wow that scene of the washed away earth and exposed tree roots was incredible. Rain is definitely a powerful force. We visited Iceland in 2017 and they have similar issues; no trees and erosion. Good move to no dig and keeping the soil covered at all times.
IIRC, the Icelandic people's chopped down all of their trees 200 years+ ago. Whoops. I'm genuinely surprised they haven't done a massive replanting effort given how proactive they seem to be on many other issues. And I'm sure that volcanic soil is super fertile...
I found that heavy duty pre-sown cover crops, such as triticale, worked well to create good grazing conditions and a certain amount of food and bedding, for pigs. The triticale germinated straight into grass without any cultivation (I originally discovered this because I was feeding it to my hens on grass and lots of it began to grow and out-compete the sward). If you had a nice stand of triticale growing on some grass which you, ultimately, want to replace with another crop, then pigs can go on to it late summer. They'll eat such corn as it has produced, munch and trample in the straw, and then you can get them off before winter and broadcast a green manure such as mustard straight onto the land to hold it over winter and maintain biological activity. If vegetables are your aim, in spring ridge it up into approx 4ft wide beds and top with manure, then plant straight into that without any significant soil disturbance. You'll have to start the cropping sequence with potatoes, big seeds such as beans, or transplanted plants like sweetcorn which can cope with the rough tilth you'll have. If you can smother or remove the weeds for the first season, the quality of tilth should improve markedly in subsequent years. Keep the bed structure, use the grassed dips in between beds to drain off excess rainwater gently, and continue adding organic matter to the bed surface. For every crop you take off, aim to follow with a green manure (forage peas can be sown as late as mid-November, red clover works well earlier in the autumn), which you kill in very early spring by repeatedly tickling the surface with harrows or by smothering with a new layer of mulch. To rest an area for a season, establish a deep-rooting nitrogen-building heavyweight such as sweet white clover (don't let your grazers on it!!), and then cut it progressively leaving all the residue on the soil: that will build up both soil levels and fertility quickly -- but don't let it seed! If things get away and the quality of the beds degenerates after 4+ years, bring the pigs back on and start the sequence again. To return to grass, time the pigs for a late summer exit and autumn-sow a replacement sward.
Thanks, Tish. Lots of good idea in there. We have been unsuccessful at getting anything to grow through grass - but we haven't tried tritacale that way yet.
Thanks for discussing the deforestation of the british isles! I know the tourism industry of Ireland relies heavily on it being known as the emerald isle for its vaste pasture, but it always saddens me to know all that land could have been lush forest instead :(
We have been in Killarney NP last May where you can see very clearly the different between pasture and natural forest , the soil washed away heather and gorse left between rocks. On the other side of the fence lush green kind of rainforest. We met a guy who lives very close to you, he is planting trees since some years and already turned sheepland into young woodland. No- dig-gardening or mulch will be another good way to make a different. I hope all us single people trying to change the things we have now, can influence more and more, special thanks for the effort of running your YT channel .
Summers are a hell of a lot wetter in Ireland than in my childhood abd youth. There's still the odd minor drought very occasionally but now there's often very heavy rains in the summer. If it gets any wetter, we'll have to grow fins and scales
yes, when the soil is bare, there is a negative condition for the ecosystem of funghi, bacteria, worms and plants. They need each other and without plants, the bacteria have no food (the plants feed them with exudates) and then the bacteria go dormant which results is dryer soil without structure which is then an easy pray to erosion. Cover crops are necessary with these amounts of rain. Also when the soil itself has more carbon, it has a larger capacity to absorb water which helps significantly with withstanding big showers.
@@daniel-jb2xz In my experience nobody believes what somebody else says with just a couple of sentences, so you should do you own research and then you will find videos of many farmers and scientists that explain what I just said in a few words. Why don't you start your own research with Dr Elaine Ingham?
So glad you are going to no dig. So much better for the soil. If you rotated where the pigs go you may be able to keep two for meat. There are breeds that don't root but just graze. You could lend them out for clearing patches where people want to grow stuff rather that rotovating or ploughing.
I have a book called Lasagna gardening. It’s where you layer different types of things so the moisture and soil creatures can keep your garden healthy. Down here in Texas I must mulch my garden or the plants dry up to a crisp in the summer. I used grass clippings from our lawn mower.
Three inches of soil erosion is a lot. America went through a lot of this between 1934 to 1940. Though in our country, I think it was mostly wind blowing the topsoil away. Glad you're looking for answers.
Yes, but mulching with compost seems strange to me - where I've seen it done it just gets covered with weeds instantly. It works much better for us to use something that hasn't composted yet for the surface.
Every geomorphologist / soil scientist / landscape ecologist / conservationist should see this video. This is the best 6 minute illustration ever of human-induced climate change and erosion, soil loss, and landscape deterioration.
I use straw as bedding for my 40 bird poultry farm just so I can reuse on my no dig garden as mulch. I pile it up over winter and then spread as needed. This has built up my soil incredibly. Charles Downing is a great source of information on U Tube! Thanks for your cool stuff!
I believe thats a good move, this year I've expanded from the greenhouse and went no-dig in a new vegetable garden. Great video shots on the soil erosion, never actually seen that before. Looking forward to your updates.
We live in a wet area, too. We tried wood chips as a garden cover--that didn't work either. We've been doing no till in our garden, which started with very poor soil. It's improved each season. The idea that it can improve year over year is very exciting. Imagine that going on all around the world. It could slowly and steadily repair what ages of agriculture damaged.
Hi Tim. Way to go, as they say in the States. You may already know this, but, in case not, I have found the ultra light netting used for making thimble bales to be ideal also for holding down the straw when first rolled out on the beds. And it's effectively almost free. I use about a dozen only bales of barley straw per annum, most of which I roll out onto the rows at end of the year, and cover with the staked netting. I plant as and when appropriate, and just occasionally fettle with a little composting 'tea', or another layer of straw to adjust. Only growing spuds, carrots, garlic, onions, glads, daffodils etc. And those all a disgracefully lazy fashion. But three years results have been wildly more impressive than anything before, with a tiny fraction of the energy input and with the soil now squirming with life. So sod ploughing. I'll be watching closely to see what else you manage to grow. best aye. Rob
Thanks Rob. Very interesting. I found that if we leave the round bale outside for a couple of months first, it's too soft to blow away when it's on the bed. Don't you find the slugs a problem?
@@WayOutWestx2 Yes, indeed. Lost most of an entire year's growth. However, since instigating a counter-strike regimen of finely ground eggshells and dried coffee grounds a couple of years back, they seem to have packed their bags. Cafe at local Tesco market kindly supplies me with used grounds every shopping day. Been accumulating bins of the stuff, but the excess seems to do some good on the daffs, flower beds and compost etc.
You got it right. I did a study in Paraguay, where the soycrops monoculture is washing away the rich soil from the Upper Atlantinc Parana Forest and erosion is extreme, it is desolation . It is important to make a wise approach and not fill everything with chemical fertilizers. Have a happy harvest!
I'm a fan of no-dig too. As long as there aren't too many pests that survive in your mulch, and you have a practical/affordable source of mulch, it's a great way to go. As for the pigs, there is one method of confinement that is more friendly. Korean Natural Farming practices includes a method of keeping pigs in somewhat roomy confinement situation. 2 to 3 foot of litter material is built up and enclosed with sides. A light duty barn is built over that, with fence panel sides for air flow where appropriate. I hog wallow is made in the corner. A scratching log can be put in for them to scratch on. Some people keep 6 to 8 feeder pigs in one open barn like this without partitions, but I've seen other people partition off each pig into what looks like small horse stalls (not my preference). I think partial turn-out time can be given to pigs, as it done to horses at some fancy stables. When it's dry enough, and for an appropriate amount of time, turn them loose in a paddock. Otherwise, back to the deep litter barn they go to make compost for you, sleep in the shade, and soak in the wallow.
I have a small garden compared to you guys and I have no room for a pig, but, because I use permaculture techniques, I never till soil. I have, however, seen people use pigs in permaculture systems to ‘till’ and ‘fertilize’ soil. They did so by planting things like turnips and beets in the ground among other things and, once grown, allowing the pigs to root around in the soil digging them up and turning the soil for them. While they turn the soil, the pigs poop and pee all over it thus leaving nutrients in the soil, but they usually left it for about 6 weeks to allow the pig waste to compost before planting food crops. They always had something growing or planted to grow on the plot either before or immediately after the pigs were allowed on the plot to eat to protect the soils. The added advantage in allowing the pigs to ‘till’ and ‘fertilize’ the soil was that they were always gaining weight so they could be consumed later. From what I have seen though, cows are more popular for building soil because they don’t root around in the soil turning it which can destroy the soil ecology and their waste is particularly good at building a healthy soil ecology. Gabe Brown videos are good at communicating the principles used when cows are part of such a system. Though the climate in the part of the U.S. where he lives is vastly different than where you live. I just thought I would share some ideas. Thanks for the video.
I live on the west side of the US. We’re about 300 miles from the ocean. Our area gets an average of 17 inches of precipitation here per year. I cannot imagine 6 feet of rain. In the US, during the 1930s, our country lost untold tons of topsoil across the center of the country due to wind blowing it away. It became the dust bowl. Principle cause being digging up the vast prairies and planting wheat leaving the ground bare when not planted to wheat. It was devastating.
Just found you today! This is so interesting to me as I have been doing the same at my small farm. The soil is virtually non-existent. I am surrounded by mono-crop farms but our land isn't even suitable for farming. At one time, hundreds of years ago it was the site of an inland sea. It is a sandbox! I have been using no-till methods for several years, covering with hay, straw, and bark when I can get it. The winds are extreme here too and just blow everything away. We have so many downed young trees from the past winter. I've done Hugul beds and this year making mounds. Slowly I see the soil building and earthworms returning. We are in zone 3, so the season is short and the winters are harsh. I hope that what I am doing is more than just gardening for the season but rather reclaiming the land and building for the future, even if it's just on a small scale.
Hello Tim, thank you for answering. Will all your animals you can get quite a bit though. I would like to say how much I enjoy yours and Sandras videos. Love the way both of you talk love your lifestyle, your kindness to your animals and your inventiveness with tools. I have a big vegetable garden and this year we will have 25 meat birds and I like to tinker with all sorts of thing.
That sounds wonderful that you have found a way to help the soil and yourselves. I've never seen anything like that with the rocks on top of the saved soil. I come from the southwest of USA where it is very dry, although there are flash flood seasons that wash everything away, whether there is a rock on it or not. lol That is so interesting to see those rock mounds like that.
Make sure you apply generous amounts of lime as the large amounts of rain tends to acidify the soil & leach out the calcium & magnesium. Traditionally lime was always applied in early spring, & applied heavily after a very wet winter.
@@WayOutWestx2 It doesn't really matter what you are growing, calcium is the most important element for plant health. It helps balance all the other nutrients. Check out John Kempfs work on plant nutrition.
Seeing it visually like that is quite shocking. Thankfully, the earth seems to be incredibly resilient given even the tiniest chance to recover. The main thing is to give the earth her mantle back and regrow a lot of forest. And to stop tilling. I'm not sure how industrial agriculture will cope with that but I can't help but think that it will have to learn - only when things get markedly worse of course.
That is so sad. Climate change is frightening. No dig gardening is also good for keeping moisture by the way. It prevents evaporation of water. There are also other great techniques to maintain water in your soil, in permaculture they call it ‘water harvesting’.
moskitostich I know, right? It’s freaking April and it has hardly rained for weeks in my part of Germany. A little drizzle here and there, but not a good soaking 😕. We already have to water the garden on a regular basis.
Really interesting video to see soil erosion. I have been doing no dig on my allotment for past 18 months using mostly compost on the beds and wood chips on the paths. Expensive initial outlay, but once my own compost bins are up and running I think it will be simply maintaining the ground cover and feeding the soil. Compost is better in damp climates as less appealing to slugs.
Hello, Charles Dowding and Richard Perkins farms do not have a weed problem. In fact those farms are basically feed free in spite of using large amounts of compost. I have the same experience in my garden compost does not create a lot of weeds. I practiced no dig for years and basically have a weed free garden.
This is new to me but makes sense. Here in US most farming now is zero till but it is done with seed drills, round up resistant seeds and tons of herbicides. They are doing industrial farming in the same three inches of soil year after year with no tillage- on that scale it seems unsustainable. Your way seems more sustainable. I always put rye or winter wheat out in the Fall and till it in the spring, but that is more to increase organic material and not erosion. We have about 100-120 cm rain a year-much less than you all. This is interesting. Please keep us up to date. Frank
Your way sounds good. We can't drill the grain effectively so we have ended up with a grass/oat mix that wasn't much good for anything. It's all so interesting though, isn't it?!
Hi Sandra and Tim, I love watching your videos. Infact I tried making your roasted pumpkin soup last year. It tastes good. Keep making videos. With love all the way from Nagaland, India
Keep going Tim we are only trying to preserve it for the next generation without causing too much damage. I am currently trying pine straw from local forestry plantations hoping there will be enough nitrogen for my veg.
This does sound like good ideas you have. You might want to look into some broad forking as well. Another thing that I am going to do this year that I’ve never done is grow in pots. I have just purchased 25 - 3 gallon pots with saucers. I am going to put our most beloved vegetables in those pots. And then I can tend to them even better. I have a place I can put them inside at night if I have to. I can get them out of the rain also. I will water them at night and the saucers will help keep the water in. Down here in the deep South that’s the time we water our garden. Also pepper plants and others are perennials here in my area. If you can get them in black pots and have their soil warmed up during the day. They will make it through the winter no problem. Unless it gets really cold. Then once again I can just bring them into that spot that I have designated for them to go. Happy gardening!!!!!
Maybe set seed potatoes on top of the pig paddock ground , then put straw/wood chips mix on the top. The paddock soil is full of manure and after the potato harvest (?) the area will rot down to soil. Maybe a cover crop on top when the taters are harvested (hopefully).
Bravo! Regenerative Agriculture! For the past 8 years I have been a huge proponent of sheet composting and lasagne gardening. I save all the animal bedding during the year and put them on the garden beds as mulch. I make new garden beds each fall using cardboard, paper, kitchen scraps, grass clippings, "weeds", etc. Where I live, wood chips work well and are readily available, so the beds are all buried with wood chip mulch in the fall. Winter is our wet season, though we only get about 16-18 inches (40-46 cm) of rain per year. I wonder if covering the pig pen (and other bare spots) for the winter with bedding from your barn would prevent soil erosion?
Very interesting, thanks Tim. We grow spuds etc and this sounds like a good idea. Very different today to how our ancestors used land. Hopefully this no dig practice will become popular. I second my partners (Highlander) comment about your great glass house. All the best.
Thanks, Lucy. Yes, we were brought up with the idea of ploughing in the autumn and 'letting the frosts break up the soil'. It sounds crazy these days, doesn't it?
Yeah, it's not as extreme here but we get really dry hot summers and then lots of rain that can't go anywhere. So we've been told not to cover our yards with tiles anymore. Of course people still do it as they don't want to maintain a yard. I have a lot of weeds but I don't have the large puddles. The houses here are new as of a few years ago and the soil had no life in it when they were done and it's clay so obviously it turns into a rock under those conditions but I think even the weeds are really improving the soil now. It looks very different when I'm weeding. Of course it doesn't wash away here in this flat land in the Netherlands as much but as a whole country we are still sinking lower all the time. We are widening kreeks and rivers for all that water coming through too. Across the street they made a wadi, a sort of grassy hollow where the water can stand in and drain. Not so much a pond as a swamp.
With so much rain you guys are getting Corn would do so well there, as corn needs alot of water! Was that a cornfield you were in Tim, the leaves look identical to young corn plants just barely a week old and kudos to Sandra and you for actually making more soil for this rainy climate, this means that Ireland will still retain its nickname The Emerald Isle! Sorry for the delay on the paypal thingy, but results are I can't find my password that permits me to donate, will try to find time, its only logical to help ya all out, truly enjoy and learn so much from your cool videos. Uprated and thanks for another INTERESTING upload, hope ya have a great rest of the week, greetings from Mexico! :)
Ha! No, Joe, that's garlic. It is possible to grow corn outside in Ireland, but not here in the west. And even on the drier side you have to get lucky for it to ripen. People start it under plastic to get it going early enough..
we love your videos they are great for homeschooling our children!! i was wondering if you need new ideas you could do a series specifically for home schooling !!! thanks again
We're getting such strange winters, and very wet ones at that, that it's causing all sorts of mischief for the food growers. I imagine methods like this might end up being helpful in the long run in a lot of places.
Sorry about the erosion in the pig area. If you can't move the pigs every day on rotation, then they are going to leave your soils to erode as you've seen. Best of luck and learn lots of things about no-dig.
Good job and research. Europe was just about 1000 years ago cowered by beautiful natural old forests and swams. I guess that Climax vegetation is the proper description. Try also basalt powder and effective microorganisms (even from compost tea or nettle manure). The right balance of carbon and nitrogen is important. Everything is going well...
Oh wow. That sure looks shocking, with the roots all exposed! Glad, you guys are coming up with ways to start fixing these issues. Now, what’s too be done, about too little rain, though? It’s April and it has hardly rained at all in my part of Germany for weeks. I‘m fearing another hot, bone dry summer. I wonder, if no dig, straw covered beds could aid in preventing evaporation, as well...at least, where they wouldn’t be a fire hazard. Not, that I‘m a gardener myself, just speculating...
I'd like to see a video from you both on how one might apply this to a regular garden. I'd love to plant something to grow in my garden using a no dig method.
nearly evrywhere in europe the soild is cover with green crops over the winter or when there was wheat of something like the rest of plants stay in the Ground that also prevents from Erosion or also winter crops wich u plant already in atuum
Wow that clip of erosion is truly terrifying when you have a mind for growing and sustainability, I have tried grass mulches on spuds but the slugs were unbearable, I'm using black plastic and tires(sand bags just don't last unless you buy the UV ones but too expensive) for winter cover but it's unsightly) struggling to make enough compost for my growing ambitions, they reckon 100 years per inch of topsoil it takes nature to make, that must mean my ground is only 200 years old 😁 I have spent a few years researching soil biology and what others are doing, nature is truly amazing with how it covers man's bare soil techniques and the types of weeds and succession that happens it just doesn't happen fast enough for our short lifetime, regenerative agriculture seems the way forward with sequestration of carbon through careful planning and management, look forward to your take on it moving forward, thanks for sharing 👍🏻
i grow potatoes in 6 tractor tires and this year going to try them in a polytunnel to. all round the tires it's always standing water even too wet for weeds to grow. last year had a huge problem with frogs inside the polytunnels. too wet for frogs
Hello Tim and Sandra, greetings from Oregon, not so wet anymore... There is a breed of pig that has a short snout and does not root the ground up like the standard pig we grew up with. Not sure if they are available in Ireland but maybe.. Take care.
If you want to send me some please, it hasn't rained here in south Somerset for over 3 weeks, the ground is nothing but dust and rock, I haven't been able to plant anything even if I water 2 times a day, so I'm doing a rain dance
yep even down ear in Cornwall we've had none for 'tleast a fortnight, everything is struggling. even 'ad to water the trees! some comin tomorrow supposedly, we'll wait and see with our mouths open.
I personally do no dig for two main reasons (there's a handful of reasons really though), it's healthier for the earth microbes and all, and we have sand under a very very thin layer of topsoil. Perhaps, raise pigs in one of those 'pig port' shelter type of deals, we do this so the pigs don't turn the ground area into a sand box.
Did you ever hear of Joel Salatin, the 'crazy' American farmer who, while his neighbours farms lost a couple of feet of soil due to erosion and overfarming, built up his soil by a couple of feet? His circumstances might be totally different from yours, and subsequently his solutions might not suit your situation, but he wrote some very interesting (and amusing) books about them. And of course Charles Dowling is the granddaddy of no-dig gardening...
I love Charles Dowling and Morag Gamble. They met each other recently and took a tour of Charles' garden. www.bing.com/videos/search?q=morag+gamble&docid=607999839254610683&mid=164048FBFA32E4CA6FFD164048FBFA32E4CA6FFD&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
running into many of the same issues here. straw or hay work great and wood chips, sawdust seem to do well here as well. A year or two ago I had to get rid of my sheep, it almost killed me but they were too successful for their own good. I kept the hogs over the sheep and cut back from 32 head of hogs to 1 boar, 1 sow and we have 9 piglets from last fall and this spring that we are holding onto until this wacky mexican beer sham passes over us here. You never know when a community needs bacon. But the sheep kept the greenery down to golf course pristine carpet and a healthy browse line through our trees. Not bad but the land was feeling it. The hogs however landscaped my property and now instead of it all just pouring off the slopes and down the washout and creek we are getting some water penetration in our soils due to their superpower of creating swales and making water walk across their pasture and our our homestead. But they do leave the soil bare. They are like the Hoover cleaning lady that insists there is dirt she must get under your floor boards. They do a very good job turning over the fresh growth about once a year. And like you I notice that we are loosing some topsoil because of it. If I could move them faster this would not be an issue. But we are not there yet. One thing I have been meaning to try is to roll out large round bales and try to cover my bare soils with hay or straw. The more weed seed the better as that is what pigs love most. But honestly it is getting harder and harder to find hay and straw is almost impossible. But these commodities we use to take for granted are getting hard to find. The weather is not helping but there is also a sickness of not wanting to be bothered with a good hay crop being put up. They seem to think putting up houses on prime agricultural land is a better solution. Maybe it is?
@@WayOutWestx2 I made them private as my account is buried in the clusterfeck that is youtube. Honestly, I took a little break and that break just felt so good that I am still on it! Also I found that they deleted all my videos from 2 yrs ago, demonitized me and for all my loyalty I am buggered if I am going to put more money in their coffers with my content. Waiting now for other options to publishing my adventures here. Yet, I can not tell you how much more I am able to accomplish not dragging a camera around.
This does sound like good ideas you have. Another thing that I am going to do this year that I’ve never done is grow in pots. I have just purchased 25 - 3 gallon pots with saucers. I am going to put our most beloved vegetables in those pots. And then I can tend to them even better. I have a place I can put them inside at night if I have to. I can get them out of the rain also. I will water them at night and the saucers will help keep the water in. Down here in the deep South that’s the time we water our garden. Also pepper plants and others are perennials here in my area. If you can get them in black pots and have their soil warmed up during the day. They will make it through the winter no problem. Unless it gets really cold. Then once again I can just bring them into that spot that I have designated for them to go. Happy gardening!!!!!
The soil goes somewhere; I imagine. But where? Does it ultimately end up in the lowest body of water? A lake at the bottom of the hill, or to a stream, then ultimately to the ocean? Is some place down stream benefitted by the erosion upstream? I enjoyed this story and excellent illustration of the damage to your land and why you want to do things differently. Thank you. 🙂🙂
@@WayOutWestx2 I had a feeling that was the case as I thought more about it. The loss is quite unfortunate. Thanks again for the videos you share and all the things I've learned.
Interesting to see the extent of the soil loss; I had no idea it could be that bad. The stones on top of the pile of earth was really curious- would that mean a thin layer of gravel would work?
@@kasch7574 I hope I'm not 'stealing John Watkins' thunder', by answering, but PTO stands for Power Take Off. It's normally a shaft on the back of a tractor to connect equipment to, like a rotavator, or a grass cutter etc., or at least something that requires a power drive to operate the action of the item.
thecorbies thank you! That makes sense ploughing with horses, I guess... ;-) is it kurbelwelle in german? - no, it’s nebenantrieb. But I know now what it is!
Its a shame that you may have to loose your pigs. I know from my time on the farm how destructive they can be unless you can rotate them round. On smaller holdings i suppose its harder. As for routervating im a little unsure as to where the big yellow shaft might go? Lol. Fascinating idea on no dig farming. Im sure the straw will rot very well to improve the soil but the bark chippings might of been releasing too much tanin and making the soil too acidic. Not sure though.
Interesting how you have rain made hoodoo whereas all the others I have seen in US deserts were said to be wind created. Interestingly here in Lancashire we are in drought conditions, only about 2 hours rain all of April so far, after very heavy winter rains. Strange how things change. There are satellite images that show the loss of soil into the seas around all rivers mouths, so its a huge problem. I have read that the reason some religions forbid the eating of pigs is that the raising of pork was so detrimental to the land that the pig was made unclean to remove the market for pork. I am continually adding organic matter to the gardens via shavings and empty from my pony. Some have said that shaving take nitrogen from the soil and starve crops, but by chance a potato grew on the shaving heap, not planted, not looked after, just somehow coming from house hold waste and when I was collecting the rotted shavings for fertiliser use I found it had produced 2llb 4 oz (1020 g) of lovely potato. One of the potential problems with shaving growing is weed and we now have some very healthy bind weed in the shavings heap, but it has a white near plastic root that is easy to see and pull although it grows fast. So far comfrey, our other invasive weed hasn't shown too much of a liking for the shavings heap, nor as dock and although Himalayan balsam (Impatience Grandiflora) regular grows to well over 3 m each year on the heap it is a blessing for my bees and all the wild bumbles etc with copious amounts of nectar and pollen although many folk hate it, we are blessed to have it. Soil is amazing stuff and it will be great if farming practices can keep it where it belongs doing good for all of us. Thanks for sharing!
I use Charles Dowding's no-dig methods on my allotment in north- east Scotland and it is very successful. You do however, need to make a lot of compost to make it work.
@@WayOutWestx2 It seems the trick to no-dig is using what you've got as mulch! We use whatever we can get our hands on for the least amount of money possible- which usually means leaves and grass clippings, with occasionally some wood chips if we can get them for free. Whatever works to prevent erosion, hold in moisture, and add nutrients as it breaks down! (I've even wondered about your seaweed, which I saw you gather in another video) No-dig has helped our soil quite a bit. I hardly watered at all last summer, which is quite unusual for our area! And we're not losing as much of the topsoil. We get a little under 4 feet of rain a year, which turns out to be enough to grow a garden if you haven't exposed the soil and also reduced water-retention by tilling.
What’s your thoughts on ‘back to Eden’ gardening Tim? A few years back, I got rid of my compost heap and now practice ‘chop and drop’, a back to Eden idea. What’s your thoughts?
Cromwell cut down many of the trees in Ireland 700 years ago. He knew we were a forest people and it would significancy hamper us. So they cut and burned forests. We were 70% trees. Now in Ireland we're about 5% trees or less. This was a significant contributor to the erosion of our soils in the west. That an mismanagement of cattle for hundreds of years: not overgrazing, but mis-grazing. Using the animals incorrectly. Example: you'll see mountains and hills with sheep, where no areas get rest because the animals are free to go anywhere. Rather than daily moves and portable fencing to mimic hers of times past.
We do rare pigs but we do not let them graze that way. If you guys want to keep pigs I suppose you could follow our way. Make a high bed where water and shit can pass through(which is of course easier to clean as well) make a long hollow plate for them to feed on the whole day... The dung which falls down the open wood passage can then be removed from time to time to use in gardens☺. I don't know anyone will understand but hahaha.. I'll try to tell more if intrested
I haven't got a clue about farming but have you ever looked into sewing blended grasses in the fields to prevent erosion. It is just I have an interest in these things and I once say a video about looking at farming in Devon and they looked a some other UK farm that used blended grasses that allowed the cattle stay in the pasture for longer and I was wondering if it is something you had considered
Can you grow winter rye in those muddy fields to prevent erosion and maintain soil health? Also, I've seen you pull up dock plants before. Whenever I see caterpillars on my potatoes, I throw a couple of dock leaves down on the ground and they climb down and munch on them instead.
It would grow ok, but we just don't have the machinery to plant it properly or deal with it in the spring. We welcome all caterpillars these days - they're getting rarer all the time : - (
Why didn’t the wood chips work? We are thinking of moving to the midlands or a bit further West so it’s interesting to hear this about the wood chips which would have been my initial plan.
Whole day and night, I bet I can listen to Tim's and Sandra's soothing voice and videos..Who dare to put the thumb down???😡😡😡
Absolutely AGREE!
wow that scene of the washed away earth and exposed tree roots was incredible. Rain is definitely a powerful force. We visited Iceland in 2017 and they have similar issues; no trees and erosion. Good move to no dig and keeping the soil covered at all times.
IIRC, the Icelandic people's chopped down all of their trees 200 years+ ago. Whoops.
I'm genuinely surprised they haven't done a massive replanting effort given how proactive they seem to be on many other issues. And I'm sure that volcanic soil is super fertile...
@@TheJohn8765 Iceland has a reforestation program. It's slow going for a number of reasons though.
Wow! This video deserves to go viral. The state should pay you.
I agree completely : - )
I found that heavy duty pre-sown cover crops, such as triticale, worked well to create good grazing conditions and a certain amount of food and bedding, for pigs. The triticale germinated straight into grass without any cultivation (I originally discovered this because I was feeding it to my hens on grass and lots of it began to grow and out-compete the sward). If you had a nice stand of triticale growing on some grass which you, ultimately, want to replace with another crop, then pigs can go on to it late summer. They'll eat such corn as it has produced, munch and trample in the straw, and then you can get them off before winter and broadcast a green manure such as mustard straight onto the land to hold it over winter and maintain biological activity. If vegetables are your aim, in spring ridge it up into approx 4ft wide beds and top with manure, then plant straight into that without any significant soil disturbance. You'll have to start the cropping sequence with potatoes, big seeds such as beans, or transplanted plants like sweetcorn which can cope with the rough tilth you'll have. If you can smother or remove the weeds for the first season, the quality of tilth should improve markedly in subsequent years. Keep the bed structure, use the grassed dips in between beds to drain off excess rainwater gently, and continue adding organic matter to the bed surface. For every crop you take off, aim to follow with a green manure (forage peas can be sown as late as mid-November, red clover works well earlier in the autumn), which you kill in very early spring by repeatedly tickling the surface with harrows or by smothering with a new layer of mulch. To rest an area for a season, establish a deep-rooting nitrogen-building heavyweight such as sweet white clover (don't let your grazers on it!!), and then cut it progressively leaving all the residue on the soil: that will build up both soil levels and fertility quickly -- but don't let it seed! If things get away and the quality of the beds degenerates after 4+ years, bring the pigs back on and start the sequence again. To return to grass, time the pigs for a late summer exit and autumn-sow a replacement sward.
Thanks, Tish. Lots of good idea in there. We have been unsuccessful at getting anything to grow through grass - but we haven't tried tritacale that way yet.
Thanks for discussing the deforestation of the british isles! I know the tourism industry of Ireland relies heavily on it being known as the emerald isle for its vaste pasture, but it always saddens me to know all that land could have been lush forest instead :(
Exactly - lots of people don't realise that they're looking at a desert compared with what should be here.
We have been in Killarney NP last May where you can see very clearly the different between pasture and natural forest , the soil washed away heather and gorse left between rocks.
On the other side of the fence lush green kind of rainforest.
We met a guy who lives very close to you, he is planting trees since some years and already turned sheepland into young woodland.
No- dig-gardening or mulch will be another good way to make a different.
I hope all us single people trying to change the things we have now, can influence more and more, special thanks for the effort of running your YT channel .
The proliferation of coniferous plantations is a real blight on the landscape. Counties like Leitrim are being ruined by them
Summers are a hell of a lot wetter in Ireland than in my childhood abd youth. There's still the odd minor drought very occasionally but now there's often very heavy rains in the summer. If it gets any wetter, we'll have to grow fins and scales
The one video where my smile went AWOL - very educational with a graphic pictorial of exactly what is happening.👍
yes, when the soil is bare, there is a negative condition for the ecosystem of funghi, bacteria, worms and plants. They need each other and without plants, the bacteria have no food (the plants feed them with exudates) and then the bacteria go dormant which results is dryer soil without structure which is then an easy pray to erosion. Cover crops are necessary with these amounts of rain. Also when the soil itself has more carbon, it has a larger capacity to absorb water which helps significantly with withstanding big showers.
Marcus Kool that’s sounds smart but really your comment contains no information ? Pathetic
@@daniel-jb2xz In my experience nobody believes what somebody else says with just a couple of sentences, so you should do you own research and then you will find videos of many farmers and scientists that explain what I just said in a few words. Why don't you start your own research with Dr Elaine Ingham?
Fields vs Forests. Two completely different concepts ... don’t mark them with the same brush
So glad you are going to no dig. So much better for the soil. If you rotated where the pigs go you may be able to keep two for meat. There are breeds that don't root but just graze. You could lend them out for clearing patches where people want to grow stuff rather that rotovating or ploughing.
The thing is, we already have those no-dig pigs. But still they cut things up with their sharp little toes.
I have a book called Lasagna gardening. It’s where you layer different types of things so the moisture and soil creatures can keep your garden healthy. Down here in Texas I must mulch my garden or the plants dry up to a crisp in the summer. I used grass clippings from our lawn mower.
Three inches of soil erosion is a lot. America went through a lot of this between 1934 to 1940. Though in our country, I think it was mostly wind blowing the topsoil away. Glad you're looking for answers.
Nice video.
Charles Dowding and Richard Perkins have some great videos about no dig.
They both mulch with compost.
Good luck with it.
Yes, but mulching with compost seems strange to me - where I've seen it done it just gets covered with weeds instantly. It works much better for us to use something that hasn't composted yet for the surface.
Daves Faves The two farms you refer to does not have a weed problem, properly made compost does not have weed seeds,
What lovely looking soil
Every geomorphologist / soil scientist / landscape ecologist / conservationist should see this video. This is the best 6 minute illustration ever of human-induced climate change and erosion, soil loss, and landscape deterioration.
I agree completely : - )
Here in Western Canada, many farmers are moving to zero tillage, so it looks like this is becoming a more common practice in agriculture.
Now THAT IS interesting and the straw mulch really does seem to be making a positive difference to the soil quality and friability
Good points worth consideration by all users of the land, anywhere.
I REALLY love your way of thinking
We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors Tim and Sandra. Cheers from Montreal QC Canada!
Thank you! You too, guys : - )
I use straw as bedding for my 40 bird poultry farm just so I can reuse on my no dig garden as mulch. I pile it up over winter and then spread as needed. This has built up my soil incredibly. Charles Downing is a great source of information on U Tube! Thanks for your cool stuff!
Well done folks. Best of luck with the no dig method
I believe thats a good move, this year I've expanded from the greenhouse and went no-dig in a new vegetable garden. Great video shots on the soil erosion, never actually seen that before. Looking forward to your updates.
We live in a wet area, too. We tried wood chips as a garden cover--that didn't work either. We've been doing no till in our garden, which started with very poor soil. It's improved each season. The idea that it can improve year over year is very exciting. Imagine that going on all around the world. It could slowly and steadily repair what ages of agriculture damaged.
You need wood chips with the green leaves inside. It works for Paul Gauchi just fine
Long time no see i like your life. And beautiful country....simple but rich....happiness
Make that soil! Keep up the work!! Great job
Many farmers are turning to cover crops for soil erosion, adding nitrogen and other stuff to the soil.
Hi Tim. Way to go, as they say in the States. You may already know this, but, in case not, I have found the ultra light netting used for making thimble bales to be ideal also for holding down the straw when first rolled out on the beds. And it's effectively almost free.
I use about a dozen only bales of barley straw per annum, most of which I roll out onto the rows at end of the year, and cover with the staked netting. I plant as and when appropriate, and just occasionally fettle with a little composting 'tea', or another layer of straw to adjust.
Only growing spuds, carrots, garlic, onions, glads, daffodils etc. And those all a disgracefully lazy fashion. But three years results have been wildly more impressive than anything before, with a tiny fraction of the energy input and with the soil now squirming with life. So sod ploughing.
I'll be watching closely to see what else you manage to grow. best aye. Rob
Thanks Rob. Very interesting. I found that if we leave the round bale outside for a couple of months first, it's too soft to blow away when it's on the bed.
Don't you find the slugs a problem?
@@WayOutWestx2 Yes, indeed. Lost most of an entire year's growth. However, since instigating a counter-strike regimen of finely ground eggshells and dried coffee grounds a couple of years back, they seem to have packed their bags. Cafe at local Tesco market kindly supplies me with used grounds every shopping day. Been accumulating bins of the stuff, but the excess seems to do some good on the daffs, flower beds and compost etc.
Wow, so interesting.
Tim and Sandra, you’re the best, thank you for including turnip and Trudy in your video, those two always make me smile, take care
: - )
You got it right. I did a study in Paraguay, where the soycrops monoculture is washing away the rich soil from the Upper Atlantinc Parana Forest and erosion is extreme, it is desolation . It is important to make a wise approach and not fill everything with chemical fertilizers. Have a happy harvest!
I'm a fan of no-dig too. As long as there aren't too many pests that survive in your mulch, and you have a practical/affordable source of mulch, it's a great way to go. As for the pigs, there is one method of confinement that is more friendly. Korean Natural Farming practices includes a method of keeping pigs in somewhat roomy confinement situation. 2 to 3 foot of litter material is built up and enclosed with sides. A light duty barn is built over that, with fence panel sides for air flow where appropriate. I hog wallow is made in the corner. A scratching log can be put in for them to scratch on. Some people keep 6 to 8 feeder pigs in one open barn like this without partitions, but I've seen other people partition off each pig into what looks like small horse stalls (not my preference). I think partial turn-out time can be given to pigs, as it done to horses at some fancy stables. When it's dry enough, and for an appropriate amount of time, turn them loose in a paddock. Otherwise, back to the deep litter barn they go to make compost for you, sleep in the shade, and soak in the wallow.
Thank you. Yes, I think you're right. It's the only way we can see pigs working out for us here.
I have a small garden compared to you guys and I have no room for a pig, but, because I use permaculture techniques, I never till soil. I have, however, seen people use pigs in permaculture systems to ‘till’ and ‘fertilize’ soil. They did so by planting things like turnips and beets in the ground among other things and, once grown, allowing the pigs to root around in the soil digging them up and turning the soil for them. While they turn the soil, the pigs poop and pee all over it thus leaving nutrients in the soil, but they usually left it for about 6 weeks to allow the pig waste to compost before planting food crops. They always had something growing or planted to grow on the plot either before or immediately after the pigs were allowed on the plot to eat to protect the soils. The added advantage in allowing the pigs to ‘till’ and ‘fertilize’ the soil was that they were always gaining weight so they could be consumed later. From what I have seen though, cows are more popular for building soil because they don’t root around in the soil turning it which can destroy the soil ecology and their waste is particularly good at building a healthy soil ecology. Gabe Brown videos are good at communicating the principles used when cows are part of such a system. Though the climate in the part of the U.S. where he lives is vastly different than where you live. I just thought I would share some ideas. Thanks for the video.
I wish we had enough land to consider keeping cows (I grew up on a dairy farm) but, sadly, we just don't.
I live on the west side of the US. We’re about 300 miles from the ocean. Our area gets an average of 17 inches of precipitation here per year. I cannot imagine 6 feet of rain. In the US, during the 1930s, our country lost untold tons of topsoil across the center of the country due to wind blowing it away. It became the dust bowl. Principle cause being digging up the vast prairies and planting wheat leaving the ground bare when not planted to wheat. It was devastating.
Just found you today! This is so interesting to me as I have been doing the same at my small farm. The soil is virtually non-existent. I am surrounded by mono-crop farms but our land isn't even suitable for farming. At one time, hundreds of years ago it was the site of an inland sea. It is a sandbox! I have been using no-till methods for several years, covering with hay, straw, and bark when I can get it. The winds are extreme here too and just blow everything away. We have so many downed young trees from the past winter. I've done Hugul beds and this year making mounds. Slowly I see the soil building and earthworms returning. We are in zone 3, so the season is short and the winters are harsh. I hope that what I am doing is more than just gardening for the season but rather reclaiming the land and building for the future, even if it's just on a small scale.
What a wonderful challenge you have found for yourself, Christine. Good luck! Post some videos?
Hello Tim, thank you for answering. Will all your animals you can get quite a bit though. I would like to say how much I enjoy yours and Sandras videos. Love the way both of you talk love your lifestyle, your kindness to your animals and your inventiveness with tools. I have a big vegetable garden and this year we will have 25 meat birds and I like to tinker with all sorts of thing.
That sounds wonderful that you have found a way to help the soil and yourselves. I've never seen anything like that with the rocks on top of the saved soil. I come from the southwest of USA where it is very dry, although there are flash flood seasons that wash everything away, whether there is a rock on it or not. lol That is so interesting to see those rock mounds like that.
I love your videos! I remember when you used to do mostly beekeeping videos but its great to see the evolution in your land caretaking!
Thanks Eric. I've always been interested in everything (a terrible situation!).
Make sure you apply generous amounts of lime as the large amounts of rain tends to acidify the soil & leach out the calcium & magnesium. Traditionally lime was always applied in early spring, & applied heavily after a very wet winter.
Thanks for the tip, but of course it depends what you're trying to grow..
@@WayOutWestx2 It doesn't really matter what you are growing, calcium is the most important element for plant health. It helps balance all the other nutrients. Check out John Kempfs work on plant nutrition.
Seeing it visually like that is quite shocking. Thankfully, the earth seems to be incredibly resilient given even the tiniest chance to recover. The main thing is to give the earth her mantle back and regrow a lot of forest. And to stop tilling. I'm not sure how industrial agriculture will cope with that but I can't help but think that it will have to learn - only when things get markedly worse of course.
I wish you could send some rain to Austria.. We'd need it desperatly. It hasn't been raining for almost two months and the Winter was very dry too..
Same.in texas
That is so sad. Climate change is frightening.
No dig gardening is also good for keeping moisture by the way. It prevents evaporation of water. There are also other great techniques to maintain water in your soil, in permaculture they call it ‘water harvesting’.
i am also from Austria and i can say there is still water in the Ground but that will last for 1 month and than it is over
New Mexico
moskitostich
I know, right? It’s freaking April and it has hardly rained for weeks in my part of Germany. A little drizzle here and there, but not a good soaking 😕.
We already have to water the garden on a regular basis.
I have gardened my veg plot along the lines of Charles Dowding the plants are healthier and it's a lot less work.
I can't wait to see how it goes, and I'm interested in which cops don't work with no till. Thank you for sharing your experience!
MORNING cheers thanks for sharing 💕💕
Good morning to you too, Candi : - )
Really interesting video to see soil erosion. I have been doing no dig on my allotment for past 18 months using mostly compost on the beds and wood chips on the paths. Expensive initial outlay, but once my own compost bins are up and running I think it will be simply maintaining the ground cover and feeding the soil. Compost is better in damp climates as less appealing to slugs.
You could be right about the straw - but we found the chips rotted so quickly they quickly grew weeds.
Thank you for the interesting informative video nice to see you doing something positive love to you both and all the animals .👍😀
Thanks, Paula
Great video. Very impressive. Thank you ♡
Hello, Charles Dowding and Richard Perkins farms do not have a weed problem. In fact those farms are basically feed free in spite of using large amounts of compost. I have the same experience in my garden compost does not create a lot of weeds. I practiced no dig for years and basically have a weed free garden.
We couldn't produce the amount of compost we would need though. But straw is great too.
This is new to me but makes sense. Here in US most farming now is zero till but it is done with seed drills, round up resistant seeds and tons of herbicides. They are doing industrial farming in the same three inches of soil year after year with no tillage- on that scale it seems unsustainable. Your way seems more sustainable.
I always put rye or winter wheat out in the Fall and till it in the spring, but that is more to increase organic material and not erosion. We have about 100-120 cm rain a year-much less than you all.
This is interesting. Please keep us up to date.
Frank
Your way sounds good. We can't drill the grain effectively so we have ended up with a grass/oat mix that wasn't much good for anything. It's all so interesting though, isn't it?!
Hi Sandra and Tim, I love watching your videos. Infact I tried making your roasted pumpkin soup last year. It tastes good. Keep making videos. With love all the way from Nagaland, India
Thank you, Aolem : - )
Keep going Tim we are only trying to preserve it for the next generation without causing too much damage. I am currently trying pine straw from local forestry plantations hoping there will be enough nitrogen for my veg.
I would love to see you have a collaboration with the RED Gardens UA-cam channel. My two favourites.
He's a couple of hours away from us..
This does sound like good ideas you have. You might want to look into some broad forking as well.
Another thing that I am going to do this year that I’ve never done is grow in pots. I have just purchased 25 - 3 gallon pots with saucers. I am going to put our most beloved vegetables in those pots. And then I can tend to them even better. I have a place I can put them inside at night if I have to. I can get them out of the rain also. I will water them at night and the saucers will help keep the water in. Down here in the deep South that’s the time we water our garden. Also pepper plants and others are perennials here in my area. If you can get them in black pots and have their soil warmed up during the day. They will make it through the winter no problem. Unless it gets really cold. Then once again I can just bring them into that spot that I have designated for them to go. Happy gardening!!!!!
Sounds like a plan - good luck!
Maybe you can make a ditch that collects the soil? And then taking the soil from the ditch and taking it back to the flat land?
Very interesting, we’re going to have a go at a No Dig poly tunnel this year, just waiting for the tunnel to arrive!
Maybe set seed potatoes on top of the pig paddock ground , then put straw/wood chips mix on the top. The paddock soil is full of manure and after the potato harvest (?) the area will rot down to soil. Maybe a cover crop on top when the taters are harvested (hopefully).
Good idea - except under those trees I doubt the potatoes would get enough light.
Bravo! Regenerative Agriculture!
For the past 8 years I have been a huge proponent of sheet composting and lasagne gardening. I save all the animal bedding during the year and put them on the garden beds as mulch. I make new garden beds each fall using cardboard, paper, kitchen scraps, grass clippings, "weeds", etc. Where I live, wood chips work well and are readily available, so the beds are all buried with wood chip mulch in the fall. Winter is our wet season, though we only get about 16-18 inches (40-46 cm) of rain per year.
I wonder if covering the pig pen (and other bare spots) for the winter with bedding from your barn would prevent soil erosion?
I'm not sure you can call that a wet season, Kirsten : - )
Have you watched any of Justin Rhodes UA-cam videos on perma-culture? Very interesting! He's a leading expert on the subject.
Yes, they're excellent - but a little too long for us.
Very interesting, thanks Tim. We grow spuds etc and this sounds like a good idea. Very different today to how our ancestors used land. Hopefully this no dig practice will become popular. I second my partners (Highlander) comment about your great glass house. All the best.
Thanks, Lucy. Yes, we were brought up with the idea of ploughing in the autumn and 'letting the frosts break up the soil'. It sounds crazy these days, doesn't it?
Yeah, it's not as extreme here but we get really dry hot summers and then lots of rain that can't go anywhere. So we've been told not to cover our yards with tiles anymore. Of course people still do it as they don't want to maintain a yard. I have a lot of weeds but I don't have the large puddles. The houses here are new as of a few years ago and the soil had no life in it when they were done and it's clay so obviously it turns into a rock under those conditions but I think even the weeds are really improving the soil now. It looks very different when I'm weeding. Of course it doesn't wash away here in this flat land in the Netherlands as much but as a whole country we are still sinking lower all the time. We are widening kreeks and rivers for all that water coming through too. Across the street they made a wadi, a sort of grassy hollow where the water can stand in and drain. Not so much a pond as a swamp.
thanks, Iflie - very interesting
With so much rain you guys are getting Corn would do so well there, as corn needs alot of water! Was that a cornfield you were in Tim, the leaves look identical to young corn plants just barely a week old and kudos to Sandra and you for actually making more soil for this rainy climate, this means that Ireland will still retain its nickname The Emerald Isle! Sorry for the delay on the paypal thingy, but results are I can't find my password that permits me to donate, will try to find time, its only logical to help ya all out, truly enjoy and learn so much from your cool videos. Uprated and thanks for another INTERESTING upload, hope ya have a great rest of the week, greetings from Mexico! :)
Ha! No, Joe, that's garlic. It is possible to grow corn outside in Ireland, but not here in the west. And even on the drier side you have to get lucky for it to ripen. People start it under plastic to get it going early enough..
@@WayOutWestx2 lol....Garlic, never knew until now what garlic leaves look like until now, I just let on my ignorance on country things! hehehe....
we love your videos
they are great for homeschooling our children!! i was wondering if you need new ideas you could do a series specifically for home schooling !!!
thanks again
It's a lovely idea, thanks Paul. I think we're just too busy though, but we'll give it some thought.
My Kids (3 and 6) love both your channels. They learn a lot from your videos. Thanks a million, Tim and Sandra 😘
We're getting such strange winters, and very wet ones at that, that it's causing all sorts of mischief for the food growers. I imagine methods like this might end up being helpful in the long run in a lot of places.
the way to go. covering realy helps build soil
Sorry about the erosion in the pig area. If you can't move the pigs every day on rotation, then they are going to leave your soils to erode as you've seen. Best of luck and learn lots of things about no-dig.
Good job and research. Europe was just about 1000 years ago cowered by beautiful natural old forests and swams. I guess that Climax vegetation is the proper description.
Try also basalt powder and effective microorganisms (even from compost tea or nettle manure). The right balance of carbon and nitrogen is important.
Everything is going well...
Wow, I knew you were getting a lot more rain, but that statistic is staggering. (Bonnie)
Great video 👍
Oh wow. That sure looks shocking, with the roots all exposed! Glad, you guys are coming up with ways to start fixing these issues.
Now, what’s too be done, about too little rain, though? It’s April and it has hardly rained at all in my part of Germany for weeks. I‘m fearing another hot, bone dry summer. I wonder, if no dig, straw covered beds could aid in preventing evaporation, as well...at least, where they wouldn’t be a fire hazard.
Not, that I‘m a gardener myself, just speculating...
Yes! I think no-dig would be essential in your conditions. But first you need a garden..?
@@WayOutWestx2
Working towards it...😀
I'd like to see a video from you both on how one might apply this to a regular garden. I'd love to plant something to grow in my garden using a no dig method.
Isn't ours a regular garden, Spence?!
Hi Tim, can you make another video on soil please and explain in more detail? thanks
Will do! (Not sure when yet, but it's on the list..)
In The Netherlands a very big part of all soil is covered with green manure which is plowed under or milled.
nearly evrywhere in europe the soild is cover with green crops over the winter or when there was wheat of something like the rest of plants stay in the Ground that also prevents from Erosion or also winter crops wich u plant already in atuum
Tim put your pigs on concrete. Thanks for the video. Phillip Hall
Wow that clip of erosion is truly terrifying when you have a mind for growing and sustainability, I have tried grass mulches on spuds but the slugs were unbearable, I'm using black plastic and tires(sand bags just don't last unless you buy the UV ones but too expensive) for winter cover but it's unsightly) struggling to make enough compost for my growing ambitions, they reckon 100 years per inch of topsoil it takes nature to make, that must mean my ground is only 200 years old 😁 I have spent a few years researching soil biology and what others are doing, nature is truly amazing with how it covers man's bare soil techniques and the types of weeds and succession that happens it just doesn't happen fast enough for our short lifetime, regenerative agriculture seems the way forward with sequestration of carbon through careful planning and management, look forward to your take on it moving forward, thanks for sharing 👍🏻
what a shambles have you tried predators against the slugs? I heard ducks can be a great remedy
i grow potatoes in 6 tractor tires and this year going to try them in a polytunnel to. all round the tires it's always standing water even too wet for weeds to grow. last year had a huge problem with frogs inside the polytunnels. too wet for frogs
Surely frogs are a good thing? Whereabouts are you?
@@WayOutWestx2 northern minnesota
Hello Tim and Sandra, greetings from Oregon, not so wet anymore... There is a breed of pig that has a short snout and does not root the ground up like the standard pig we grew up with. Not sure if they are available in Ireland but maybe.. Take care.
If you want to send me some please, it hasn't rained here in south Somerset for over 3 weeks, the ground is nothing but dust and rock, I haven't been able to plant anything even if I water 2 times a day, so I'm doing a rain dance
yep even down ear in Cornwall we've had none for 'tleast a fortnight, everything is struggling. even 'ad to water the trees! some comin tomorrow supposedly, we'll wait and see with our mouths open.
I personally do no dig for two main reasons (there's a handful of reasons really though), it's healthier for the earth microbes and all, and we have sand under a very very thin layer of topsoil. Perhaps, raise pigs in one of those 'pig port' shelter type of deals, we do this so the pigs don't turn the ground area into a sand box.
All those little beasties under the straw are thanking you as well. :)
Did you ever hear of Joel Salatin, the 'crazy' American farmer who, while his neighbours farms lost a couple of feet of soil due to erosion and overfarming, built up his soil by a couple of feet? His circumstances might be totally different from yours, and subsequently his solutions might not suit your situation, but he wrote some very interesting (and amusing) books about them.
And of course Charles Dowling is the granddaddy of no-dig gardening...
I love Charles Dowling and Morag Gamble. They met each other recently and took a tour of Charles' garden. www.bing.com/videos/search?q=morag+gamble&docid=607999839254610683&mid=164048FBFA32E4CA6FFD164048FBFA32E4CA6FFD&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
Thanks, yes, I've dipped into both of those wise men.
plant a thousand willows. they love wet land and you can root them from a cutting very fast. you can grow a forest in their shade
we plant nearly that many every year
We get 4.04 ft/yr of rain. We are lucky that we don't get soil erosion.
I just rained yesterday for me my window is soaking
running into many of the same issues here. straw or hay work great and wood chips, sawdust seem to do well here as well. A year or two ago I had to get rid of my sheep, it almost killed me but they were too successful for their own good. I kept the hogs over the sheep and cut back from 32 head of hogs to 1 boar, 1 sow and we have 9 piglets from last fall and this spring that we are holding onto until this wacky mexican beer sham passes over us here. You never know when a community needs bacon. But the sheep kept the greenery down to golf course pristine carpet and a healthy browse line through our trees. Not bad but the land was feeling it. The hogs however landscaped my property and now instead of it all just pouring off the slopes and down the washout and creek we are getting some water penetration in our soils due to their superpower of creating swales and making water walk across their pasture and our our homestead. But they do leave the soil bare. They are like the Hoover cleaning lady that insists there is dirt she must get under your floor boards. They do a very good job turning over the fresh growth about once a year. And like you I notice that we are loosing some topsoil because of it. If I could move them faster this would not be an issue. But we are not there yet. One thing I have been meaning to try is to roll out large round bales and try to cover my bare soils with hay or straw. The more weed seed the better as that is what pigs love most. But honestly it is getting harder and harder to find hay and straw is almost impossible. But these commodities we use to take for granted are getting hard to find. The weather is not helping but there is also a sickness of not wanting to be bothered with a good hay crop being put up. They seem to think putting up houses on prime agricultural land is a better solution. Maybe it is?
Thanks - good to hear we're not the only ones trying to find that tricky balance. What happened to your videos btw?
@@WayOutWestx2 I made them private as my account is buried in the clusterfeck that is youtube. Honestly, I took a little break and that break just felt so good that I am still on it! Also I found that they deleted all my videos from 2 yrs ago, demonitized me and for all my loyalty I am buggered if I am going to put more money in their coffers with my content. Waiting now for other options to publishing my adventures here. Yet, I can not tell you how much more I am able to accomplish not dragging a camera around.
This does sound like good ideas you have. Another thing that I am going to do this year that I’ve never done is grow in pots. I have just purchased 25 - 3 gallon pots with saucers. I am going to put our most beloved vegetables in those pots. And then I can tend to them even better. I have a place I can put them inside at night if I have to. I can get them out of the rain also. I will water them at night and the saucers will help keep the water in. Down here in the deep South that’s the time we water our garden. Also pepper plants and others are perennials here in my area. If you can get them in black pots and have their soil warmed up during the day. They will make it through the winter no problem. Unless it gets really cold. Then once again I can just bring them into that spot that I have designated for them to go. Happy gardening!!!!!
The soil goes somewhere; I imagine. But where? Does it ultimately end up in the lowest body of water? A lake at the bottom of the hill, or to a stream, then ultimately to the ocean? Is some place down stream benefitted by the erosion upstream? I enjoyed this story and excellent illustration of the damage to your land and why you want to do things differently. Thank you. 🙂🙂
It all ends up in the sea, but it might get stuck for a while in boggy land
@@WayOutWestx2 I had a feeling that was the case as I thought more about it. The loss is quite unfortunate. Thanks again for the videos you share and all the things I've learned.
Interesting to see the extent of the soil loss; I had no idea it could be that bad. The stones on top of the pile of earth was really curious- would that mean a thin layer of gravel would work?
Yes, anything at all would help - but you still need air and water to go in and out to keep the soil working
"Our horses don't have PTOs" Did you find that out by trial and error? :|
John Watkins I could ask google, but I’d rather ask you...What is PTO? Im german.
Power Take Off. A splined shaft to drive external equipment, most commonly on a Tractor.
@@kasch7574 I hope I'm not 'stealing John Watkins' thunder', by answering, but PTO stands for Power Take Off. It's normally a shaft on the back of a tractor to connect equipment to, like a rotavator, or a grass cutter etc., or at least something that requires a power drive to operate the action of the item.
thecorbies thank you! That makes sense ploughing with horses, I guess... ;-) is it kurbelwelle in german? - no, it’s nebenantrieb. But I know now what it is!
Kasch
You saved me a google search, as well 👍
Check put ruth stout method...made for your climate....sounds like what u did with your potatoes.
Its a shame that you may have to loose your pigs. I know from my time on the farm how destructive they can be unless you can rotate them round. On smaller holdings i suppose its harder. As for routervating im a little unsure as to where the big yellow shaft might go? Lol. Fascinating idea on no dig farming. Im sure the straw will rot very well to improve the soil but the bark chippings might of been releasing too much tanin and making the soil too acidic. Not sure though.
You _can_ still use pigs, but you'll have to move them often so they don't root.
6 ft of rain!!! My God..
Interesting how you have rain made hoodoo whereas all the others I have seen in US deserts were said to be wind created. Interestingly here in Lancashire we are in drought conditions, only about 2 hours rain all of April so far, after very heavy winter rains. Strange how things change. There are satellite images that show the loss of soil into the seas around all rivers mouths, so its a huge problem. I have read that the reason some religions forbid the eating of pigs is that the raising of pork was so detrimental to the land that the pig was made unclean to remove the market for pork. I am continually adding organic matter to the gardens via shavings and empty from my pony. Some have said that shaving take nitrogen from the soil and starve crops, but by chance a potato grew on the shaving heap, not planted, not looked after, just somehow coming from house hold waste and when I was collecting the rotted shavings for fertiliser use I found it had produced 2llb 4 oz (1020 g) of lovely potato. One of the potential problems with shaving growing is weed and we now have some very healthy bind weed in the shavings heap, but it has a white near plastic root that is easy to see and pull although it grows fast. So far comfrey, our other invasive weed hasn't shown too much of a liking for the shavings heap, nor as dock and although Himalayan balsam (Impatience Grandiflora) regular grows to well over 3 m each year on the heap it is a blessing for my bees and all the wild bumbles etc with copious amounts of nectar and pollen although many folk hate it, we are blessed to have it. Soil is amazing stuff and it will be great if farming practices can keep it where it belongs doing good for all of us. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks - I'd not heard that about religions discouraging pigs. (Shame they didn't discourage too many children, but they never do.)
I use Charles Dowding's no-dig methods on my allotment in north- east Scotland and it is very successful.
You do however, need to make a lot of compost to make it work.
Exactly - that's one of the reasons we don't use his method. Can you get straw?
I don't use straw as I have a problem on my allotment with slugs.
@@WayOutWestx2 It seems the trick to no-dig is using what you've got as mulch! We use whatever we can get our hands on for the least amount of money possible- which usually means leaves and grass clippings, with occasionally some wood chips if we can get them for free. Whatever works to prevent erosion, hold in moisture, and add nutrients as it breaks down! (I've even wondered about your seaweed, which I saw you gather in another video)
No-dig has helped our soil quite a bit. I hardly watered at all last summer, which is quite unusual for our area! And we're not losing as much of the topsoil. We get a little under 4 feet of rain a year, which turns out to be enough to grow a garden if you haven't exposed the soil and also reduced water-retention by tilling.
What’s your thoughts on ‘back to Eden’ gardening Tim? A few years back, I got rid of my compost heap and now practice ‘chop and drop’, a back to Eden idea. What’s your thoughts?
I should go and learn more, Robert, before I comment. There are lots of similarities, though, aren't there?
Cromwell cut down many of the trees in Ireland 700 years ago. He knew we were a forest people and it would significancy hamper us. So they cut and burned forests. We were 70% trees. Now in Ireland we're about 5% trees or less. This was a significant contributor to the erosion of our soils in the west. That an mismanagement of cattle for hundreds of years: not overgrazing, but mis-grazing. Using the animals incorrectly. Example: you'll see mountains and hills with sheep, where no areas get rest because the animals are free to go anywhere. Rather than daily moves and portable fencing to mimic hers of times past.
We do rare pigs but we do not let them graze that way. If you guys want to keep pigs I suppose you could follow our way. Make a high bed where water and shit can pass through(which is of course easier to clean as well) make a long hollow plate for them to feed on the whole day... The dung which falls down the open wood passage can then be removed from time to time to use in gardens☺. I don't know anyone will understand but hahaha.. I'll try to tell more if intrested
Thanks Athi. Do you have any photos/video?
Sure, I do have photos which I will send it through the provided email.
I haven't got a clue about farming but have you ever looked into sewing blended grasses in the fields to prevent erosion. It is just I have an interest in these things and I once say a video about looking at farming in Devon and they looked a some other UK farm that used blended grasses that allowed the cattle stay in the pasture for longer and I was wondering if it is something you had considered
Thanks Alan, but we never re-seed, so all we have are blended grasses.
Can you grow winter rye in those muddy fields to prevent erosion and maintain soil health?
Also, I've seen you pull up dock plants before. Whenever I see caterpillars on my potatoes, I throw a couple of dock leaves down on the ground and they climb down and munch on them instead.
It would grow ok, but we just don't have the machinery to plant it properly or deal with it in the spring.
We welcome all caterpillars these days - they're getting rarer all the time : - (
Why didn’t the wood chips work? We are thinking of moving to the midlands or a bit further West so it’s interesting to hear this about the wood chips which would have been my initial plan.
They did work - but not as well as the straw. But have a go yourself and report back?
@@WayOutWestx2 ah I will. We hope to move when Covid lets us!
Hi Sandra and Tim
could you please tell me and others who are not so familiar with patreon, how to find you there?
Thanks Evi. You just need to click on the Pareon link in the description of this video.. www.patreon.com/user?u=2761318