Resume continued.
Ragweed for ex. is a problematic weed, what does it do? It produces lignin. So to get rid of it, add carbon to the soil.
Goosefoot, amaranth weeds = replace with quinoa or edible amaranth.
Sell the grain, keep the plant.
maize - produces a huge amount of biomass in a short time
Sorghum- great if your soil is warm
enough
maizewill produce approx. above ground, 60% of which is in the grain, 40% in the stalk. But below ground, 50%of the above ground biomass, half
roots, half exudates. So if I have a yield of 10t of grain, I'll have about 7t of stalk, but also about 8 t below ground biomass.
When calculating biomass produced, always count both above and below ground yield. What counts is the amount of biomass
left in the field. He then advocates using organic fertiliser to maximise the production of biomass left in the field.
However, with a radish, practically all biomass is removed. With most vegetable crops, most of biomass is removed: therefore use cover crops or intercropping to fill the void, or import biomass from elsewhere.
Example: Three sisters (Milpa).
maize produces lots of lignin, harvest of flour = slow carbs,
beans are stand-alone as to N (doesn't need any added to grow, but doesn't give any to the corn either, only after it is dead), harvest yields protein,
squash soak up the sun by covering the ground, yields fast carbs in the flesh plus fat in the seeds. Its a useful model combining a stalk, a climber and a ground cover.
Hence it is important to find the useful pairs of plants that go well together: look at companion practices in
gardening, especially as far as feeding the soil is concerned. Look for complementary plants that don't compete.
ex.
grasses and legumes (lucerne/white clover/violet clover and wheat; italian ray grass and soy, agrostis and soy),
brassicas and legumes (rape and vetch),
grasses and grasses (brachiaria=signal grass and maize but we haven't been able to do this in France). In a garden setting, this is done with cover cropping, for ex. hoeing the clover before planting cabbage - alternating the partners
To make this work with both partners staying alive, you need to understand the life cycles of your tandem partners. Ex. Ray grass has three periods of seed setting: april, end may, beginning july (observation of
cattle farmers in the region). The last cut will have a low yield, seeds will set quickly, with small seedheads = low competition for my soy. Cut the raygrass and leave in place once in April when its starting to make seedhead, three weeks later the raygrass is making another seedhead, sow the soy into the standing grass, cut and leave the raygrass on top.
Therefore sow the soy mid-may into the raygrass. Raygrass acts as a living mulch and outcompetes weeds. At harvest, the raygrass stays alive, and the cycle starts again without having to reseed the grass.
Sunflowers and fenugreek are good partners. Also agrostis and soy (agrostis needs cutting only once )
Anybody tried this?
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