This post was contributed by Dayna Locitzer, a farm apprentice at Glynwood.
The CRAFT workshop for Monday August 9th was held at Four Winds Farm in Gardiner, NY. Four Winds is a 24-acre, certified organic family farm where Jay Armour practices no-till farming.
The goal of organic no-till farming is to leave the soil undisturbed. The common practice of tillage turns topsoil and exposes what’s below. Instead of tilling, Jay uses permanent raised beds, layering them every year with compost and mulch to build up his soil.
Photo courtesy of Four Winds Farm.
Jay began practicing organic no-till farming 16 years ago as a way to eliminate weeds. In fact, it does greatly reduce weeds – because the repeated layering of compost and mulch covers the weed seeds, they are constantly blocked from sunlight which prevents them growing. The weeds that Jay does find are very easy to pull because his soil is very loose. Tilling often creates soil compaction just below the reach of the tiller’s tines. To avoid any compaction at all, Jay is very careful never to step on his beds. As a result, the weeds slip out of his raised beds as if they were in a greased bread pan.
Another advantage of no-till is that it holds organic matter in the soil. Jay told CRAFT that he has 7% organic matter in his soil – a big contrast to the common figure of 1% soil organic matter found on many farms.
