Yep, definitely here for all the nerdy details! This is an excellent conversation and I'm actually really glad I've spent the last 10 years working with AEA and soils, the perspective I have from that really enhances this conversation for me. This conversation also ties together so many pieces that I've learned from AEA and many other places over the years. John, your latest podcasts are really dialing in all the pieces in a great orchestrated array of information! Thank you so much for all you do! I can't wait to get back to farming!!
In a drought worked grown to powder Cleaned out hay barn & put on top of the powder(12”+) Planted sweet corn(under hay,by hand) & with no rain or Irrigation became shoulder high before neighbor’s cows mowed it into the mulch 🕊
Spiders are great indoors too! Little ones moved into my indoor greenhouse last year, and its made a world of difference to the pest/beneficial insect balance. I got them identified by a local entomologist, they're Lepthyphantes leprosus. They are perfect tiny predators for the fungus gnats, aphids, thrips, and spider mites that I've had to give up on getting rid of because they kept hitchhiking back in from outside. I had predatory mites established for over a year, but because the humidity is usually 40-60% they don't maintain a high enough population to keep my plants thriving. The spiders nearly exterminated the fungus gnats within a couple months, and they keep the rest of the pest insect populations low enough that if I keep my plants healthy they sustain only inconsequential amounts of damage.
I will buy the book, thanks, as reference and inspiration. I've been using this on a small scale to build a quarter acre garden and orchard/nursery for homegrown trees. Originally a few inches of soil over gravel, but well draining. This year there's ton's of life but it took a decade of deadheading, controlling grass and buttercup, chop and drop with cut back clumps of pin cherries and fruit trees planted between, or pull weeds with soil and "till" a bit that way. No machines, no manure except for wildlife. Short season Nova Scotia, we almost got a frost June 10 this year and have before a few years back. Lots of disease and bug pressure. What a great twist on sheet composting, to separate the greens and browns, and apply them specifically. Hah!
John, can we get an update on the corn emerging through 4 in of grass mulch? I'm very curious how well that worked. I had similar experiences with mulching on top of young seedlings, very hard to get it between the seedlings and not end up suppressing your own crop.
Only broad-leaf crops have difficulty in emerging through the heavy mulch, corn emerges very easily. For a broad leaf to emerge you have to use straw of 2/3 inch in size.
I think chickens are calcium factories. I soak my egg shells in vinegar a couple of weeks, then feed my garden the liquid at about 15 ml to a gallon of water. Water soluble calcium. Where does it all come from.
The interesting thing for me is something as simple as mowing in alternate stripes made such a difference. It makes sense to me. And letting the grass get tall i wonder how much more root mast she is getting and the knock on affects that that has. All by mowing 3-5 times and one nutritional spray. I am going to try this with our animals instead of a machine. Right now i am strip grazing but i wonder if i skip a strip? Thanks again for all you do
Is there any way to stave off bud swell in fruit trees when we get a very early warm up in late winter? With these temperature swings where I live, my trees started bud swell in mid march and then the last couple of days the temperature got into the teens for three nights in a row and it looks like there is major damage to most of the buds that swelled. I know I am supposed to cover the trees with burlap before any cold temperatures, but I doubt that would have helped with this recent cold spell. Is there any out of the box ways to help stave off bud swell until spring? I have been looking into ways of doing this but have not found anything. I sounds like these crazy swings in weather will be the new norm and probably get worse going forward. I get the feeling this is going to be a major issue for orchards all over, moving forward. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the great content!
Rain particulates & bacterial rain "seeds"and atmospheric dust and insect carcasses and cosmic dust and animals.... all add trace elements to the soils constantly.
Does anyone know if it is possible to get an electronic version of the book? From what I understand there is a problem getting a copy shipped to Israel.
