The Science of Soil Health: What Happens When You Till?

When we use tillage, the soil ecosystem is disturbed on a massive scale. Purdue's Dr. Eileen Kladivko contrasts natural ecosystems with tilled systems and describes what we stand to lose when soils are tilled.
Dr. Eileen Kladivko is a professor of Agronomy at Purdue University's College of Agriculture in West Lafayette, Indiana. She holds a master's degree in Agronomy from the same school, and a PhD in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin. She is currently focusing her research work on environmental quality maintenance and agricultural sustainability, and she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in soil physics.
To learn more about soil health: ow.ly/uvNvI

[@karenm2791]

Wow, I just got a reply to a comment from 6 years ago. A lot has changed in the small-scale veg world! There are several books about no-till market gardening (Andrew Mefford's for one, and Daniel Mays's for another), there's an excellent no-till market garden podcast - and its host Jesse Frost has a book coming out this year... Many farms give workshops and online classes (Singing Frogs Farm, which I already knew did no-till as I had visited with a junior college ag class years before, does)

[@kaidenlancaster]

Now its eight years! ❤ ❤

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Quick survey yesterday, every field in about a 25 mile stretch had been worked this fall😢

[@armchairgeneral7557]

Yes, because there is this perspective the lady put forth, then there is reality. If farmers can save money no-till and bE profitable they would do it. Why spend all that money on gas, equipment, salaries turning over soil if this lady was correct? The thing is, she makes it sound so simple and it isn’t. She doesn’t talk about effects of compaction. She doesn’t talk about soil types. She doesn’t talk about a lot of things. Just so you know, farmers care deeply about soil. They make their living off it so they put in practices to protect it. If this lady had to make a living on farming rather than getting paid by a university, do you think she would listen to her own advice? Nope!

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Indeed. Science doesn’t care about our prosperity, only we do. Covid taught us this. The consumer has to figure-out how to compensate producers who do the right thing, and separate those who are good stewards from the plight. The future is in the former.

[@karenm2791]

I'd like to see examples of small-scale veg/fruit production using no-till, please (check back with me in a year to see if I've tried it, lol)

[@Loopdeloop419]

+Karen M Did you attempt a no till method this past year??

[@FrankEdavidson]

Plenty other videos on it.

[@ellanola6284]

Here is a video from two well known no dig experts.kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4POfZ-glMihn6M

[@karenm2791]

@@Loopdeloop419 I have kind of given up on having a market garden any time soon (or from this property). I hoe the grass/weeds off, put out compost, water with drip tape (and a watering can as it's hard to get past the hydrophobia of the plants), and dig my planting hole by hand. I really don't have much time to be in the garden, and I have arthritis and other physical stuff, and I'm really anxious about the soil "dusting up" if I do this work in the wind. Gotta go wash dishes and water the greenhouse! Oh, PS, I haven't tested the soil in 6 years and it is long past time!

[@karenm2791]

@@ellanola6284 thanks, Ella. I pretty much never watch farming videos, though.

[@thevangoghlavenderexperien938]

Is this for commercial growers? There is no reference point as to what alternatives are appropriate. What is the recommended alternative to tillage?

[@FrankEdavidson]

Yes and for allotments and gardens. Alternatives are cover crops(green manures) e.g mustard, phacelia, clovers, vetch, rye, fodder radish, fodder turnips, root chicory. Increases the soil macro/meso/micro biology, lifts and fixes nutrients, makes them available to plants. Mow. Roll it in. Whatever's best for sowing your cash crop after. By all means till in loads of organic matter, without such matter the soil is easily damaged and hardpans develop which are really difficult to come back from.. There are plenty videos online what to do in farming and horticultural contexts, so you don't need spoon fed with links. You knew that though.

[@SamStone1964]

Mulch

[@andrewnichols1240]

so many aspects, yes? to keep recycling every year's leftovers back into our mothers eco. kitchen we need a bit more than the surface area to incorporate vast amt. of organic matter. and because this break down process offers more than just fiber to enhance soil structure, we need to put that bio. break down phenomena a bit deeper to retain expelling nitrogen (+) gasses protein. turning under leftovers is ok naturally if just nature was the sole beneficiary a small kitchen be adequate but our human push for huge production in restricted plot means a bit more depth to incorporate man's instinctive obsessions.

[@sussextiger]

Tillage emits masses of co2

[@uksquall]

No, the lack of tilling ensures that CO2 is sequestered via crops and promotes rainfall. Youre not wrong but youre making the wrong point.

[@ellei56847]

I mean, we just don't till every year.

[@monsmash9879]

plz emphasize "CO2 emissions" at the end

[@southernboyprepper3252]

Oh my. You are alive today because someone way back in the past tilled ground. Give it a break with the CO2

[@mbburry4759]

Why is the plow seen as one of humans greatest inventions if we never needed it in the first place?

[@maxwellfairfield888]

Early farms needed it to break up the soil because most natural crops grew stronger in the native ground then say wheat. They grew deeper and came back stronger even after you cut down wild grass. So planting over wild crops would cause wild grass to sprawl up into your crop if you didn’t till. I think they are saying that tilling soil you’ve already farmed that isn’t wild is bad and you shouldn’t do it. Again I could be wildly wrong if someone has a correction to my comment I’d happily remove or alter what I just said.

[@ac1143]

Ironic how many people are concerned about the carbon dioxide, but appear to be spending their time on KZbin producing nothing lol

[@Reotha]

😂spoilt brats