Organic
cabbage harvest, October 2002: The Martens' cabbage
is made into sauerkraut and packed under the Cascadian Farms
label.
"Sometimes it seems that the current
popular infatuation with no-till often amounts to little
more than an institutionalized support of increased Roundup
sales."
"As harvest finishes, many of us are
facing grain bins and checkbooks that are not as full as we
had anticipated when we planted those seeds
so hopefully last spring. It has been
yet another tough
year for farmers. Yet despite that, it is still
a privilege, shared by an increasingly
smaller number, to harvest our own
crops and to see and touch the tangible completion of the
year." |
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To till or not to till . . .
‘No till’ seems to be the ‘golden boy’
of American agriculture these days. Excessive tillage certainly
can result in soil erosion, breakdown of soil structure, a
shift in microbial activity, loss of organic matter, and it
uses considerable amounts of fuel and tractor time. However,
this does not mean we must go out and invest in massive quantities
of Roundup! Sometimes it seems that the current popular infatuation
with no-till often amounts to little more than an institutionalized
support of increased Roundup sales. Not all soils, not all
crops, and not all farms are well suited to no-till.
Organic farmers should incorporate reduced tillage practices
into their techniques, but we prefer to use techniques that
use a ‘bio-till’ rather than a ‘no till’
approach, letting an established live crop prepare the soil
for planting the following crop. We had success broadcasting
spelt into soybeans in September, just as the soybean leaves
are turning yellow and starting to fall. The fallen leaves
provide protection for the germinating spelt seedlings. One
other technique we plan to try is used by farmers in the Red
River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. They are planting
rye as a cover crop in the fall. When the rye is almost heading
in the spring, they mow it close to the ground and then no-till
soybeans into the stubble. The decomposing rye straw provides
weed suppression, nutrients, organic matter and erosion control
for the new crop.
There are many creative ways that organic farmers can incorporate
reduced tillage into their operations but we should not feel
guilty about occasional plowing. Mixing the soil will redistribute
nutrients and make them available to crop plants. The introduction
of air into the soil is also important, especially in an organic
system that relies on microbial activity to provide soil fertility.
With the introduction of new oxygen, the soil microbes are
able to digest soil organic matter, to convert it into stable
humus, and to reproduce, releasing readily plant-available
nutrients into the soil solution which our crops will use.
While some soil organisms may be harmed by the physical action
of plowing, for many species and for plant roots, this breath
of fresh air is just what they’ve been waiting for.
To organic farmers, the most important value of soil organic
matter is in the using of it as a source of fertility, and
our friends, the microbes and worms, need oxygen to do that.
We took the children on a ‘Sunday afternoon adventure’
one warm day last spring to recently plowed field and spent
over an hour breaking open lumps and looking at earthworms
of all sizes, their tunnels and their eggs. The plowing didn’t
seem to have damaged that earthworm population. The ground
was perforated with fresh earthworm holes which so needed
for good water infiltration and root penetration. Something
we’re doing was working well!
Giving thanks for the privilege of hard
work
Tonight, I went out to feed the sheep after dark. Inevitably,
the sheep are taking lower priority these days now that the
other animals we raised during the summer, the pigs and chickens,
are safely tucked away into the basement freezer. The wind
was sharp and the water made my hands ache and sting. As I
stood there waiting for the water tank to fill and watching
the sheep, I was reminded of an article, printed several years
ago in the Amish magazine, Family Life (Pathway Publishers,
Rt. 4,
Aylmer, Ontario N5H 2R3 CANADA, or 2580N-250W,
LaGrange, IN 46761 USA) , in which a young mother considered
the privilege of having her hands in warm, soapy dishwater
while watching the snow and bitter wind whip past her kitchen
window. She did not dwell on the piles of dirty dishes, the
other chores left undone, or the demanding children at her
feet. Instead, she appreciated the simple pleasure of warm
hands and a warm home.
The windows in the house glowed through the night as I walked
back from the barn. Just waiting inside was warmth and light,
the smell of good homegrown food cooking in the oven, the
relentless ‘Mom-ing’ which would resume as soon
as I opened the door. It was a privilege to be out in the
cold silent winter night alone, and it was a privilege to
come inside.
As harvest finishes, many of us are facing grain bins and
checkbooks that are not as full as we had anticipated when
we planted those seeds so hopefully last spring. It has been
yet another tough year for farmers. Yet despite that, it is
still a privilege, shared by an increasingly smaller number,
to harvest our own crops and to see and touch the tangible
completion of the year, of our hard work and our skill.
As Thanksgiving comes, it is a privilege to understand the
deep urgency and relief expressed in the hymn, “all
is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.’
It is a privilege to know that, God willing, we will be back
in our fields next spring, planting our seeds and again firmly
believing in the abundance of the harvest to come.
Happy Thanksgiving! We wish you a rich and abundant harvest
of family, friends, and love. 
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