Here’s Cathryn Flint(the bunny rabbit)
• Checking out the small grain/clover winter cover crop of daddy-rabbit, Matt
• Then, an April scene of the garden
• No-till for the past 3 years
• Cover was “rolled down”. A “slam dunk”
• Great weed control, no crusting, no runoff !
• Cover grew more for later plantings of melons and eggplant
CHARLES WALLACE, SCT, retired long, long ago, Lincoln Co.
• Good variety of vegetables
• Looks like no weeds to pull ! !
• Note the close-up of lettuce—bet he doesn’t need to wash off any sand !
• Thanks to Elton Barbour for these pictures.
LLOYD PHILLIPSDavidson County
• Small grain for mulch, copious amounts
• Cucumber, pepper surrounded by protective ground cover
• Bet the SCI is pretty good here!
• He prepared a “how to” on no-till gardening for his clients.
BRIAN WOODCherokee County
• Uses rye/crimson clover for cover crop
• Rakes cover back, makes small furrow with hoe
• Applies lime, fertilizer at planting
• Note that he has cool-season crops, too.
• Goes bear hunting with a switch!
ROY MATHISWilkes County
• Lots of different vegetables
• Uses leaves for ground cover
• Threw in a conventional till slide for contrast—note cloddy condition
• Cites many advantages of no-till
• Being a soil scientist on the soil quality team, could not resist digging to show the contrast!
MARK and KAYLA HUDSONJackson, Swain Counties
• A little different approach - -• Grass clippings and recycled, shredded paper
for ground cover—looks like it works just fine, huh?
• No-tilled for about 6 years• No weeding needed-no herbicides used• See contrast soil profiles, ten feet apart. Left,
garden- right, lawn of 18 years!• Then, note the earthworms. Several people
noted earthworm populations moved in !
MIKE HINTONState Office
• Big variety of vegetables, including sweet potatoes—second slide following this
• Good-looking ground cover of rye—actually, all who use a cover crop have gotten the word—let it get big enough before you zap it !
• That’s his basket of goodies in the title slide. Good job! (Maybe he’ll bring in a watermelon one day.)
Finally, your Agronomist
• Irish potato and triticale mature together-no burndown needed
• 2nd slide, about 13 years ago—then, deer got peas, butterbeans, and watermelon—raccoons got the corn, so he said @#$%^&* with it !!
• 3rd slide is slice of Cecil SL, after 20 years no-till and annual additions of about 5,000 lbs/ac biomass.
• Last photo—Proper use of disc !
A BIG THANK YOU - -
• To these who took time to share their pictures and information.
• No doubt there are others who are doing just as well, but are spending their saved time at the lake instead of taking pictures, and,
• Maybe others of you would like to give it a try—I’ll bet these good folks would share their knowledge.