor.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I'll probably get some from him this winter. I tasted some and they were delicious!

[@great0789]

@@LazyDogFarm Awesome! I am glad you liked them.

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

Thanks for that! I don’t believe any of the No till lies😇. I’m terribly impressed with how your chicken tractor has been working, what a great way to fertilize your soil and you get fresh eggs!! I bet the eggs from foraging chickens taste better than factory farm eggs! Klaus

[@LazyDogFarm]

They taste great!

[@St72ayBull3t]

micronize and soil life is critical to gardening ... what is under the soil is more important than what is on top of the soil. When you till you kill all that life. Try placing only yourself in the most remote part of the world and see how well you thrive compared to how well ye thrive when we are around a network. Tilling is the most harm you can do to your garden.

[@LazyDogFarm]

There are some benefits to tilling, particularly when it comes to pest management. If you like in a southern climate like us where fungal spores and insect eggs don't winter kill, some soil disturbance does help to reduce the persistence of those fungal spores and insect eggs.

[@JustTheBasicsJS]

This is only the first of your videos I’ve seen, granted, but I think your idea of no till differs from mine. My No till rule #1: never leave soul bare or exposed. There should be a layer (or layers) of decomposing organic matter. I start new beds with layers of cardboard, 4-6 inches of compost or some mostly composted material, and 4-6 inches of woodchips or other plant scrapes. You can plant your cover crop the door at year before you put down the woodchips. When the cover crops grows you mow it or trample it….food for the worms. But you don’t want to ruin the soil structure that results from their roots. From this point forward you only add material to the top to “compost in place”. If a weed grows, it comes out easy. Generally weeds only grow where soil has been disturbed …the cars board helps smoother out and kills anything that’s already growing. I just can’t justify gardening every year on bare soil. It has low bacteria, low or no fungus, and can’t hold any water. If the soil drys out then you loose bacteria and fungus. This matters long term: fungus breaks down minerals from rock, sand, silt and clay. Bacteria eat the fungus and retain minerals. Plants roots release exudates that attract specific bacteria with specific mineral content. Bacteria eat the exudates, and nematodes come by and eat the bacteria, and basically crap out plant available nutrients and 70% water at the root zone. Without this microbiology you have to work extra every year to grow things. Bare soil may be “no till” but it’s not the same as mine. I don’t have to water, fertilize or anything…just plant. You need some good 16 inches of material on the ground to be thick enough to prevent dehydration from the sun. I also am focused more on regenerative permaculture type stuff, so a few veggies but mostly trees and shrubs as the foundation to my food producing system. I’ll focus more of veggies and bacterially dominated soil a few years down the road once everything else is done

[@LazyDogFarm]

We try to keep the soil covered as well in our no-till plots, but there's always a transition period where it's not covered. It was covered a few weeks ago with the cover crop, but the chickens have since eaten it. We'll soon be planting fall pumpkins there, and they'll completely cover the plot like a jungle.

[@mutantryeff]

I'm praying for more global warming, as the ocean needs to rise 100' so I can get oceanfront property.

[@suepatterson2702]

First fig flight.

[@empresskimberly4410]

I thought chickens couldn’t eat raw soy beans or any raw beans? Am I wrong?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Ours have eaten plenty of raw field peas in other plots with no issues. The soybean we planted is an old variety called "Laredo" that's a forage soybean with black seeds.

[@chasbader]

Work that chicken manure into your wood chip compost...Right in the middle of that pile... It will feed all those microbes which will feed your plants. If I add nutrients directly to the soil, it is in the water. Dude... I have NO WEEDS! Need to post a video.

[@prestonberg9604]

Nice tip to king George there trav

[@LazyDogFarm]

If you'll buy that, I'll throw the Golden Gate in free.

[@SlowDownFish]

I say more chickens

[@carybradley3968]

Halfway into this video and haven’t heard anything about no-till. Did I misunderstand the title?

[@LazyDogFarm]

All of our videos usually discuss several different topics. But we can't fit all those topics into the title.

[@myidahohomestead.7123]

But you don't have no till. You worked the soil.

[@LazyDogFarm]

That's a very dogmatic approach to no-till. You have to disturb the soil to plant some things. If you're making a hole for a transplant, you're disturbing the soil. If you're making a furrow to plant potatoes, you're disturbing the soil ...

[@Growinggolfing]

Those soybeans have a Calcium deficiency. Probably just a nutrient lockout from a ph problem. How could you see that color in soybeans and think they’re great??? Don’t know much about plants huh?

[@LazyDogFarm]

I'm not necessarily concerned with the color of the plants. I'm more focused on the amount of ground cover and how well they regrow after being grazed by the chickens once. While cover crops can be a good indicator crop and illuminate possible issues, we don't fertilize cover crops.

[@cupofkoa]

I appreciate your title is pure clickbait. But please get the terminology correct - at the scale you're working at, it's no-dig (not no-till). Please mulch your vegetation.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Actually our systems are pretty similar to large-scale no-till systems. The commercial no-till farmers use cover crops like we do. But they terminate theirs with glyphosate and we terminate ours with chickens and tarps. Using mulch on a large scale is cost and labor prohibitive.

[@ladislavtoman9327]

The title of your video is massive BS, lie and a huge missinformation con. No till gardening gives higher harvests with considerably less work. I recommend to those who watched this video to forget all the crap, and watch videos by Charles Dowding from England, who is growing no dig commercially for well over 30 years.

[@LazyDogFarm]

No-till is a great system -- no doubt about that. But it is considerably more work up front than a traditional in-ground garden. Charles is an amazing gardener, but his climate is much different than most of us in the States.

[@ladislavtoman9327]

@@LazyDogFarm the only true statement in your replay is that "No-till is a great system". The rest is meaningless word salad. Are you seriously suggesting, there are no similar or the same climatic conditions anywhere in the US to those where Charles lives?? Are you loosing your marbles? Besides, no-till gardening is not dependent on climatic zones. Take Charles. Where he lives, they get frosty winters with snow cover some years. In contrast, where I live, we do not get snow ever, at worst we may get 3 to 5 frosty mornings when temperature drops to zero, or worst to -2° C. And I grow just as successfully as Charles does. Also the statement, that it is considerably more work up front is a BS. Watch videos, where Charles demonstrates how to turn a lawn into ready to sow no-till garden bed in under 3 hours. An I bet, it did not take him any more effort to do so, than you did running around with that silly looking hoe over the plot next to you chickens. One would have to have rocks in their head to slave away every year digging their plot, and destroying their soil in the process. So do please stop spreading lies and misinformation about no-till gardening. I strongly recommend to viewers of your video to forget it, and explore videos by Charles Dowding. He has hundreds of them on just about any gardening topic.