posted 10 years ago
Look up "under cover farmers" on youtube, that is one of the best growing systems I have ever seen. Those guys are still using roundup, but you don't have to. In my opinion, there is no replacement for a plow, you're gonna need it, but hopefully only once or twice. You really have to convert your existing land into something that you are controlling, otherwise the grass/weeds will just be too much to deal with, at least for something to make a profit with. After you get the grass/turf flipped over with a plow and the area turned into a nice workable spot, then I would start seeding it with the cover crops that I want... Something that will not only take care of the soil but also be easy for you to manage... If you're talking about production farming for an income, you're really going to want it easy to manage and easy to harvest your cash crop without fighting weeds to do it. If it were me, i would keep a disc harrow around as well, you want to transition away from using a plow even though in my opinion they are necessary at least once... The disc harrow is what you would need to incorporate the stubble and remnants of your terminated cash crop back into the first inch or two of soil without destroying the soil structure and deeper than you have to. This will chop it up and incorporate it just a little bit to speed the decomposition process and have a field that is easy to work. I love permaculture techniques, but in my opinion the best way is to incorporate proven permaculture techniques into proven traditional agriculture techniques so you not only maximize your profits but do so without damaging the structure and overall health of the soil.
You do NOT have to own a tractor to do any of this, you can hire the heavy work out and work the remainder of it by hand. Even with the rolling/crimping of cover crops, that has been done completely manually with boards that have steel lips on them... I guess, it really all depends on how large of an area you're talking about... 1 acre? definitely not worth buying a tractor for, 10 acres? maybe a walk behind tractor... more? Less? I've not seen anything work as well as a plow does for the initial transformation of grass covered ground into something that you can then work, after that, I recommend against using plows and if possible even tillers at least for anything more than just the first inch or two to help incorporate that crop residue.
While some folks wouldn't call the cover cropping technique in the video "sustainable", I would heartily disagree and call it the MOST sustainable. To be sustainable, you have to also be economically viable, this type of system you are buying seeds every year for your cover crop, those seeds come from other farmers, it keeps the money flowing and keeps the money on farms instead of in labs. Farmers buying all they need from other farmers, that's a pretty awesome way to be if you ask me, although I am a capitalist at heart, I'm in this for earning our living and not trying to be a self sustaining homestead. If you have the proper markets and such, you can be both, it just wasn't in the cards for us, so this is the route we like the best.
We've been on this journey for a while and I've learned quite a bit, but techniques are going to be different if you are truly "farming", or if you are gardening for extra income or if you are growing to be self sustainable... If the stars align and you have as stated, the correct markets available to you, you can do it all on the same land.
Good luck and most of all, enjoy the life!
Ajila Ama Farm Western North Carolina
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