When the Rain Won't Drain

In this video I talk about discovering a really poorly drained plot on our garden and discuss: how to manage poorly drained soils, farming on clay, managing compacted soils, how compaction and poor drainage affect photosynthesis, what poorly drained soils do to plants, living pathways, raised beds, and more!
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[@cherylanon5791]

we have always used wood chips 25+ years in paths, turn them into beds every 3rd year...applied usual fresh chips last year; this past winter was extremely wet and this spring---omg---the entire garden 70 x 120 ft (plus other assorted berry patches) is a sopping mess. The ONLY places where the soil has drained sufficient to plant is where straw was used in the smaller pathways. Going forward, I am only going with straw, the woodchips for under the trees & berry patches. And yes, we do have organic source for the straw!

[@TheNorseTexan]

I love your videos where you start off talking about a problem you yourself experienced. So many of these farm videos lack the humility to admit "here's what we missed, here's what we're going to try, it probably won't work either, here's the next thing to try, we'll keep you posted..."

[@joshblick]

Great video. I'm in southern Indiana and I've thought about starting a "clay" farm it's so bad here. One of my biggest lessons was just looking at the soil out in the woods that has never been touched. It's beautiful dark loamy soil. Nothing like our yard or the field that was planted and stripped for years before we got it. It's almost like nature would fix it over time until some dumb human goes and tears it up. Hmmmmm

[@lucybrenton149]

When we bought our mini farm in Southern Indiana, my friends asked me what I intend to grow. My answer? Terra Cotta pots!

[@ulysseshamm6667]

I also live in southwest Indiana(gibson county) bought an old row crop field on a hill side and there is 0 topsoil. Barely any weeds would even grow. Started unrolling old rotten haybales(like Greg Judy) and having the local municipal drop off the leaves they collect in the fall. Installed silt fencing in the contours. Make 5x50' grass strips to get some good grasses going. Compaction is my biggest problem. Going to sub soil the property once it dries out. Where the bales were unrolled has good grass coming up(just unrolled them, didn't put any seed down first, using the seed stuck in the bale). Long way to go but at least it's going in the right direction.

[@stoamnyfarms]

I've been spreading out hay and seeding (Southern Indiana - Crawford county) on a tiny over used abandoned corn field that had blown up with cedars and broomsedge (only heavy clay left). It's finally starting to show life but it's slow. It's like planting on a tarp lol 😄

[@milesthompson6145]

im in the exact same location and situation

[@IncogNito-xx7to]

Hi from a clay filled yard in Tx. I have been advised by an old timer to add GYPSOM to sticky tacky clay to make it loosen up and be more like soil. The original “dirt” is black soil here, but due to neighbors sewer overflowing onto our side, and we got sick of it, many loads of clay brought the level up. Yes, we have called the county and the other legal entities here, but they are slow to respond. Anyway, GYPSOM will loosen it up, and you can do an experiment in a small area with a bag or two to prove it to yourself. I’m not sure about larger quantities, but you can do it with bags as much as you can afford and eventually get your whole yard done. 😀

[@mooneym.3642]

If there is a layer of sand not too deep under your land then I think vertical drainage might be a good option. In summary, what you do is make small bore holes through the clay and stabilize them with perforated pipes (i think 2" dia pipe should work) these are filled with gravel and coarse sand. Then you cap it at the top and leave it undisturbed. What it will do is it will provide the water stuck in/on clay with a fast path down. It should also treat sodic and saline conditions if any over time. It is also suitable for no till farmers because there will be no machinery to disturb the top ends and all the organic matter will absorb the nutrients and keep them absorbed and only the excess will wash down through the drain. The number of drains and the distance between them requires calculation which will change from soil to soil.

[@gmaster716]

What's up Jesse! I wish you luck brother! Just some ideas I run into this problem at work all the time here in Pennsylvania Besides building up add a combination of drainage amendments..bio char pre charged / soaked in your innocalunt Rice hulls, pumice, lava rock , 3/4 " clean stone, river jack rock ...etx .. Also maybe consider planting plants that are more tolerable to slow draining soils in the plot untill restored Another simple option might be to plant some huge willow trees to draw excess mositure from the ground near that drainage tile..or smaller grasses if blocking sunlight is an issue I use this technique with ortamental grasses as the tubers can break up clay and rejuvenate your compacted subsoil over a few seasons Daikon radishes also work really well also I'm sure your aware of these techniques thought I'd put it out there for other viewers. Enjoy your weekend I'm ordering your book Keep spreading wise words! Bill Aka Blueberry Bill

[@walterbunn280]

Interesting.... I live in western Oregon and water logging is a serious problem here. I'm watching this with some interest, but, just from what you've shown and what i've dealt with in my limited garden space, I have a suggestion: Don't build all the beds up. Drop some of the grow beds down, 6-9 inches. This provides some of the soil build up other beds, but, equally as important, it provides an area where water can run to. You then can use that bed to specifically plant water resistant/ boggy plants and adapt them to your yard. Radishes, chamomile, meadowfoam and asparagus all do well in bog. I think Asparagus would be especially useful here since it's a perennial, and the excavated bed is probably not going to fill in quickly or move around alot, making it's use somewhat fixed once it's installed. After that you could try throwing mushrooms at the problem. Getting mycelia to grow, especially if you've already got wood chips and are spraying compost tea, is actually pretty easy, but it may not be the major fix this seems like it needs. If you go this route, blenderize the mushroom and add it to the compost tea the night before spraying. Portobello/Cremini, King Stropharia, or Puffball mushrooms would be ideal for this. Puffball mushrooms need Alfalfa, clover, or a legume to really take hold in an area.

[@easybullet3]

nice to watch... (even that I dont do any gardening) it was still nice to watch someone talk about something they enjoy and know about

[@beckyjams]

I actually appreciated the clip of turning the compost pile at the end. Educational for me. So, thanks!

[@mikes3942]

On this one your pain is our gain. While I don't have this problem, it is great to see someone I respect dealing with it, and I suspect this will be a helpful resource for those that do.

[@enatp6448]

Thanks very much. This was super helpful. Got a way better understanding of things to try. I've got rocky, mucky, sludge. Good luck!

[@jamesedwards2687]

Youve answered a lot of questions ive had in my garden. Thanks for the tips.

[@Taylor-KY3G]

Great video as always. Glad the new place is working out, it looks like you e been there for years!

[@smhollanshead]

Here is Mother Nature’s rule: Plants up, water down. Get your plants up as high as you can. This means raised beds for gardeners or rowing your beds with deep furrows for farmers. The higher you get your plants off the ground the better drainage you will have. You have to give the water a place to go. Water runs downhill. Look at the grade of your plot, and row and channel the water downhill away from your plants. Next, allow for evaporation. The three big factors with evaporation are rain, sunlight, and wind. You can’t control the rain. You can expose the soil to sunlight and wind. If you have moist soil, do not use wood chips! Wood chips will prevent sunlight and wind from drying your soil. Wood chips will hold moisture. By the way, wind will dry the soil faster than sunlight. A strange but true fact. Lastly, consider a French drain. If you have low lying soil, a French drain may give the water a place to go.

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

Possibly also a rain garden, so extra water has a place to collect and then drain slowly without causing so many problems.

[@Skashoon]

I think Paul Gautschi would disagree with you as to the use of wood chips. Breaking down clay soil by using wood chips reduces compaction and he contends that it’s the BEST thing to use. Spread them 3-6” deep in the fall and in the spring, you’ll see much improved soil. Cover that with compost in the spring and plant directly into the soil by scraping back the wood chips. kzbin.info/aero/RDQMhm5AZZovQo0

[@smhollanshead]

@@Skashoon I agree with you that adding wood chips and any other organic material will improve the quality clay soil. My point is wood chips hold and absorb moisture. If you are trying to dry your soil, you would not cover the soil with wood chips and expect the water will evaporate. Rather, the wood chips act as a cover preventing evaporation, holding water, and even absorbing the water in your garden. Wood chips are great if there’s a drought. Wood chips are not so good if you want the water to evaporate and leave your garden.

[@carbonelectra6653]

@@smhollanshead The woodchip method is not designed to work immediately. It is to introduce the mycelium to the soil. It is a healthy fungus that helps connect and feed the roots of plants so they can reach deeper into the soil allowing drainage to happen from below. I can attest to the woodchip method as we had standing water on the side of our house. I dug a trench to the road to drain it but because the soil was the way it was, it still pooled. I put the woodchips down along with some grass clippings to add nitrogen back and now it is not standing water in my yard and grass is begining to thrive again. I am now going to do this with my garden next year as we get very heavy rains in the spring and droughts in the summer. Part of the reason it does work is because it holds moisture in the ground. You need that moisture to help create a healthy environment for roots and feed the worms that will work the soil for you.

[@luancastela9408]

I dont think its a good idea because if you expose the soil to sunlight, alot of volatile nutrients like Nitrogen will evaporate along with the water

[@johnmurphy2617]

Another more friendly option to help with drainage is subsoiling. We have a 4 foot subsoiler we use in spots on the farm with drainage issues!

[@texasgardenerrobert8341]

Love your videos. I’m glad to see you sharing with us again. We are on our third season at this place and I too am having drainage issues. Only happens in the spring and fall when we get the big rains. But it has ruined my potatoes. Green beans won’t sprout and my melons are just there. Im wondering what your doing with those galvanized pipes at the end of the video. Thanks.

[@plapbandit]

Needed this. My whole town is built on top of an old clay quarry

[@brucelind3678]

Try adding some rocks ie gravel with fines or glacial rock to water logged clay area. They will slowly dissolve in clay area over a couple of years and help with plant growth. My backyard was like that.. and over years of experimenting, this was the quickest way to re-soiling.. the plants really appeared to respond to the rocks; I planted wild grasses on paths in that area.. About every three years I added more rocks because they would dissolve.. each time, soil deepened.. and the need to repeat was reduced.

[@flatsville1]

Consider sorghum sudan grass as a cover crop to bust up compaction. There is a sterile variety if you're concerned you may miss cutting before it goes to seed. SARS has some recos on its sorghum sudan grass cover crop page as to height & timing of cutting to get good root infiltration & above ground biomass production. You could chop it for compost or dry it for a mulch. Grows big.

[@notillgrowers]

Absolutely! Just ordered some a couple weeks ago! Great cover crop

[@flatsville1]

@@notillgrowers Here's the link. www.sare.org/publications/managing-cover-crops-profitably/nonlegume-cover-crops/sorghum-sudangrass/ Excerpt - Subsoil aerator. Mowing whenever stalks reach 3 to 4 feet tall increases root mass five to eight times compared with unmowed stalks, and forces the roots to penetrate deeper. In addition, tops grow back green and vegetative until frost and tillering creates up to six new, thicker stalks per plant. A single mowing on New York muck soils caused roots to burrow 10 to 16 inches deep compared to 6 to 8 inches deep for unmowed plants. The roots of mowed plants fractured subsoil compaction with wormhole-like openings that improved surface drainage. However, four mowings at shorter heights caused plants to behave more like a grass and significantly decreased the mass, depth and diameter of roots (277, 450, 451).

[@kainproducks]

Would love to see video on harvesting and storage length or tips thanks for what you guys are doing!

[@lisadouglass1229]

The way you spit out facts like yesterday’s news😍also SUPER helpful video.

[@ColumbcilleDougherty]

My intention for living pathways is to use Irish moss, I feel it will be super manageable!

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Appreciate your honest videos😊

[@dandan8333]

I came back from abroad last sept and noticed a lot of erosion over my 18 acres farm, 2020 record rain fall. A new growing area in a pasture of ~5 acrea. This area was compacted clay that, was cut n dropped for ten years into a beautiful green field. First sub soiled knee deep to allow the water penetration deeper, letting it create a changed sub structure and removed saplings/roots. After tarping, cat tunnels will be erected within a short period of time, create compost bed including irrigation and more. With 250 ft out of the weather, it will be interesting to see how long for the worms to return. Whatever they're spraying in the skies, has everything growing twice as fast. No worries, it doesn't surprise me to miss a simple item as you explained! It's what we do to correct them... ? Those compacted layer are crazy on growing. A shortened summertime to grow, right or wrong, may we all enjoy a plentiful bounty. As for me at 66 and having a great time with nature trying to figure out the next steps of assisted growing... have a great day! TY

[@annedine2514]

Wow this is so informative thanks for the knowledge, I love this channel.

[@notillgrowers]

Super awesome to hear that!

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

We just bought a place that has roughly 12" of heavy clay soil and then BLAMMO, bedrock. So we'll be trying some different approaches to deal with drainage as well. I'd love to just bring in a couple hundred tons of compost/organic matter but since that's not feasible... swales, raised beds, different pathways like you've described, probably at least one small pond... etc. (the good news is, it all slopes slightly towards a creek... so it could definitely be worse.)

[@andresamplonius315]

Gypsum, biochar, Comfrey mulch

[@jbuck1975]

I'm dealing with same issues except mine doesn't slop towards a creek. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the land to help it

[@SimpleEarthSelfReliance]

Had this problem at our previous property as well. It gets to a point where, after several months of winter rain (500-600mm), the water will lie on top for weeks and eventually go anaerobic. Have several solutions to planting trees (raised) and veg beds (raised), but got a lot from this viddy. Good stuff, thanks for the posting.

[@notillgrowers]

Yeah, perennials are another option. I joked about turning this property into a u-pick blueberry and elderberry farm haha!

[@insidethegardenwall22]

@@notillgrowers Would that have been a good idea?

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

If you don't like plastic tile, go old school and install actual clay field tile. Or install a french drain - use large rocks at the bottom to create lots of voids. Seems a ton of effort to raise beds for what is otherwise a fairly simple fix.

[@johnsonr9]

Another helpful video. Thanks.

[@winjoda]

I’m on my 2nd year of heavy clay and in my beds that I kept cover cropping all year did way better versus the compost/leaf mulch only. In both cases we have had a HUGE increase in worm population and I will be interested to see if the deeper beds that got the compost will do better in the long run because of the additional depth before hitting clay. I haven’t tried living walkway. I have a friend who owns a tree service and he dumps all of his chips at my property for free (which have tons of leaves chipped into them) and at least those green/leafy chips have done done amazingly well in my paths. I’m very interested to see how this goes for you and the techniques you’ve outlined. Please keep this content going as it progresses!!

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

I'm pretty well convinced that the best way overall to improve soil long-term is to keep living roots growing in it. So heck yeah, cover crops. But the other techniques give you a head-start on something that can take many years. I don't think there's *one* right answer unless a person can afford to just bring in a ridiculous amount of organic material or better soil.

[@teebob21]

clay LOVES organic matter.

[@forcesfarming8511]

GREAT video Jesse. So many people and farmers don’t even consider the drainage of a plant. Here in the UK we have massive issues of flash flooding of land and losing soil and sediment into rivers. The need for high OM soils is critical 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@andresamplonius315]

What you need is to reforest and rewild the uplands, get rid of the sheep that ravage the hills

[@forcesfarming8511]

@@andresamplonius315 Thank you. Where should I start and what should the farmers and families do now for a new income in place of the sheep?

[@myaccountishacked6417]

I'm apeased by the rate at which you speak. *thumbs up*

[@ironmaiden3751]

I'm fighting an overgrown clay farm. My broadfork can't penetrate it. First attempt was daikon, it grew...2 to 3 inches down. :( The crimson clover I broadcast heavily in the upper garden yielded 2 plants. It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad. We got soaked in Nova Scotia all through 2023, frogs moved into the garden. 😀 I think my only option is to raise the beds as you suggest. I'll start in the upper garden as its smaller but I'm going to have to bring in soil to do it. I don't have enough organic matter for the job. God only knows what's in the 'strange' soil but...🤷🏻‍♀ ((shrugs)) Will also be sure to use far more compost tea than I have been and get my compost pile started this Spring God knows I have enough for that! Wish me luck in year #3.

[@HeirloomBuilders]

Good insight. Thanks for sharing your knowledge 🙏

[@notillgrowers]

My pleasure!

[@patrickedwards1087]

We're also dealing with some pretty serious waterlogging in spots. Curious to know how things worked out for y'all.

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

This is something I have struggled with, we are on London clay, and due to us having an allotment the grround has been tilled for 70 years so drainage is an issue. we are repairing the soil as much as we can for no dig and compost.

[@obyvatel]

The Potager du Roi in Versailles was built on the site of a swamp. The king had no problem getting all the material needed to raise the site. And of course, it had to work.

[@RandomOkieFarms]

Going to be trying this on our farm 😊

[@denslatt]

Appreciate the tips Jesse, all I have is clay.

[@EDLaw-wo5it]

Great info Jesse.

[@workingfolk]

While digging out the paths and raising the beds in the new hoop house to improve drainage, I discovered that same plastic drain tile. It ended in the center of the space and the previous owners, instead of running it to where it would normally exit the ground and drain, simply stopped it short and buried it. Hence the soggy ground in the middle of the hoop house. I now have a small stream running down one pathway until I can get to town to get pipe to extend it properly.

[@notillgrowers]

Bummer!

[@trethehunter]

Probably septic

[@workingfolk]

@@trethehunter French drain, actually.

[@taxusbaccata6332]

If I were to do our fields with heavy clay and subsoil compaction again I would do a once off August subsoil then plant a mixed species cover crops as root biomass which converts the clay soil to lovely crumble in one season. I completely agree to avoid the plastic pipe advice which is given to conventional farming.

[@lievendevreese5035]

I don't know if you have the anecic type of earthworms in your area (originally these are not native to the U.S. I thought), but these play a huge role in drainage in European soils. They are described as deep-burrowing earthworms going several meters deep (up to 40 or 50 meter under a full-grown oak tree!). In France they calculated that a square meter of 'natural soil' with a 'natural population of anecic earth worms' is able to drain 150 liters of rain per hour only through the earthworm channels. Crazy number! So I would advice feeding your worms in the first place (fresh organic matter is preferred above composted material) and avoiding tillage (of course!). It would take 18 months to recreate natural worm population levels (of 1 to 2 tons per hectare). Sorry for all the European metric numbers. There are a bunch of French farmers adopting crazy no-till techniques using wood chips and straw to feed earthworms, backed up with good research, which we are using as a basis to boost our soil and earthworms on the heavy clay soil of our farm in Belgium. Good luck with your new farm!

[@lucybrenton149]

Hi Lieven, do you have any websites you can recommend? I speak French so it's OK if the websites are in French... or any books/magazines/videos would be great, too!

[@certifiedhoarder]

I got a rude awakening my first year of gardening on hard southern clay high in pennsylvanian sandstone. Have tried a lot of things and whats been working best is to cut off a winter cover crop, cover the stuble in a few inches of woodchips and bottom plow the wood under. I do not rototil to minimize worm mortality. I immediately plant the next summer cover blend into the fresh tillage. Daikon radish is a staple plant for me in these mixtures. It really drills big holes and softens the sub layer better than anything ive seen. My current experiment is 2 truckloads of woodchips and 3 pigs working them in. Very rapid breakdown so far.

[@ClayborneJames]

Also, I hear the KZbin algorithms like comments....so I love the videos, thank you as always.

[@notillgrowers]

🙌

[@Marshall_Weber]

Awesome Video!!

[@chrisshepherd8708]

Also lime your wood chip walk ways with lime. Speeds up decomposition

[@dennisleadbetter7721]

Hi Jesse, I have a similar problem, clay that is like concrete when dry and like grease when wet. I thought I had found the perfect spot for my vege patch and orchard, so started making beds, making compost etc, only problem it is smack bang in the middle of the natual overland water flow to the creek. The flow has been so heavy that it has completely washed away built up garden beds. I have rethought the entire plan, and am putting the vegepatch in a totally different area. The other problem I have is the land was used for dairy, so I have Kikuyu grass, that will grow through 600 mm wood chips with ease, and has runners up to 150 mm below the soil in multiple layers, it really is almost impossible to kill, and grows back with renewed vigour. I guess it is one of the joys of growing food. Regards Dennis

[@notillgrowers]

Ugh, yes. The other day the water was literally bubbling up beneath the beds.

[@dirtbike662]

I maybe the earth wants you to make pottery! Really though, in your areas of clay.... How deep is it? Here in SE WI. We have alot of sand, some more than others... But where i am, there is between 4" and 12" of "top soil" before i hit sand and rocks.

[@stevelarson4925]

Thanks for sharing! How did you find some of the drainage tile? What a trip that is the source of your water issue. On our web soil survey says we've got silt loam and then loam down to 36 to 60" that is well drained...I would have liked to see the land whenever they came up with that description! Not so well draining at the moment but makes sense, given that it was a horse pasture for many years. I'm hoping though that it means over time with increased soil health that our land can be brought back to it's well draining goodness.

[@notillgrowers]

Complete fluke finding that tile! We had to redirect some of the water that was flooding our tool shed and found it in the process.

[@edscukas9689]

We have terrible soil that we are working with ... sandy and hard compact clay. Very similar to what you described. What do you plant for the living rows? My woodchips in between the rows don’t seem to be breaking down so I may have to try that in some areas. One thing we tried which seems to be working at the moment for us is we put a good thick layer of woodchips let them sit for about 4-6 months then built a raised bed on top of that and filled that in with a compost/top soil blend. My idea is that the compost blend will help breaking down the woodchips and the roots of the current plants will start working on the living web in the compost/soil blend. Eventually as those woodchips breakdown that organic material becomes available.

[@notillgrowers]

Paths are just native grasses plus red and white clover

[@poppypaperninja]

Love this, we're dealing with similar problems. I just have a couple questions about the methods you're using to mitigate the problem. After using the rotary plow to raise the beds higher...what are you doing with the bare pathway? Are you broadforking the pathways as well? And are you seeding them after that for the living pathways, or are you just letting the native grasses come back up?

[@joshthehomesteader229]

Perfect timing on this video, our heavy rains came a month late for me and is rotting my bean seeds in the ground

[@notillgrowers]

Ugh, yeah. Sorry to hear that. Drainage is a beast.

[@jme5970]

Yep. My potato drills are now ditches full of water

[@notillgrowers]

😭

[@jme5970]

@@notillgrowers I find myself using the phrase "trial and error" a bit more than I'd like to be this year..Some trial and success would be nice

[@notillgrowers]

I know that feeling. My unsolicited advice is to focus on the solutions. That has really changed the way I react in farming--solutions not problems. It's easy to get overwhelmed, but there are ways to fix it or adjust, sometimes even in-situ. Stay positive and do what you can!

[@lostpony4885]

After 4 years of raised planters and a sump, i plan to put in several yards of sand making an aquifer. Hope it works.

[@Saph67]

I wonder if cow beans/ black eyed peas sown around the crop would help. Those are known to break up compacted Clay soil while fixing nitrogen and generate a crop as well (actually two, if you eat the edible and healthy greens).

[@mekaremaurin8580]

Haha. Love that closing clip.

[@Lifegrowsonandon]

Plant heaps of sunflowers, let their roots do the hard work for next season

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

@Like New Maidservice that's OK, the roots were still doing their job the best they could. These things seldom work out in just one season.

[@paulsalvaterra]

Hi, nice. I have thought that John jeavons double digging to 24 inch depth allows for drainage and water storage. Broadfork is a easier way, I have a , Treadlite Broadfork, the plow model, 14 inch tines. I have talked to the owner of treadlite, he has my requests for a q6 inch tine fork and is considering its being produced. I have 2 broad forks, 10 inch and 14 inch, I do the 10 first then the 14. I wonder if drainage would benefit from even a 20 inch tiny? I am interested in possible best cover crops for deepest roots.

[@nickhaney4882]

Good luck!

[@yadealone]

What about biochar as Terra Preta uses. I have no dig with clay further down and just incorporated this. We will see how the layers do.

[@tolbaszy8067]

What about adding sand before you broadfork? Thank-you for great insights to growing problems, er problems with growing. I also like the term "living pathways". I've been using "hunter/gatherer gardening" for my weedy plot, but "living pathways" is so much more agricultural!

[@clovergreen9959]

Depending on pH, sand and non draining clay could make concrete.

[@tolbaszy8067]

@@clovergreen9959 Sounds like adobe, but the constant moisture of a garden bed, microbial life and earthworms would keep it friable.

[@marcsimard2723]

Sand is ok if you dont till it in Keep it on top of the clay and add compost to the sand: you can till that a bit

[@tolbaszy8067]

@@marcsimard2723 It's the roots that need the drainage, so broadfork channels will put the sand in the root zone.

[@jacobfurnish7450]

Horticulturalist here. I'm in the exact opposite of your situation with very little moisture in extreme sandy soil. I use wood chips a lot because dry soil is dead soil. Trying to keep things alive. Quick tip: have you ever had the Calcium to Magnesium ratio of your soil tested? I know that most soils in the United Sates have montmorillonite clay and in order for them to flocculate, they need a Ca-Mg ratio of 7-1. Bacteria do not hold onto hardly any Ca whatsoever. Only the fungi do this. If you can get your fungal populations up without encouraging bacterial growth by injecting fungally dominated compost tea into the ground, you should have better infiltration. You could also do small applications of Calcium fertilizer on your soil, but it can't have sulfate (sulfate = fungicide) nor should it raise the pH of your soil because if the pH gets above 7, that will encourage weed growth. Also, never apply any fertilizer salt at a rate above 100lbs per acre. This will kill the fungi and cause even worse Ca-Mg ratio in the soil.

[@notillgrowers]

We did a test back in the fall and if there was a major imbalance of Ca:Mg I didn't catch it, but I definitely plan to investigate that further. Also indeed, more fungal dominant teas is a good idea, along with a compost substrate of course. thanks for the comment! Great and helpful info

[@jacobfurnish7450]

@@notillgrowers I believe you must get total exchangeable Ca-Mg if I'm not mistaken. Not TOTAL Ca-Mg or soluble Ca-Mg. Many soil tests use different .chemicals and ways to determine exchangeable Ca and Mg. Make sure you pick a company that tells you which one they use!

[@gangofgreenhorns2672]

4:40 My dad's farm had clay tile, wonder if you can still buy that?

[@MorgsBrew]

Obviously, bed orientation to encourage drainage is the first step, and then throw down Gypsum and biochar! We have areas in our banana fields that are heavy clays and the farmers in our area have been using gypsum for 40 years to amend these kinds of soils. The story is gypsum makes your ground more 'soft'. I have seen improvements where I have used it at a rate of 250kg/hectare. I use the 250 as a minimum and apply up to 500kg/10000m2 (1 hectare). Biochar is really your only long-term solution in building soils that will last in those wet areas. Everything else is only living a 2-year accumulation cycle and then it is back to CO2.

[@notillgrowers]

Bed orientation isn't something I mentioned, but I agree. I have the beds slightly off contour and I wish I had gone a bit steeper. Fortier suggest straight downhill but that's rough for path erosion here, but perhaps coupled with living pathways it could work. That said, I'm going to try to leave them where they are... stubbornly.

[@MorgsBrew]

@@notillgrowers I cant bring myself to make a straight downhill planting :) I have thought about syntropic systems on N-S alignment and in my case that often ends up as being a steep line. I cant plant that knowing I can get 18" in 2 days. Maybe I just need to 'see' it work to be convinced. Maybe I need to try it...

[@peterlanglands2482]

Yes, I was thinking adding some gypsum would help break up the clay. Goodluck!

[@indica_dogo868]

Glen Rabenberg says that compacted/constipated soils are usually high in I believe magnesium. He says high magnesium makes the soil hard and compact. Plant available calcium is what he said to incorporate to get the soil back to a condition that isnt hard as a rock

[@TheRealHonestInquiry]

Gypsum + Oyster Shell (Calcium Sulfate + Calcium Carbonate) works well to break up clay IMO!

[@Silrielmavi]

What do you use for living pathways?

[@tazno1]

Glad to see Rick Grimes picked up his farming game!

[@Futcant]

Adding sand to corn crops compost work or no?

[@scottwhite685]

I see you using a Roto”tiller” in your videos. Am I missing something here? I thought no-till means just that, or does it have to be a minimum depth to be considered tilling?

[@vonries]

Good luck

[@dennisf.macintyre117]

I have compacted clay also, but won't tilling up eliminate the microbes and take twenty years to build them back up?

[@lksf9820]

Any follow up on this?

[@juliafernandes6939]

How about digging out swales between beds and fill the swales with woodchip, wouldn't it soak up the water, break up the clay and increase fertility hopefully?

[@nonyabusiness9747]

I have a opportunity to grow allot of food on my neighbors land and just inherent'd ALLOT of non gmo seeds. Tottal novice here and need help! The land is on a slight incline at the bottom of a big hill and has a large pond next to it that leeches water. Water comes from both the hil and the pond! The problem is the solution right!?? Considering here in Oklahoma we have a drought season.. Should I use cattle panels raise beds with mulch/hay sides to leach up the water during the less rain season august-sept?

[@Horse237]

Yes, but Kentucky has been getting lots of rain of late. People in other area don't have that problem. Increasing soil biology and soil Organic Matter will solve your problems except for floods. Gabe Brown said his neighbors would be flooded with just 2 inches of rain. 14 inches a year is normal where he lives.

[@brandonbroussard6910]

are you allowing rhizome grasses like bermuda in the living paths? i want to try this in some swampy areas on the farm but I'm pretty sure my paths would turn to bermuda and crab grass real quick lol. I guess that isn't necessarily a bad thing with intensive management but I feel like it could get away from you quick

[@notillgrowers]

Important questions and the answer is that im not sure yet. There is some crab grass and I've seen a little creep but nothing bad yet. Gotta pay close attention to the edges and do some edging. Haven't seen any bermuda yet but so far so good

[@brandonbroussard6910]

@@notillgrowers thanks! ill give it a try once I get rid of my bermuda

[@Skashoon]

Whats the difference between tilling and broad forking?

[@misterdubity3073]

See broadforking at 4:04 in this video. Like sticking knives straight down and moving them a little. The surface soil remains on the surface. With tilling, the soil is turned over, so if grass were on the surface, the sod would be upside down after tilling.

[@tummisoncco9271]

What Camera and lens you use ? Thanks 😊

[@notillgrowers]

Used to be a Canon guy but Josh Sattin got me to switch to Sony. So Sony a7c with a sigma 24-70. It was a silly big and expensive upgrade but I love it for both photo and video

[@Yesimthatkid]

Is this plot looking better this year?

[@bobsnow4890]

From the videos it looks like your living pathways are grass, have you tried or considered any other plants for living pathways?

[@notillgrowers]

Yes we have tried other things but nature seems to always wind up choosing for us

[@caylondepalma1175]

How do y’all keep the living pathways from growing into your beds? (If you’ve answered this elsewhere and can point me in that direction, that would be great!)

[@notillgrowers]

Hi! It's in the video when I talk about edging. Keeping edges clean is the trick

[@bobwallace9753]

Crops like cow peas and daikon radish can put organic matter deep into clay.

[@mordyfisher4269]

Comfrey root can go down more then 60 feet

[@paulburke6469]

Get the book "Dirt To Soil" by Gabe Brown. Regenerative farming. He's the expert. He has a you tube channel as well.

[@user-fu8je9hh6k]

What you are doing sounds great but increasing the calcium in the soil is the only way to fundamentally deal with clodiness and sticky tight clay. Gypsum will penetrate down. You might be uncomfortable using large amounts but that is what it takes to alter the soil structure. Try some in a test area if you don't believe me. Oxygen in the soil is extremely important as is the release of carbon dioxide.

[@robduell3856]

Dont put plastic in the ground use a french drain method.

[@HarshJain-it2bg]

How do hydroponics work then......

[@bradenmcdaniel2456]

I planted a shit load of sunflowers

[@oxygenium92]

Lots of manure and lots of lime, thats the way.

[@lostpony4885]

Other than firing bricks?

[@chrisshepherd8708]

Calcium will loosen up the soil......especially clay soils

[@SlackerU]

Ksat rating of 0 to .2 is poor drainage & 6-12% slope is too high where you'd want 4% or less to avoid erosion. You also need to look at NOAA & do some math to ensure your max expected precipitation rates don't drown your plants or erode your topsoil with that poor Ksat & high-slope. Example: My Ksat is .4 to 1.4 inches per hour & I have a flash-flood risk of 4.5 inches. So I have no choice but to have some sort of drainage b/c my Ksat is insufficiently low for my high amounts of threatening-rainfall. I also only have 6-15 inches of soil above the water-table so I have no-choice but to have raised-beds to get 18-24 inches of well-drained soil.

[@notillgrowers]

Great info! I honestly didn’t look at the KSAT values when I saw the NRCS rated it as “Well drained”. I guess that I (unfortunately) assumed they had an algorithm for such things . Erosion is not as big of an issue given our methods but we do occasionally see some mulch wash out in heavy rain events. Indeed, raising beds is now essential here where it wasn’t on our old farm.

[@user-og6ud6bs2p]

Гоббі Т 😅 дивакувато звучить) мо ліпше англійцькою то вимовляти?!

[@aaronjones9848]

I don't mean to be rude, just honest, the price on the book is steep.

[@notillgrowers]

Not rude at all. Unfortunately, we don't really get to set the price--it's the same at Amazon or anywhere else--BUT when you buy it from notillgrowers.com, the proceeds from that sale go into making more content like this. So I hope the fundraiser element adds a little more incentive?

[@heatherjolly8389]

10 minutes on the dot...show off ;)

[@lukelints9776]

You are roto tilling the woodchips in? You will tie up so much nitrogen with all that carbon bro. I would also not broadfork, it disrupts the mycelium structures in the ground. You are again saying the woodchips are not working but disrupting the structures that make it work. Also, in the poorly draining area, I would simply add more organic matter to lift above the clay, it will help. Nature always adds to the layers, not mixing it in.

[@notillgrowers]

Hi thanks for the comment. I welcome the criticism. So there's no rototilling involved, it is layering. Added nitrogen to compensate for the tie up. The mycellial networks are more than likely non existent for the drainage (they are not good in anaerobic conditions). The broad fork is proven tool both on my farms and others. Also disturbance is incredibly essential to soil. Earthworms etc are constantly moving soil around. Humans can engage in small amounts of disturbance as well to the soil's benefit. Hope that helps you better understand this approach

[@lukelints9776]

Ask Charles dowding if forking disturbs the mycelium structures.. he'll tell you the same thing.

[@HarshJain-it2bg]

Simply use waste Decomposer from India.

[@jamesofallthings3684]

Reeee

[@HarshJain-it2bg]

@@jamesofallthings3684 what !!

[@HarshJain-it2bg]

@@jamesofallthings3684 what ! !

[@HarshJain-it2bg]

@@jamesofallthings3684 What do u mean ?

[@DrewDubious]

"No Till Growers"? 1st thing you see is dude with a huge tiller tilling his garden... Talks about having to broadfork every season... Your living pathways are using the moisture, thats why they are helping more than woodchips, which will hold moisture, also the roots will let oxygen into the topsoil more. This guy wrote a book?

[@notillgrowers]

The rotary plow is easier to raise beds than a shovel. I mention in the video the release of moisture from the living pathways. Yes I strategically use a broadfork to break up compaction (which can greatly limit photosynthesis so either have struggling crops or lightly pop your soil). And indeed, I wrote a book. Hope that helps.

[@DrewDubious]

@@notillgrowers its not a "release of moisture" the plants in the living pathways are using the moisture. And yes, I also break up my soil with a fork, it's called tilling.

[@notillgrowers]

Sure, to be more accurate the pathways are actually doing both. They are utilizing the moisture in the PS2 for photosynthesis and glucose creation and also releasing moisture through evapotranspiration to create the negative pressure required to pull water into the plant leaves for said process. And tillage, as I argue in detail in the book, is any action that causes longterm harm to the soil. Maintaining photosynthesis-limiting compaction out of dogma would, by that definition, be a worse form of tillage. Do what's best for the plant and soil, ignore what people arbitrarily label as "tillage or no-tillage"

[@DrewDubious]

@@notillgrowers Well, what is no till or not kinda changes when you start using it as a brandname and market it. At least in my opinion. If you're still worried about soil compaction, I dare say you are still have a long way to go before you are really No-till ;)

[@ruidadgmailcanada8508]

There is a decision to be made on whether it’s worth the efforts versus go with clay loving plants until several rotations with Nitrogen fixing and deep tap root plants to loosen it over time. Or go with clay pots. 😂