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No-Till GardeningA Mulch System for Growing Just

About Everything

Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.Vegetable and Fruit TA Advisor

Northeast Organic Farming Association ofVermont

www.nofavt.org

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Todays Session

No-Till Gardening

Straw Mulched Systems

Pebble Mulched Systems

Bark Mulched Systems Cover Crops

How the can fit into a no-till gardening system.

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No-Till Gardening 1998

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No-Till Gardening - 1998

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No-Till Gardening - 2008

Garden Site Conditions:

1) South facing slope,2) Champlain Valley,3) Fine sandy loam tosilty loam soils

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No-Till Gardening - 2008

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No-Till Gardening - 2008

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No-Till Gardening - 2008

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Why Use A No-Till System in YourGarden?

Promote Soil Tilth

Hold on to your soil structure Prevent crusting

Prevent moisture loss

Prevent soil erosion

Promote Soil Biological Diversity Provide food and habitat for organisms

Create biological stability and balance

Promote insect and diseasesuppression (OM)

Manage weeds

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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ToolsNeeded

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No-Till Gardening: Using

Straw Mulch

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No-Till Gardening: Straw MulchClear Off MulchFor Direct SeededWarm Season

Crops Until TheyGerminate

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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch

Direct Seeded Cool

Season Crops OnlyNeed a Furrow

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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch

Direct Seeded Crops and

Sets Require A Thinner

Layer of MulchWSH

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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch

Cool SeasonTransplants Can

be MulchedImmediately

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No-Till Gardening: Straw MulchWarm SeasonTransplants Shouldbe Mulched Beforethe First Rain ToPrevent Soil Splash

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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch

Perennial Plants Can

be Kept in MulchWSH

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No-Till Gardening: Using

Pebble Mulch

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Cranberries in Pebble Mulch

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No-Till Gardening: Using

Pebble Mulch

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No-Till Gardening: Using

Bark Mulch for Ornamentals

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Flowers: Bark Mulch

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Orchard Crops: Bark Mulch

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Cover Crops in No-Till Gardening?

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Cover Crops Qualities for No-Till

Gardening Cover Crops Uses Cover crops, green manures, and catch crops

Some Types

Legumes: clovers, field peas, vetch, etc. Grasses: winter rye, oats, annual rye, etc Others: buckwheat, mustards, sorghum-sudangrass

Winter Survival

Winter-killed: buckwheat, oats, sorghum-sudangrass Should winter-kill: annual rye Survives winter: winter rye, perennial ryegrass, hairy vetch,

white clover, winter wheat

Will Re-grow after Cutting Can be cut repeatedly: annual rye, rye, vetch Can be cut at some stages: oats, buckwheat,

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Cover Crop Seeds

Winter Rye-Vetch Mix

Annual Ryegrass

Oats

Buckwheat

Survives Winter

Should NOT Survive Winter

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Cover Crops in No-Till Gardening

Serial planting after onions

Rye-VetchAnnual Ryegrass

Buckwheat

Oats

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Cover Crops in No-Till Gardening

Rye-Vetch Annual Ryegrass

Biomass Production

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Cover Crops in No-Till Gardening

Buckwheat and Oats BiomassPast Cutting

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Cover Crops in No-Till Gardening

Before andAfter Cutting

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Cover Crops in No-Till Gardening

Final Cutting

Annual Ryegrass

Oats

Buckwheat

Rye-Vetch

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Harvest from Mulch Gardening

SystemWSH

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Questions on Mulch Gardening and

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Questions on Mulch Gardening and

Cover Crops?

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Resources Start with the Soil. G. Gershuny.1993. RodalePress.

The Rodale Book of Composting. D.L. Martin &G. Gershuny. 1992. Rodale Press.

Managing Cover Crops Profitably. SAN. 2007.Manage Insects on your Farm: a guide to

ecological strategies. M.A. Altieri and C.I.Nicholls with M.A. Fritz, 2005. SAN.

Farmscaping to Enhance Biological ControlR.Dufour. ATTRA. 2000.

ATTRA: (Many Topics)

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The End