Lessons from 30 Years of No-Till | Four Winds Farm

In today's video we get the full history and some of the lessons of Four Winds Farm in New York after transitioning to no-till in 1994.
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Jay and Polly's site: fourwindsfarmny.com
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[@notillgrowers]

So I have not had a lot of time with the summer in full swing to answer questions/comments but I'm so proud that we have such an amazing, interested, supportive, curious, nerdy comment section. It truly makes this fun that you all are so awesome Thank you 🙌

[@douglasnevill1273]

Has anyone told you that you're awesome today because you are You're awesome.

[@purplecurtisimo]

Big ol' nerd in the first year of gardening ever, reporting in. It's awesome to have found a science-backed creator and experienced individual like yourself. Your videos are an excellent resource, and your book come well-reviewed by some credible soil scientists. I look forward to reading it! Thanks for doing what you do.

[@bakersbooks]

I think I commented this on the previous video with these folks, but I adore this interview format! With the old photos interspersed through the story of establishing the farm, it's like spending time with my relatives. What a great way to pass down decades of hard-won growing knowledge.

[@paulacothren3591]

I agree, I really enjoyed this conversation.

[@JamesWitte]

agreed!

[@helentc]

I totally get her enthusiasm expressed at the end....that would be me, I wouldn't be able to resist showing everyone! Haha.

[@argetlamzn]

A great part of my Sunday morning!

[@Wasntborntopaybillsanddie]

Sure is

[@littlestreamfarm]

It’s refreshing to sit with the unknowingly influential who do not have a persona honed by social media. Just hard working, visionary, gutsy people making things happen for decades. And I got a smidge teary as I listened to the exclamation of joy over the soil. Happy tears to feel the love of truly passionate growers.

[@traceypeterson1582]

Where is the Super Like button for this couple and this series. My husband and I are simply gardeners; born and raised in a suburban setting. We bought a home in the country, saw a need to learn hownto produce food for ourselves and our neighbors, should shtf. Jesse, youbare such a joy to listen too. We also have a cat rescue; 300 placed to date and about 87 outdoor babies that will soend their life with us. So.....i appreciate your love of cats.😊 Please keep producing. We HAD hard packed clay 2 years ago. Broke our tiller trying to till. This year we raised the entire garden with compost, compost rich soil, and 4 to 5 inches of mulch. Our garden is 140'x 60'. Expensive investment, but the only way we will ever do it. Last year we got 10% yield overall; alien carrots, beets died, celery stunted... this year we are getting an amazing yield and so much earlier. Also, little to no weeds and very few issues with bugs or fungus. Thank You Jesus! Keep up the great vids. We need your knowledge, skill, and humor.

[@midwestribeye7820]

That lady would be a cool teacher! I'd LOVE it if she showed me the soil. Wonderful couple!

[@WesternMONo-TillGardening]

I love farm tours and interviews with no till farmers. Thanks, Jackson.

[@EighteenandCloudy]

I really enjoyed this and had to laugh at Polly's description of her excitement about the soil and soil health and wanting to shout from the rooftops. I love hearing people who are knowledgeable and passionate about what they do share their experience and story. Thank you for filming and sharing this farm tour, I'm looking forward to the next part about rhizomes and comfrey as couch grass creep is something I struggle with, albeit on a much smaller scale as a hobby grower with a small plot.

[@SiarlW]

Came here to make a similar comment. Well said @eighteenand… Polly’s excitement about her soil is so incredibly charming. This entire series is simply wonderful! We need more of this. Thank you thank you thank you. You’re awesome.

[@trumpetingangel]

I live across the Hudson from this farm, which makes this series even more exciting! These folks were genius innovators at the time they started the no-till conversion, and it has rewarded them many times over. What a wonderful story. Thanks for coming up to our neck of the woods!

[@notsoreverendbecca2308]

I am in the area too, and it is pretty cool seeing neighbors on here. :)

[@lucasnon1070]

Me 2! Not sure what town they are in but I live in Port jervis

[@southernvtgrown]

Such great folks, great information ✌🏼💚✌🏼💚 from Vermont 🇺🇸

[@johndoh5182]

The end of this was just hilarious. I saw Jesse in that statement about the soil, and I saw Joel Salatin when he gets excited when he expresses the success of what they do with the soil and I think this IS what farmers figure out when they get into no-till (minimal disturbance) and they get to the point of having very healthy soil. It's the success of years of work, and it's not the crops that they're so excited about even though I'm sure there's excitement when they see wonderful crops and harvest is coming or a lot of plants are in that process of getting to harvest and you look over the fields and it's wonderful. But the expression about what it is these people are doing in making more and more healthy soil is what seems to bring out the most excitement when it's talked about. The soil. The soil is the factory. Without the factory running the way it should, nothing else is going to work well, and because it takes a few years to often get to that point of beautiful soil, I think that's why it seems to bring out a lot of excitement when they talk about it. And it is a wonderful thing, that building the soil into a healthy ecosystem is where the success comes from.

[@jshkrueger]

I love these last couple videos with this couple. I agree with what someone else said. The format is great, just letting them talk and tell their story. They are lovely people. I could listen to them talk for hours. They have a no nonsense, tell it like it is, this our story, this is how we messed up, this is what worked way of talking, and I love it. I can't wait for more videos with them. They need to share everything they know, lol!

[@douglasnevill1273]

Thank you for interviewing these farmers it's delightful to listen and learn from them.

[@TheManismith]

Just what I needed to watch right before bed, loved this from Four Winds Farm, all the history and insights felt like I was there watching

[@lesliebehrens7252]

I can’t remember watching a video and smiling while listening - a big toothy smile. Yes, these two are a hoot.

[@sheelaghomalley5459]

Have watched 2 videos from this amazing couple. Thank you. Would love to hear more from them

[@Nocare89]

I finally used my own compost to mulch my garden and... went from watering every 1-2 days to once a week. In the dead of a dry summer. All that moss and blackberry vines I've spent hours cleaning up now benefiting my efforts. It all feels so good. Lots of little tips to gleam from these two. I quite enjoy hearing their stories.

[@TheEmbrio]

Raving about good soil is the best. Glad for these interviews !!

[@summerdearborn7236]

At the 20:10 mark, I got so excited and felt her JOY as she talked about her soil! I hope she shows that soil to everyone who will look. And describes it just like that with her light on that bright to help people really see. What a beacon of light she is!! Thank you for this.

[@eastcoasthomestead5207]

When we lived in our city property, our whole yard was producing food. Instead of ornamental bushes, I had berry bushes etc. we made the move to the country 3 provinces away. Our yard has almost no soil, or at least not healthy soil. It’s mostly rock, so tilling wasn’t an option the first year (did I mention it was rocky? Sooooo many rocks….) so we invested in raised beds full of compost. We got chickens and twice a year we would clean out their coop and dump that in the area we were going to make another garden. Last year we till it to try and loosen the soil layers a bit(soooo many rocks!!!). This year we made bed rows and planted in it and there is still a fair amount of weeds and oats (thanks ti the hay we laid down as mulch. We both work full time, and I suffered an ankle injury this winter so we I haven’t been able to stay on top of the weeds as much as we need to which sucks. But our goal is to be completely no till. I love hearing about how people do things, especially when they are geographically near to my area (Eastern Canada). Thanks for all the great info!

[@sweetpeasbackyardgarden1236]

Loved this so much!! Making my own compost for my small garden has been a game changer and really challenged my previous assumptions about gardening.

[@franksinatra1070]

I've been practicing no till in my backyard garden now for a few years and I'm beginning to notice the benefits such as less pest problems and better plant health not to mention less work. I follow a similar approach as these folks and Charles Dowding on a smaller scale by applying compost every fall but also mulching on top of that with a leaf/grass clippings combo. I still use a organic fertilizer for heavy feeders but probably don't need to in most cases. Good stuff.

[@midwestribeye7820]

I am new to doing this for my backyard garden. So far I'm loving it! I need to get better about wetting and rotating my compost piles, but I compost EVERYTHING. Many blessings to you.

[@firedog759]

Good ol honest americans sharing their valuable knowledge, Thanks to them and to you jess

[@thepeopleplaceandnaturepod8344]

Keep up the fantastic work, and let's all work together to protect our planet! 👏

[@kenttodd6179]

Spent the last 3 days digging a new trench, in my compost raised bed. Was 4 inches offset into a old trech where I had previously lasagna composted. It was honestly amazing to see the differences between the two soils. Wish I could share a picture

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Thanks for sharing! I can't wait until I can afford land and scale up!.... cheers!

[@Les445]

Very informative. Lots of very hard work.

[@sabajambuu]

I love farm tours and interviews with no till farmers

[@GardeningCare]

Wonderful gardening

[@marxagarden]

Once getting the compost they were able to expand, I love the change in perspective. It gives me hope as I’ve been struggling with my garden year after year, except for the first year. I’ve been trying to responsibly source compost as I’ve known no-till is the way to go but still haven’t found a good supplier. Thanks for inspiring hope in those who are still on their journey.

[@janebadon3988]

What beautiful rows you have! It’s an inspiration and testimony to the value of compost and focus on soil structure.

[@kkeungi5955]

I'm a professional chef and a gardener and I'm looking more and more into farming and making like a farm-to-table restaurant + ranch hotel. This was so interesting to hear the story of Four Winds Farm, very educational.

[@Khai231]

Crazy that’s my dream

[@davidorsini3818]

Looking forward to seeing more, Cheers.

[@theburnhams2925]

Question: How can (could) a person NOT "like" this video? Your guests are so alive, so passionate in their every action. I'm not sellin' my tractor tomorrow, (but I am thinkin' about it...) If only they (our tractors) weren't such versatile little powerhouses. Started out BCS, got too old... Believe that I always enjoy/appreciate your comments. No-till friends rec'c'd' your channel. Thanks for all you do!

[@lucasnon1070]

Holy smokes this is in my area! Awesome, thanks everyone!

[@DrCorvid]

So cool finding this and meshing it with the 30 years of shredded ramial wood research from the agronomy courses at McGill and Laval universities (Bois raméal fragmenté, a lot of it is in French). They explored no-till and its variants on farm and forest and found the ramial wood chips were marvelous because they rotted well and also avoided compaction for longer. But according to that research even with fresh ramial shredded wood and leaves the no-till beds still had to be turned to alleviate the compaction about every 4-5 years.

[@happyhillsfarm9598]

Farmer Jesse telling me that I'm awesome is one of the highlights of my week! Thanks for another amazing and inspirational video folks!

[@lydialjal]

I never knew what an heirloom tomato was until I met Jay and his tomatoes years ago at the Cold Spring Farmers Market. Especially then, over a decade ago, plus, not many people had them. Each one was beautiful, odd, colorful and delicious! The best tomatoes I ever had and still do when I can get them. I grow my own now, some from their springtime plant sale, but some from seeds elsewhere. Four Winds started my love for sustainable, organic farming which is flourishing today. I always have something from FW growing or canned. If you can, try his tomatoes. They offer samples often at their farm market stalls. But everything they grow is delicious and the epitome of what stewards of the earth who farm organically from start to finish should be. I am a big fan. Can you tell? Excellent video.

[@TheRooflesstoofless]

Love the No still hats, but I have enough hats. What I really need is a sun blocker hat. Wonder if will ever come across one that says “No Till” 🤔 💭 😂

[@JudeJosephMcElroy]

I have watched this, maybe three or four times now, and truly I want to thank everyone involved for being so honest about their past mistakes. Really helps to make the information a lot more relatable to ongoing issues on my own farm.

[@notsoreverendbecca2308]

I pass near thier farm to get to the one where i now work. It's a joy to see neighbors on this.

[@robertcotrell9810]

Another great video! I could listen to those two forever.

[@philippamanning-smith1229]

I love this couple. This is a great series. Thanks farmer Jesse.

[@rblongfellow]

These guys are the best. Jay planted the no till seed in my head many moons ago when he appeared in a sustainable tillage series

[@rblongfellow]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX-5Z2iumtl-bdk This was it. Also featured the Nordells and blue heron farm with their mega living pathways.

[@estanciaperseverancia5840]

Excelente I feel identify with the emotion of discovering that all the efort works!!!!

[@robertling9872]

Beautiful video. Thanks for sharing.

[@jamesrichey]

They have had an amazing journey. I appreciate them sharing with us. Thanks!

[@cherokeetackle2412]

These two are awesome!!!

[@rachellemazar7374]

Jessie, I can see why you like those two, they are great.

[@Jaycalsun]

This is perfect. Top-tier production and content.

[@tashkang2524]

Wait! Are you going to tell more about the thistle??? It is my issue and I want to hear so much more. Thank you so much for all your wisdom and years of experience!

[@tashkang2524]

Ah. I was listening without watching while I hung garlic and missed the note at the end. Such a cliffhanger for me!

[@rblongfellow]

Yes cant wait to hear more!

[@EstherCervantes-hk4pz]

I was skeptical about what they'd say, however I'm quite impressed at their three decades of hands on learning. Definitely looking forward to next episode!

[@guardianfarm]

Love this couple!

[@debrakessler5141]

Nicely done. Thank you for sharing.

[@CityGirlFarmsJamaica]

Video number 500 🎉🎉 ...you are appreciated. Keep going!!

[@user-od8qj3be8m]

Not embarrassed to admit it. All week it was like I was chomping at the bit and patiently awaiting the next Tom Cruise sequel. Yes the first video was that invigorating. We are now trying to get all the pieces together and developing our own aerating type of set up to produce compost. VERY hard clay where we garden. Time and patience and some luck and we will get the soil we diesire. Also READING READING READING and loving your Living Soil Handbook. As always Thank You for the great videos!

[@user-wv5fq8di2m]

Excellent video - Thanks!

[@davehanks7861]

Great video brother!!! I can't wait for more!

[@browntownorganics2172]

Enjoying the interview! Thanks!

[@watermelonraintv]

oh my gosh these farmers are amazing I love them

[@manolopapas]

Amazing couple

[@nvater1]

Great info! I have an acre that I am looking at to no til

[@ladyryan902]

Seen another of this series n had to come looking for the series great info. Thx😊

[@Analytical_Mind]

mind opening, learnt new things to try out

[@brians1001]

Great story!

[@peterv3216]

Love this!

[@kishorgaire7499]

Wonderful initiative. Love your farm. Lots of love from NEPAL.

[@manolopapas]

great video again. thank you

[@GreenMachine1365]

I can only imagine finding a source of compost like they did. My rural upstate NY town has a dump site for brush and leaves and such that I discovered after living in the area several years and struggling to produce enough compost for my use. I was thrilled to discover what must be 100s of yards of dark black composted material, but then was horrified to find it is teeming with jumping worms. Such a waste, and such a dangerous thing to have near my home. Luckily the local area is sand and gravel so the worms don't seem to have spread beyond that site, but now I'm too worried about such things to try to source compost material anywhere else and my no-till gardens suffer.

[@MarkDurbin]

Informative and entertaining, thanks :)

[@jvin248]

I really like how they realized they needed a Farm not a Garden solution with their beds and composting -- that became a very important turning point for them. It's a very important distinction! However, they are still using external compost and are on four acres so really they are small fields and large gardens scale -- and spreading out compost use per bed by minimizing every year where they put it with careful management. The real question is how to go to the next larger system; from four acres to forty acres or a hundred acres? ... That's where I'm currently running my Experimental Farming Adventure, a small scale test plot but chasing roll-out into large acreage. The foundation has become Fall Rye/Spring Oats (for in-place compost), Buckwheat, Alfalfa/Clover, Tillage Radishes/Sunflowers, and Flax. The only way to make it work (I've experimented many ways) is plant into the standing rye/oats and roll flat when the main crop emerges, or roll flat ahead of transplanting (just as if planting into plastic weed barrier). The main crop has to leap ahead of any weeds to provide cover before the rye/oat straw dissolves, rye actually seems to wick moisture up from way below during droughts (we had six weeks of no rain this spring) which allowed in-ground planted seeds to germinate then rolled the rye and off it went. I even hand scattered dry beans into a bed of rye and they germinated after a rain (using rain's power of 'compaction' to dirty up the seeds) and then rolled the rye when they started setting leaves. Fukuoka Clay Seed Ball testing is planned this next year. So far, if starting with a hay field, the only working solution is busting that sod with tillage, till the grass down, and then start no-till from there. Rye/oats are good but even just disking the grass is not enough to knock back vigorous grasses to establish enough rye/oats to suppress weeds and grass. .. Do an interview with Rick Clark and Dr Erin Silva if you can -- RC is growing five thousand acres of corn and beans using rye and alfalfa covers, no chemicals and no tillage, and supplying organic grain contracts to major food companies. Look for videos of his presentations (he does not have his own channel) since December 2022 for his latest activities (interesting development is getting off-patent hybrid seeds from seed banks to grow his own landrace seed supply). I thought that was clever. I have a high-protein corn crop landrace of heirlooms growing (dark colored flour corn, blue/red/purples).

[@flatsville9343]

I was also surprised they were not covercropping by this time & still largely brown compost dependent. I've got beds that get seedlings only because they are winter kill covercropped & others that get a combo of a winter kill covercrop & then a thin layer of screened compost for a direct seed bed. Only took a bit of planning & re-jiggering to make myself less (brown) compost dependent for annuals in large garden beds. I mulch heavily with leaf mould on all beds.

[@florencejessup2432]

@@flatsville9343 Where are you located? I want to learn more about over cropping but am not finding any examples of people doing it successfully in zones 4/5. If you know of someone, please point me in their direction.

[@flatsville9343]

@florencejessup2432 Did you mean "cover cropping" or "over cropping." There is such a thing as "over cropping." The approach can be very different. For a true farm scale operation, web search your university extension site for trials/studies specific to the types of main crops you plant in your grow zone. My previous reply to you went missing? I am zone 6b...& apparently rocketing to 7b-8.

[@florencejessup2432]

@@flatsville9343 Thanks for responding. I meant over cropping. I saw a video from someone who was doing it with Sudan over garlic but the video didn't indicate where they are. The Sudan winter killed to mulch the garlic. Now that I just have a big garden in my back yard instead of a farm, I have more time to experiment.

[@flatsville9343]

@florencejessup2432 You can check the SARE online covercrop guide to see which regions will grow Sorghum Sudangrass & at what temp it will reliably winter kill. My guess is that if you're are in Zone 4/5, you would be OK with an overcrop winter kill for Sudan on garlic. I've lived in those Zones. Also, I imagine timing is everything with this. You could consider growing the Sudan in strips between garlic rows so as not to end up with a grassy mess in the event something goes wrong & you have to cut & cover/heavily mulch to get it to terminate.

[@dantheman9135]

ThankQ

[@joinmeinthedirt5186]

Wow how inspiring

[@mayshomesteadchronicles]

Thanks for doing these interviews, man. Very much enjoying them

[@billherrick3569]

excellent content; thank you.

boa noite a todos acompanhando aqui do brasil👈👍

[@GardeningCare]

So nice video uploaded ❤❤

[@904DIRTYSOUTH]

Good stuff💪🏼⚡️⚡️💪🏼

[@heatherjolly8389]

Fantastic interview!

[@dawnteskey3259]

Such great information! Thanks!

[@InnovativeFarmers]

Love from India hope some time visit your farm and shoot your work

Deus abençoe a todos🙏👏

[@Foxhound5362]

Very cool people. And great information.

[@WeDewey]

Amazing !!!

[@blanglampoh]

Very nice👍

[@timbushell8640]

"This is why..." : )))))) Gem saved until last : ))))))

[@suave47]

These few episodes have kinda open my eyes some. I always though compost was only for the nutrient value. And when u used it all over, it just gave the weeds something to use to grow and u would have bigger worse weeds. But the more I watch about these no till systems, makes me think a little different. I can see how it will work on smaller areas, but how do u do it on something like 10 or 30 acres (which is what I'm trying to get to over the next 5 or so years) I can see the benefits in smaller gardens and greenhouse growing, but im still very skeptical on larger applications

[@alwintiedemann9045]

Danke!

[@thetechgrandma3605]

Thanks!

[@notillgrowers]

Amazing, thank you!

[@sciencetoymaker]

Great video, although I wish I knew how other people deal with voles that seem to colonize places where I put down lots of compost

[@hcambo5373]

Good luck ❤❤

[@BHould]

Nice

[@sarahstraw3075]

At 14:13 Mac Enroe Compost has new equipment and it is pretty free of plastics and fruit and veg stickers now.

[@Nandurbarbar]

Hello from Indonesia

[@sallymae3950]

Could you go and film and visit Bountiful Blessings Farm in Tennessee?

[@Tymasta]

😯 look at this soil! 😂

[@MrDannyd9]

I think this farm is near my hometown, Port Jervis.

[@chriskerns810]

Is there a video about how they are making their own compost?

[@lifeandliberty0172]

Yes they just released it a couple days before this one, look it up

[@OrganixFarms]

The big 0 which is great. We deal with armadillo and rabbits mostly here in the States. I bet your technique will hold up against them as well.