What is Tillage?

[@zachwilliams805]

This is exactly the type of content I feel I need as a beginning grower. I really appreciate all the work that y'all do. I am loving the book and have really enjoyed how thorough you are. I have walked away from these videos feeling like I understand nature a little better.

[@CitiesSkyGay]

I really like how you gave acknowledgement to the indigenous people. Some of the best gardening tips come from the indigenous people and unfortunately, few people really give credit to them. One of the first things the Pilgrims learned to have successful yields from the indigenous groups is to use fish as fertilizer. Now, fish emulsion is a common fertilizer for many of us

[@rianharris3774]

Inj in u lil you vm into 7j0l😊you 😅mik😊jkjki ill k M8 k

[@jwoldner3926]

You are so ignorant to think the settlers did not know how to grow food. I would even go so far to say you are anti white. And if you tube would let me I would say a lot more to get the point said. So I'll just leave it right here. You are anti white a bigot and lyer.

[@cosmicmenace]

I've just resumed thoroughly digging the huge amount of rocks out of my beds, after realizing that the plant roots had no chance of making it down any deeper than the compost mulch layer on the surface. After that they will support much more soil life for the long term, without further intervention.

[@andresamplonius315]

Amendments like gypsum and biochar to break up the clay would be helpful I think

[@cindyculbertson5886]

Thank you for this one. I had a small grass plot that mostly failed last year and did not have time to do a complete overhaul. I raked out as much as I could, pithchforked aerated and 2 to 3 inches of new compost, then seeded with mini clover. It did ok till warmer weather. Then the clover needed more water than what seemed normal. It then began to die out. I decided to have about half the clover/grass removed and discovered badly compacted soil under and through the roots. I was feeling kinda "guilty" for turning over the grass/clover but realized the awful compaction needed to be dealt with to improve the soil health. You just made me feel so much better😊. I am having the bed prepared to add more native plantings to that area with some clover pathways done with better soil prep. Thanks again, I learn a lot from you even though I am not a farmer. We have mostly sterile volcanic ash for soil and have been amending and planting and composting over the last 10 to 15 years. It is still a challenge.

[@PartTimePermies]

Lol, love the rant on "no disturbances." Nature in every aspect is and never has been static in any respect. Also, I count ourselves as part of nature, not above, in charge of, or stewards of nature. That being said, understanding our impact on our ecosystem, negative and positive, is important for us to pay attention to.

[@JeanneKinland]

I can't seem to get enough of this channel. I've been binge watching for the past 24 hrs. since I discovered it.

[@stevelarson4925]

Great video, Jesse. Love the non dogmatic take on disturbance and bringing indigenous agriculture into the soil health principals conversation.

[@notillgrowers]

Welcome , Steve!

[@suffolkshepherd]

"Not as much of a ring to it" was hilarious. This is a good thought provoking video.

[@williambelding7574]

Eliot Coleman made a comment in a presentation I really liked. He pointed out that most of our crops, and almost all annual plants, are or are descended from pioneer species. Historically, a lot of agriculture developed in flood plains for good reason- they were in a nearly perpetual state of disturbance that also brought in flushes of new organic matter, ie fertility. So I’m with you on the need for the right kind of distrubance.

[@cliveburgess4128]

I am really enjoying this series, most interesting, I currently live in fl. and have to deal with sand, it's like gardening at the beach, taking all these ideas of soil health to try and improve conditions, rains for four days, a day later everything is drooping, soil is bone dry, trying what ever I can think of, one bed I have watermelon and sweet potatoes, just put cardboard over the bed and grass clippings and burying the whole thing, hopefully to produce more life in the soil, see what happens, thanks for the videos and information, great stuff, miss the country life!

[@andresamplonius315]

Biochar could be helpful, it's longer lasting than just organic matter

[@tracycrider7778]

Unfortunately I read somewhere that sand has to have constant organic matter added

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

@@andresamplonius315 Tried that biochar on my sandy areas. It's a strong desiccant in dry weather and sucks away all the moisture from the roots keeping my sand dry. Actual rotted wood helped hold moisture. I wasted thousands of pounds of my good wood and made a few ounces of worthless buoyant nitrogen / nutrient water stealing charcoal that floated away with my nutrients during my annual spring flood after the winter dry spell. I noticed the Sahara desert is FULL of charcoal and the natives make it from the shrubs to sell. It's ruined that part of Africa.

[@tomf.2274]

Jesse, I have been watching your channel for a few years and I love the newer content. Maybe it is my growth in learning and understanding soil, regenerative ag movement, no till , large and small scale. But you and your channel have been a part of that growth. So for myself, your recent series clicks. Keep on with your learning and sharing. Both are coming together to deliver much greater depth in understanding and bigger picture.

[@notillgrowers]

Thank you 🙌

[@margueritejudd3940]

LOVE the Ferngully reference. You are entertaining, wise, and an excellent speaker. This is exactly what I need as a beginning gardener trying to fix the rock, clay dirt here in Southern Colorado.

[@JolleanSmith]

I love it when a video educates you. Full of great info. Thank you!

[@GrowCookPreserveWithKellyDawn]

I absolutely love this series. You are a captivating and passionate educator!

[@matthewfarrell317]

Interesting on the compaction test, seems I did it by accident in the front yard food forest, pushing stakes into the ground to spread out the fruit trees lol, I can get near on 18 inches just pushing the stakes in. Gives me a little more confidence. For those who want to know we have a clay loam pushing towards a sandy clay loam. I did like the end bit of all of this, I don't use terms like Permaculture, or no-till etc, because I find the groups way too polarised. It's one way or the highway and it bugs the hell out of me. In my raised beds I till half the soil each time I swap plants, annuals do not see much benefit from not doing that and I can work in more organic matter quicker. On the other hand, the front food forest is a no-till, we are building the soil long term with wood chips, mainly because tilling or digging too much will harm the roots of the perennials. I want to be able to use whatever method is best to get the most amazing results, not be "shamed" because I did this wrong or that wrong. The same goes for fertilisers, front yard gets none, just chop and drops and wood chip, raised beds get 50/50 from composts and artificial...... and to give those who had artificial a real heart attack, my hydroponics which I get most of my greens from is 100% non-organic lol

[@micheals1992]

I find pushing stakes in depends mostly on soil moisture, that's maybe because I have clay soil though and it tends to set like concrete when it dries out. When it's wet it's easy though. It'll be interesting to see what my parsnips have done when it's time to harvest them hehe

[@nickbono8]

I’m from California and I’ve recently found interest in planting native ornamental plants in my garden. All the info on California natives say DO NOT TILL (for mycorrhizal fungi reasons). Well I have a very very compacted (like almost breaking shovel rock hard and dry) location that is clay heavy and the plants I planted there aren’t doing very well. If only I broke up the soil just slightly to allow root penetration would my plants be better off. Sometimes tilling is needed to start building healthy soil for the long run. Hindsight is 20/20.

[@johnsonr9]

Appreciate your humorous common sense approach.

[@Distinctions]

Thank you l, these videos have helped my farm immensely

[@Mossman04]

Just bought the book! Thank you for the mind melting amount of knowledge in 15 minutes 🤯

[@corymiller9854]

I started planting all my plants with a digging bar roughly 9 inch's deep just wide enough to put the root ball in. This seemed to really help my no dig garden drain and the roots shoot deeper. I believe disturbing the soil is a good idea when needed.

[@Mtpumpkinsman]

Love this series!

[@edscukas9689]

Keep the videos coming! Excellent knowledge and the way you explain it is perfect! There is no one size fits all solution for everyone and a lot of the videos out there are kind of “I’m no-till look at the abundance” but don’t actually explain that they are in fact scheduling disturbances.

[@natefox1496]

Thank you I wish this series could keep going

[@eugenekaufmann1]

Thank you for this, it has assuaged my "guilt" at very lightly broadforking, if i don´t , even after many years just compost and hay mulching the soil gets dry and a bit hard in our very hot dry summers in Galicia , Nth Spain. I suspect that as it is a granite sandy slightly acidic soil it has a natural tendency to slight compaction whatever you do. So just a slight little wiggling with the fork has made all the difference.

[@lisamcdonald1415]

I think I learned more in this episode then In the last 2 years. AWESOME 👏 can’t wait to read the book now that it’s available in Canada

[@lovelyrainflowerfarm]

Can and do do… 😏 🤣 The dancing microorganisms 🦠 made my day We missed you when you were finishing your book. So great to have you back 👍

[@Christohalopitus]

New favourite channel!!

[@dirtdiggerjerry]

Got your book this Friday. Halfway through it as of Sunday. Great content. Thank you.

[@jean-philippefranko6896]

Thank you so much for all your explanations! Always great to learn from it.

[@Isaacmantx]

I am loving this series! Thank you for all the effort it takes to put it together!

[@carriewebb5764]

This type of information is so needed. Thanks, very much for sharing and I look forward to learning more in the future!

[@svenwerner9554]

Really enjoyed that video.Being a fan of as little disturbance as possible I face a little dilemma. The soil at my place consists basically of 100% clay. The good news is, it has not really been used for a couple of years, growing grass, nettles a bit of clover but all their roots end probably 10cm in the ground. You find the occasional worm in the next 20cm and after that it goes anaerobic. Chickens and lasagna beds are my go to but I am struggling with the decision to till (mechanically) beforehand since I broke already a spade :). So it always helps to get input of less paradigm thinking. Thanks you.

[@Horse237]

Even John Kempf recommends using steel to break up the compaction layer. Then use diverse cover crops to build soil. Most soil organic matter comes from decayed roots. The good news is that clay is full of minerals which the bacteria eat. You need more advanced soil biology to eat the bacteria and release the minerals in a chelated form which is available to your plants. You would be a lot worse off with sandy soil and no minerals.

[@Dontreallycare5]

Not everything below your feet is soil. If you need to break up clay so you can intergrade other elements to create soil that can actually sustain plant life, then catagorizing that clay as "soil" in the first instance was a mistake. No-till practices are about not disturbing pre-existing biomes, but what you are talking about is essentially creating an entirely new biome - so there is no real dilemma. If anything, you should just consider piling up organic material in your path so that you chop it up and drive it deeper into the clay as you till it.

[@aenorist2431]

@@Dontreallycare5 You are exactly right. What Sven is facing here isn't compacted soil, its the absence of soil. Pile up, till actual topsoil / organic matter / whatever you can get in the topmost bit to create something that can eventually *become* soil. Use a chisel plow / subsoiler / broadfork to loosen as deeply as you can, once, then leave the deeper layers to the life that will develop (with care) in your new soil up top,

[@bushveldkid7640]

I had incredible clay soil in Henrietta NY years ago. My kids and I dug a pond 4 feet deep in our back garden- back breaking work because of the clay but a fantastic bonding homeschooling experience. A great way to channel a bunch of boys energy. The clay was so incredible we did not need a pond liner for our fish and frog pond. I accidentally discovered the no till method as we had a couple trees taken down and ended up with a big pile of mulch. We used the clay we had dug up to build edges to flower beds in our sloping yard and filled them with the chipped wood to use it up. I planted by adding a couple spades full of top soil around plants as I figured they needed a bit of help and soil to reach the “soil” which was clay. Within two years I had the most fantastic soil in the neigborhood and the most exquisite flower gardens. I had no idea what I was doing, what any terms were but had the most fun raising kids, bringing frogs, flowers, herbs, birds and butterflies into our neighborhood.

[@cpnotill9264]

@@bushveldkid7640 Love that Lydia! Win win for all involved! 🌱👍😁

[@pawel19677]

Thanks for fresh view on permaculture, and some new knowledge on this topic. Keep going :)

[@brianbyrne7506]

Fern Gully references are a must I do believe!! I’m sure it’s written somewhere!! ❤

[@southernvtgrown]

Ty for the content and bringing a smile to my day. Much love from Vermont friend

[@TheLowCashHomestead]

Some soil disturbance is required. I think of it as the same general concept aa running a core aerator or Spike aerator over your lawn to help it grow and drain

[@paxtianodirtfrog8947]

Good job on the intro, looked like the critter was jamming out with its flagella. You covered a lot here and glad you had the nerve to tackle a tough subject. You brought up a cool subject that about what the Europeans found when the showed up to the scene. I've uncovered some cool stuff about this in a book called "1492".

[@notillgrowers]

Great book! Another one is “Tending the Wild”

[@paxtianodirtfrog8947]

@@notillgrowers Thanks, Ill check that out too.

[@sweetbfarms7846]

Great series! Super helpful! Thanks!

[@arturbatista1095]

Great content, nice to see every time more content on breaking new ground. So jealous of that dark soil and to see that broad fork just penetrating the grassland.. I've lost countless hours and headaches on considering the farming potential of a plot with a caliche hardpan at 10 inches deep in a semi-arid climate. I add compost and end up with 15 inches of usable soil but cucurbits and nightshades seem to come to a bit of a stop after 2 months.

[@tracycrider7778]

Maybe do an Olla watered or wicking watered for them?

[@Lawiah0]

Broadfork like no one's watching.

[@C.Hawkshaw]

i had no idea that using the broadfork was a controversial procedure!

[@DonnaMM6361]

Very cute! 💃

[@DonnaMM6361]

​@C. Hawkshaw Lawiah was making a joke. It is a take off of "Dance like no one is watching!" 😊

[@AcornFox]

@Donna that phrase comes from the fact that dancing has been banned in past societies, and some people feel embarrassed or ashamed when dancing in front of others. You may have seen Footloose, that was based on a real dancing ban in the bible belt that lasted 80 years. there have been several others. So yeah, it was a play on that, but also playing on the idea that some people might get a little dogmatic about the “no till” idea and resist tillage when only tillage will do

[@ClayborneJames]

LOL. I should have waited a week before I asked about potatoes... This one hit personally and was great. Thank you for the knowledge and presentation.

[@loganl7547]

An important note whenever analyzing the impact of humans on the planet is magnitude.... 10,000 years ago humans could have all driven around in their own private coal powered trains everywhere they went and the impact on the environment wouldn't have been even 1/10th of what it is for even 4 billion of us to drive around in near zero emissions (electric) cars. The same can be said for soil disturbance, a population of 500,000 people spread out over the entirety on the United States could essentially do anything they wanted to the soil or forests, or whatever and not have to worry about consequences because they just weren't doing it at the same scale that 350 million people can. This in my mind is the heart of the need to change, it's not that "what we were doing was inherently bad" it's that we can't afford to do it anymore because we just have to do it too often and at too large of a scale for the planet to continue to roll with the punches.

[@t4cchi]

Thanks for talking about the Rotifers a bit more. i also keep hearing that too many Cillia might be a sign of anaerobic activity and my air-rated compost tea I find a lot of cillia, some rotifers and some vorticella even. Awesome to see some microscope footage! Maybe extend the series with more of those details. "@journey to the microcosmos" had an episode about soil microorganisms, but not how they relate to soil health the way that you (we) are looking into.

[@notillgrowers]

We’ll definitely be doing more stuff on microbes/microscopy soon!

[@patrickmortenson4266]

I'm sorry, very important question from a fellow market gardener- Where did you source that huge stand up auger drill bit and how did you fix it to fit in the chuck of your drill? I use a smaller one, but to be able to stand up while doing it..🔥

[@constanzapadilla9074]

was wondering the same!

[@ryanwillett728]

Request: you've often mentioned sweet alyssum, can you discuss it in particular at some point? Purpose? reseeding issues? Benefits? Draw backs?

[@notillgrowers]

I can l do that at some point. Really love it

[@TheEmbrio]

I really enjoy your style !

[@ryanwillett728]

Fantastic in-depth discussion... soo much packed into such a short video.

[@peterellis4262]

To redefine "tillage" as synonymous with "disturbance" is such a disservice to communication. Tillage is a specific, narrow subset of disturbance.

[@charleffingwell8175]

I have a question for you Jesse… I recently bought land in the Pacific Northwest with the intention to garden… after the fact, I realized that much of the land is covered in invasive horsetail. How would you go about prepping a garden space in this situation?

[@suffolkshepherd]

Does your book discuss organic pest control?

[@EDLaw-wo5it]

Yes it does. I highly recommend you get the book. I bought mine 3 months ago and I read it continually. It is a textbook on gardening and not just market gardening. I just have 900 Sq. BudFt.and it applies to us smaller gardeners as well. Havagudun

[@johnrosier1686]

I have just moved to a new location in the Midwest. I am going to be starting a big garden from scratch. At what point do I want to cover the lawn with a tarp to kill off the grass?

[@sbffsbrarbrr]

If you are able to get your hands on a lot of cardboard, It would be much better to cover the areas with cardboard, wet down the cardboard then cover with compost. Woodchips (which you can get for free from almost any tree service) for the pathways. I have taken out over half of my suburban lawn and turned much of it into garden beds. All I've ever used is cardboard, compost (or garden soil) and wood chips to start. The cardboard method (or the tarp) can be used anytime but I usually cover a new area in the fall and it's ready to plant in the spring. Good luck with your new garden 😊

[@darrentinker2209]

Jesse, great video again . I'm really enjoying this series. Question left of field , what microscope did you use for your soil shots ? Your book arrived yesterday looking forward to reading it , keep up the gret job Darren, Queensland Australia

[@notillgrowers]

I have two microscopes, one for photography and one for the field. The field one is affordable and easy to use--a Motic m2250. The one I use for photography is a Motic Panthera C2, trinocular. Really amazing but not cheap. I have an adapter for my camera as well, which is likewise not cheap, but I wanted to be able to share my compost tea work, etc with y'all so we went for it!

[@rebeccawatson9284]

Fern gully is awesome!

[@Greens5511]

Great info

[@michaelkelly7932]

In the Southern Arizona Desert (averaging 15" of annual precipitation, 50% summer/50% winter) , I have clay soil so compacted I can (and do in certain spots) drive a 40,000 vehicle over it and not leave tire tracts. My remediation is to power auger the top 8-12" set that soil aside, and then auger a pilot hole with a 4" Auger bit before changing to a 12" bit to auger an additional 5 foot in depth, rinse and repeat. Then back fill in reverse order and supplement as recommended by the soil test. My Questions: Has anyone else ever done this? Does Auguring count as "Tilling"? What possible problems should I watch out for making the ground permeable to that depth.

[@uncommoncents2152]

This is what Sunday mornings are made for

[@davidwille7103]

Hey! Watch how ya talk about Rotifers... I''m formally engaged to one!

[@Big-Char.]

I find myself smoking a lot of pot when I'm watching these.

[@trentkotch2511]

Thank you! I'm curious about your process/thoughts of opening up a new bed. Specifically one dominated by grass and not just the short rooted suburban turf but and oldfield with much larger crowns and deeper root structure?

[@notillgrowers]

Did you get the book? I have a whole chapter on breaking ground because it’s a huge topic!

[@sblack2323]

@@notillgrowers found the book really helpful on this topic.

[@trentkotch2511]

@@notillgrowers yep. Apologies, I should have been much more specific. (Morning, lack of coffee, little sleep all leading to the very bad habit of expecting everyone can read my mind) Please let me try again: is mechanical tillage followed by deep mulch enough to deal with intense perennial grasses, weeds, saplings? Page 40 you suggest amendments before mechanical tillage. Would you have done occulation before that even though the mowed grass crowns and oldfield surface would give a very bumpy ground . Pg 97 about tarps not working well (quickly) on such surface. Page 46, you talk about a process you would have done if you could do it over. With lots of grass and perennial weeds would you do a period of Occulation after the tiller (flatter cleaner surface) before the deep mulch to deal with those disturbed rhizomes and seeds? Am I reading to much into the tarp concern or tillage is enough? And finally at the end of that 2nd sentence on doing it over when you say planting into the deep mulch are you broadcasting a cover crop on top (still good germination?), drilling into the soil underneath, or just using transplants? Thanks. I do realize you can't address everyone specifically.

[@annburge291]

@@trentkotch2511 try out all your suggestions and let us know your results. What works often depends on soil type (new clays, old clays, washed out clays, contaminated clays), the amount of rainfall or watering system and what type of humic acid and soil biology you can add or is established. There are so many variables.

[@notillgrowers]

AH okay. There is no perfect formula because everyone's grasses/perennials are different and behave differently based on length of season, warmth, moisture. But essentially, for tough grasses, I think using the tarp as much and for as long as possible is ideal, and then just staying on those weeds when you see them. So one possibility is to mow, lay down compost, till in organic matter/rock amendments, form beds, tarp for several months if possible, then add cardboard and compost. The compost alone won't fully suffocate the grasses. You could also add compost before tarping, if you'd like, but I find the tarp is less effective that way. If you can sneak a cover crop in (drilled in), even better! Hope that helps!

[@user-account-not-found]

lol you said do do, subscribed!

[@benvoliothefirst]

Came for the science, stayed for the dad jokes.

[@ReefHermit]

Getting really nerdy . . . . 1 inch of rain on an acre would only exert 0.05 psi. A 170 Lb “person” would exert 1.2 psi.

[@jatollar]

The impact of the droplets is probably what compacts the soil.

[@jamestriplett790]

Where did you get the greenhouse plastic? How long does it last?

[@notillgrowers]

I got this from farmers friend with the tunnels. minimum of 4 years, after which point it gets used for solarization.

[@TheLowCashHomestead]

I thought the green ring I had on my finger help summon Captain Planet but instead it brought the Lantern Corps

[@heritagefamilydental]

Where can I buy a no till growers Hat?

[@TheMujiFuji]

Ditto....Time for more hats Farmer Jesse!

[@notillgrowers]

soon y'all!

[@MrNosajwhitey]

New project for me make myself a broad fork

[@daviddroescher]

No till in the desert = no good life. My recently acquired plot had a root cellar that was filled in about 20yr ago. This intensely tilled soil is the only unstressed portion of the grass a wonderful deep green reminiscent of a golf corse. At the edge of the old celler is a distinctive line where the grass browns and thins out like there is a hole in the sprinklers spray patternthat needs desperate repair. The hole is inside-out it all gets the same amounts of water its a 120yr grassed soil microbiological Pyramid failure in the undisturbed soil.

[@ttb1513]

@6:00 I had not realized than anaerobes denitrified the soil. Good to know.

[@krzysztofflis1847]

❤

[@oliverrasmussen4777]

Controversial stuff

[@notillgrowers]

😬

[@Nurse_Nuggets]

Be wary of purists towards any one method or strategy for anything in life. They’re usually the ones who think they’ve got it all figured out. But they don’t.

[@tarjei99]

I googled potatoes and loosen soil today. I hit paydirt : It is not only Norwegians that grows potatoes to prepare the soil for crops. I followed my mother's advice (not really believing) when planting around her berry bushes and got a very loose soil when the potatoes was harvested. It really worked as advertised. I have seen similar claims for tomatoes, but I'm unable to verify.

[@notillgrowers]

Hi, so my experience with potatoes in compacted soil is simply poorly performing potatoes with very little if anything in the way of decompaction. Also rot of the original seed can be an issue. Potatoes grow laterally so perhaps Sweet potatoes (as they grow down into the soil) may be a better option but again, the performance will be hindered.

[@tarjei99]

It may depend on what you give them to work with. I just used a spade, tilt it forward and dropped the potato in. When I came back a few months later, the soil was very loose. It may be that the type of soil will influence the result. The more clay, the worse the result. It may be that the spade created the cracks the potato needed to work with. There are two types of growing pattern for potatoes. Determinate (laterally) and indeterminate. It depends on the potato type. Google for difference. There are some experiments done which indicates that the potatoes does not loosen the soil downwards. The synopsis I read didn't say if the potatoes were of the determinate or indeterminate type. If you grow in a barrel, you want indeterminate potatoes. I just sold my cabin, so I can't experiment any more. I really want to try this with tomatoes.

[@slimdibblerfarm521]

yesss dogmatism can be death of progress

[@pyramidion5911]

If you want to till that's cool just change the channel name

[@notillgrowers]

Awesome. Thanks for this. If anyone is reading through the comments this is the type of arbitrary dogma I reference. 👆

[@ericfulda4196]

Jesse . . An ad popped up selling herbiside Atrazine - Is this organic or recommended for NoTillGrowers? I doubt it . . so Ill just ignore and understand you don't have control of some of the advertisers posted. LOVE THE SERIES and will be buying the book. Description View product details Preemergence and Post emergence herbicide that controls many annual broadleaf weeds and grasses in corn, sorghum, sugarcane, and other labeled crops. Contains atrazine, the active ingredient found in Aatrex® 4L Herbicide.

[@mekaremaurin8580]

I finally ordered my book. Yay!!!