NO TILL, NOT NO CAUTION: THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE TRANSITIONING (WITH VIDEO)
My immediate impulse when we first decided to start doing some no-till around the farm was to, well, just sell the tractor. Naturally.I am that kind of dude. When I get a good idea (or what I presume is a good idea) I want to dive into it full on. Luckily I have a reasonable partner and co-farmer in Hannah and she urged me to maybe make sure it works first. Bless this woman.Sound advice as always, we decided to ease into this no-till farming thing and take the entire season to transition. I did not sell the BCS (in fact, the walk-behind tractor has many a’use in the no-till system, so this was an ill-advised idea on all levels) though I am hoping to sell some of the more soil-invasive implements by next year. The evaluation process has begun for each tool... which brings us to rule number one in making a safe transition to no-till growing.
Think Lean. In lean farming—as outlined by Ben Hartman in his two great books on the subject—a space is set aside on the farm for tools whose utility is in question. In other words, if a tool is not getting regularly used, it is set aside in this designated space. If it is not removed from that space and used within a year, it is sold. This is the first step to both leaning up our farm and freeing up some capital for the no-till transition. Right now the Rotary plow and tiller are on the chopping block. The wheel hoe, too. Definitely not on the chopping block? The wheelbarrows, buckets, shovels, and trowels.
Locate Your Materials First. I think it is easy to get swept up in the no-till dream before having all of the tools in place. And by tools, I really just mean cover materials. You will need a fair bit of compost, maybe some straw for the paths (though wood chips are better IMHO). Trying to do no-till and track down materials simultaneously could be a stressful challenge. So locate your materials, and get a game plan in place before.
Start Small. There is no reason to just stop tilling completely if you have never tried not tilling, or especially if you’ve never grown a garden at all. Full stop. I highly encourage you to get your gardening chops before starting a no-till gardening business. You need to know when a plant is not doing well and why. So yes, start small by setting aside a small portion of your garden(s) to plant into, even if just a handful of beds. We started with some spring crops, followed by several summer. And now our entire fall garden is no-till, but we still did our potatoes and sweet potatoes like normal. I probably don’t have to tell you this but it’s all about easing in and being responsible. Again, per the tenets that are guiding us, don’t be dogmatic. If you try a no-till bed and it’s not working and you need to turn it over or else lose it to weeds or something like that, do it. Just learn from it and try again.
Have Confidence. If you do have gardening chops, I am here to tell you that you have nothing to worry about. Just because you don’t till doesn’t mean the lettuce will start growing like pole beans. Everything is basically the same, except you are not getting the tractor out—at least not to prep the soil. When the beds have really adapted to the cover, they become pliable enough to simply push your transplants into. I am prepping several videos on flipping beds and planting, but just know that if you have basic growing chops, you can manage a no-till garden just fine.
VIDEO HERE.