Use Cover Crops & Never Fertilize Again!

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Learn all about how ‪@DiegoFooter‬ changed his soil from hardpan rocky clay to 12% organic matter in a matter of 6 years. We go deep into cover cropping and natural methods of building incredible soil.
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[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

🌟NAR EMAIL LIST (My Exclusive Farming Tips) - bit.ly/2PO0ZTf 🌟Free Digital Garden Planner & Calendar + $5 in Seeds - bit.ly/402CNRj 🌟Excellent cover crop seed mix to enhance your soil - bit.ly/35bs36J

[@johndeggendorf7826]

One thing I’ve learned after binge watching these kinds of videos (and a lot of sweat): Farmers are a lot SMARTER than most people think. There is real wisdom that comes from working with the soil, learning from nature, and patience. What Diego said about building UP has been my resolve. Work, use what you’ve got, be patient, be future oriented, and enjoy the process. Thanks 🙏. Awesome content.

[@johndeggendorf7826]

...I totally agree! ;)

[@freegandavehartman8908]

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” - Chinese Proverb

@R H totally agree with you! i have on in my garden, is an amazing tree

[@bmzaron713]

Niiice

[@Horse237]

I would try the following with poor compacted soil: 1) Use steel one time to break up compacted soil. 2) Add compost, leaves, earthworms and compost tea. Drench the soil several times with compost tea. Add basalt rock dust. Dr Arden Andersen MD also has a PhD in biophysics. He says it is paramagnetic meaning it responds to magnetism. It gives the plants more energy which increases their growth rate and decreases their growing season. 3) Simultaneously, I would build a Johnson Su bioreactor. I would like to get some starter compost from a bioreactor at least a year old. Older if they use a lot of wood chips due to the high fiber content. I would also build Red Wiggler worm bins. Give them rock dust, sterilized egg shells, coffee grounds and seaweed. Worms turn the chitin into the enzyme chitinase which devours the exoskeletons of aphids. 4) Plant comfrey at my borders to use as mulch and compost. Comfrey attracts minerals. Excellent green for compost. Great mulch. The idea is to get as much photosynthesis from plants as possible. To do that you need trace minerals. For example, manganese is needed for hydrolysis to split H20 into H and OH. Thus the need for that rock dust. Other trace minerals needed will be Boron, Cobalt, Sodium. Plus N,P and K. Most plants can produce three times as much sugars from photosynthesis as they do normally. All that carbon builds up soil biology. All those coffee grounds produce Nitrogen as does those cover crops. But this N is eaten by soil biology including earthworms or was added from the Red Wigglers and the bins has been transformed into an amino acid. Plants have 10,000 enzymes. Humans have 75,000 enzymes. Ideally, your plants never see Ammonia or any liquid nitrates but only amino acids. This saves your plants from expending energy making their own amino acids. Liquid N runs out and contaminates ground water. It also attracts insects as many pests cannot digest completed proteins. At this point, your plants will have enough energy to make lipids which repel other insects and diseases. Lipids give the crops a healthy shine. And they make excellent forage for animals. They eat less because they go for the most nutrient dense grasses in the field in their first swing through the paddock. In the paddock system, the animals only graze a small area and are moved to another paddock. Good forage has 3 to 4 times the protein and lipids of commercial farms. Healthy organic crops have been passed over by locusts in Africa because they cannot digest healthy plants with lots of proteins and oils. I have been studying for the past two years. No financing yet for a market garden. What we need is for a series of gardeners on KZbin to build Johnson Su Bioreactors and give starter compost to make compost tea. You are supposed to give the Bioreactor compost pile a gallon of water every day. I would give it that much starter compost tea every day for 4 or 5 days after the pile has cooled down on day 5 or 6. Each Master Gardener could be a source of knowledge and compost and compost teas. They might even make bulk purchases so smaller farms could a discount on rock dust. Or have so many worm castings that they could sell them. I found a place that sells basalt rock dust for as little as $65 a ton in bulk. See this for details on what advanced farming looks like. kzbin.info/www/bejne/emLae5iclquljKs These people do not use a Johnson Su Bioreactor and do not have worm bins producing N and S amino acids. Though they would have plenty of worms in a No Till garden.

[@thatamerican3187]

Cover with Black Plastic for the winter. 5-6 months. You can put manure down before you cover but it isn't necessary. Come Back in the Spring. You will have a foot of Dark Topsoil Full Of Worms. Add Compost as needed.

[@Horse237]

@@thatamerican3187 Did you examine your soil under a microscope to determine soil biology after 6 months under a tarp?

[@thatamerican3187]

@@Horse237 Not a Tarp. Black Plastic. I dug a bunch of it up. very easy to dig. The Black loamy soil went down about 2 feet. It was full of worms. Smelled nice a loamy. This in South New Jersey. The Soil there is basically sand. so I was quite surprised when it turned out like it did. Grew the Best tomatoes and other veggies I had ever grown in that garden. The Next year i covered it with manure, then black plastic. Same great results., Same great veggies.

[@liquidmocofilmsllc4915]

Why would you add basalt to compacted soil?

[@KGzSUPREME]

There’s a big ditch in my backyard me and my dad just threw logs, dries up leaves, grass clippings and whatever else in there. We weren’t turning it or anything. Just started doing that and it looks and smells good can see plenty of worms. Also got some mushrooms over the fall which was cool.

[@emanonymous]

that's the guy that introduced me to neversink farms! i love this emerging community among farmers- in other business ventures people hide their techniques but in regenerative agriculture people are making detailed youtube vids

[@johndeggendorf7826]

...right on. People gotta eat. It’s not about profit. These guys are more like a brotherhood.

[@FOR8YESHUA]

Nature's Always Right + Cover Crops to fertilize is Old School taught in Permaculture. It's awesome, and this is a valuable video that farmers should watch. Thanks for sharing. It's good to see Diego's growth over the years of observing his channel.

[@cpnotill9264]

Good reminders of what can be done using cover crops and I'm a big fan of using them. Love Diego's work and thanks for sharing Steven! 👍🌱

[@garymehalick530]

This is the first time in a multitude of videos that someone actually says what to do with a cover crop after it's grown. Thank you.

[@wildedibles819]

Building the soil is the way to go forward and can be done at anytime all these natural ways are the best ways to build fertility :)

[@toxicrune]

Diego is awesome. Thanks for posting

[@VastCNC]

Love Diego Footer. If he writes a book I'd read the crap out of it.

[@wildedibles819]

Ive been exploring this in my garden...i chop and drop or pinch and drop....or pull and drop my weeds or things ive planted I pull only when I'm trying to get rid of it Im also using more and more mulches But yes if i composted it i would have less bug problems but my gardens are building soil in place Some plants I compost and add back as a mulch finished But when i have say lambs quarters or dandelion that pull nutrients or clovers I want to keep this biology in the soil where it is Many cover crops make great nurse plants taking care of our plants as they grow Im making more notes on this this year Perfect example im growing beans around my corn and the beans shade the soil at the corns feet but adding to the fertility like the clover is doing around my carrots This if i need to cut back a bit i chop some back and cover bare ground around it or around struggling plants Its been interesting making notes with you garden journals have gone to new levels ;) We need to be thinking about planting our weeds

[@SamHasPlans]

Wow this is a truly beautiful garden! Two months for those big gorgeous mustard plants! True soil! C:

[@billherrick3569]

excellent video. grow your own mulch - mulch - mulch.

[@PermaPen]

Love it! Diego is far ahead of me, but this is my path, too. Little or no inputs except fertility I can create on-site.

[@ChrisWRR]

I recently decided this is my path as well. Everything I do is one step towards starting my own market garden one day

[@tomfisher3117]

Hi Diego, thanks for another great video. I'm faced with a bit of a dilemma. I planted a cover crop in my garden beds. Right now they are about 10" tall. After planting and germination, I found a source for leaves so I ordered 18 cubic feet of leaves for my 1100 sq. ft. garden. I have pretty good soil, originally hard clay, as I have taken care of it for years. So, here's my dilemma: Although I am composting a good portion of the leaves, I still have probably 12-15 cubic yards of shredded (once) leaves to deal with. I was thinking about putting the rest of my shredded leaves on my garden walks, letting the cover crop grow in my beds until, terminating it in the spring. Then I could rake shredded leaves onto my beds after I plant. My second option would be to terminate my cover crop right now and cover the beds with shredded leaves. Which option would you choose?

[@bmzaron713]

Great video guys.. Thanks so much for sharing.. Yeah let nature do as much work as it can and those great tips about cover crops and leaf mold fertilizers/ microorganism solutions in other videos

[@niekhue4981]

Thank you. I'll try to do this with my coffe farm.

[@BroDudeBruh]

I loved this. Starting from scratch on 10 acres and will have to bring compost in at first but plan to be there long term. So 5 years not too bad.

[@MrFarva85]

Everyday Abundance Check out 'Johnson Su bioreactor' here on youtube. 10 acres is the dream, good luck!

[@johndeggendorf7826]

And then you’ll be the guy passing on your wisdom.

[@busyrand]

Beautiful Mustard Greens... I'd love to grow them to eat. That's amazing they're huge enough to chop and compost.

[@GardeningCare]

Like 3 👍👍 Very beautiful home garden dear friend thanks 🤗🤗👌👌🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@brandonhirdler]

Excellent video thank you so mich

[@smurfiennes]

My garden soil is clay and very hard. I don’t do anything much but pruning here and there, but they always grow well. In the future I would like to plant fruits and vegetables like beans, peppers, etc. besides flowers.

[@thomasa5619]

Thanks for posting a winter video during Southern Hemisphere winter No one else does, they all just like “you should’ve don’t this 6 months ago and going to forget in the next 6”

[@robertjackson1407]

Thank you 😊

[@richstone2627]

Diego is the man.

[@nygrlinnv]

What do you suggest a good cover crop would be to use in the Las Vegas soil in zone 9a? There's a lot of caliche in the soil and it's sandy and a bit clayish. I want to remove the rocks and create a cover crop on the entire area.

[@compiticny1445]

HAve not been able to get the DW to allow me to turn the lawn into a garden though I have been expanding my beds every year. I compost a large amount of material (gathered from neighbors, coffee shops, etc) use the "excess" mulch to topdress my lawn so I do not use fertilizer nor water the grass as much as my neighbors. Besides I am looking forward to when I decide, with the DW's permission, to complete the entire transformation.

[@magnoliamanor6071]

when you build up on a slope, do you start from the top and work down? or from the bottom work up? #ThanksForTheInspiration

[@4g63spdfreak]

any recommendations on where to send soil to get tested here locally in La mesa/Spring valley

[@feralkevin]

What is the status of your move to Tennessee?

[@michaelripperger5674]

What is the best organic soil test ?

[@demarcusshipman6537]

I would like to see the soil test & see what he is testing for! Is it basic NPK or is all the major & minor minerals being tested for? Just bc things grow & are green doesn’t mean anything chemical farmers get the same results. I want a method that gives the food the highest nutritional content not just looks & growth. Test the plants to see how much nutrition they have compared to other methods.💯

[@peaceandlove5214]

What covercrop plants you can grow for seeds or grains and still can get many cuttings to feed your livestock?

[@henrystyle4879]

That's Deer food where I live. I would need to fence that whole property off. What's the best cover crop for a container plant?

[@nickgallant5778]

Can you use these as cover crop for mango trees ? I’ve heard they don’t like too much nitrogen

[@lynapidblog7707]

Amazing crop

[@samuelgamato971]

Diego's voice sounds like Pete Kanaris' 😀

[@mkshffr4936]

Do you have a video where you explain why you don't chop and drop?

[@paulbraga4460]

does Diego discuss this at more length somewhere else? there are soils that really lack certain minerals. the idea is cover crops and indeed all plants make minerals available, so a beneficial cycle begins that is, for all intents and purposes, perpetual

[@allenmarquez8805]

Great video! Impressive! Try to use the names of months instead of saying Winter or 2 months ago to create a frame of reference. Just a suggestion.

[@Mike_in_Thailand]

You are forgetting that some people may be in a different hemisphere...december is winter in the North, summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so saying the seasons is better.

[@Ukepa]

really good video! reach a point of perpetual motion... now see what you can get out without degrading the system.

[@sandeepverma7050]

Super

[@thatamerican3187]

They grow Better, They Taste Better, And they have 10 times the Vitamins and Nutrients. If you have never had Tomatoes grown in a garden like the one described here you have never had tomatoes.

[@BEYOUTOTHEFUL]

URGENT... HI THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT . DO YOU KNOW IF THERE IS SOMETHING THE FARMER IN THE USA CAN USE SINCE FERTILIZER THEY CAN USE FOR THIS YEAR BEING THAT FERT IS EITHER EXPENSIVE OR NOT AVAILABLE AT ALL... SO WE DONT HAVE TO HAVE SHORTAGES WHICH WILL RESULT IN STARVATION. IS THERE SOMETHING THEY CAN USE FOR NOW SO WE CAN THEN HAVE TIE TO THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE RIGHT NOW TIME S OF THE ESSENCE. THANK YOU ANGELA

[@larryconover3925]

I live in so cal also. once the mustard seeds are planted how often do you need to water, before we get our "winter" rains??

[@DiegoFooter]

Daily’ish depending on how warm it is until they are established.

[@idiocracy10]

I wonder how much value that adds to your resale value, like can you directly quote " x cubic feet of garden beds with 12% organic matter etc..." and that instantly command a certain premium when you go to sell your house.

[@johndeggendorf7826]

Good point.

[@thomasa5619]

How many people value that though? Myself 6 weeks ago “and? What’s that mean” myself now “I’d like to SEE what that means”

[@shaungarbry88]

Did I understand correctly, you added (built up) 3-4 feet of good planting soil on top of the ground in 6 or 7 years?

[@DiegoFooter]

Brought in that much to level it out.

[@MatthewELyons-yq7jd]

Look into "green manure"

[@SudeeshSubramanian]

I think the whole point of gardening is to reach a point where you just sow the seeds and the plants take care of themselves, thereafter

[@DiegoFooter]

In our dreams. 😉

[@pingpong9656]

Is it not the muni compost in 3 to 4 feet depth that is giving the good soil as opposed to the cover cops?

[@richards5110]

The cover crops are for maintaining the healthy soil he's built. Talked about directly in the video.

[@qri3522]

Is this a solution to the global fertilizer shortage? Can cover crops replace fertilizer?

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Yes that is one of many solutions available.

[@ebenburger111]

So perhaps now u only need a variety of cover crops to incorporate a variety of greens into ur compost pile.

[@secondnuts]

Why not let the mustard seed it self out again? Wouldnt it regrow the next year?

[@TheChmaran]

Here is the answer for your question I think kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYrEpYiCqcl1i7cm50s

[@DiegoFooter]

I might not always want mustard in that same spot and it is easier to control by just seeding it.

[@ninograndjean9618]

Where is his carbon, for composting? I really like his method, but if you dont have a Leafs in fall, u can't really compost, right? Or Maybe i missed something :)

[@richards5110]

Many cover crops have a carbon to nitrogen ratio close to ideal for composting without any additional material added. You don't NEED a dedicated carbon source for composting, especially if the materials are self-balanced for it. That said, he does add things like chicken bedding to his bins.

[@ninograndjean9618]

@@richards5110 Ok thanks, never heard about that. But i can imagine it works. My phacelia cover crop also turned, sort of into hay, earlier this year.

[@erbauungstutztaufgnade1875]

👍🏼

[@dredank]

Sold on radish

[@CaptainCrunchyBits]

Mustard changes soil pH as it prefers a very acidic environment. Because many other crops prefer closer to neutral pH, newer studies actually do not recommend using mustard as cover crop anymore

[@DiegoFooter]

Where did you read that mustard changes the soil pH significantly enough to not justify use? I can't seem to find that data.

[@amandadavis5367]

Does it make it make it more or less acidic?

[@dredank]

What if u cant build up because its not a raised bed

[@stevekent3991]

If you have compacted soil, you can initially double dig as per the Grow Biointensive system. Alternatively sow tillage crop like Daikon radish, let the roots break up the soil. Grow anything you can. In my experience, it’s preferable to build up. Far easier than the effort required to double dig as well as the hassle of dealing with all the weeds which germinate from double dig, let nature do the digging. Whichever method you use to deal with the problem, it’s ideal to dedicate some land to grow crop purely to create biomass for composting. Gardening/farming really begins when you change your mindset to prioritise the task of creating and maintaining soil life. I love composting, one of my favourite hobbies. Compost should be your biggest and most important harvest every year followed by seed harvest and then fruit and veg. Most gardeners have that priority list the other way round.

[@jakep8678]

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now - the terminator

[@pallabsamanta3884]

Wait wait

[@JenniferMoleski]

Diego kind of looks like Stefan Molyneux.

[@kajallison8896]

Aren’t you just taking the nutrients out of the soil and then putting it back?

[@DiegoFooter]

Some, sure. But you are also adding a lot of carbon to the soil in the form of root exudates and the roots themselves when the crops are terminated. A lot of soil scientists would argue that the crop is more valuable when it is growing than what you do with it afterward. These are beds that would have otherwise been fallow, so the idea is that growing something in them is better than letting them sit.

[@dijonrice8792]

Let them reseed collect the seeds send then you can save them and not have to buy seeds and not have any imputs

[@almostoily7541]

I didn't catch what type of mustard he's growing, but some are patented for cover crops and you legally can't collect the seed. But, I think he just doesn't want to have to deal with it sprouting up when he's trying to grow other things in that area.

[@jonbanner5823]

Wasn't Diego just showing us a few months back how to use chemical fertilizers to boost soil fertility in one of his shows? Sorta the reason why I don't trust any soil tests

[@DiegoFooter]

Yes, but that was in a totally different area and I clearly explained why I was using it in that area. :)

[@jmaiatrader2925]

I really don't want to be rude but somebody has great growing nutrients on their eyebrows.