HOW TO BUILD THE ULTIMATE NO-TILL GARDEN: USING COVER CROPS AS A SHEET MULCH!
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- In this in-depth journey spanning five years, join Chef Mikey, a former executive chef turned urban farmer, as he shares the secrets to creating the ultimate no-till garden. Discover the transformative power of cover crops as a sheet mulch technique, enriching the soil naturally and cultivating a thriving ecosystem in your garden beds. Follow along with Chef Mikey through the seasons as he documents the growth, challenges, and bountiful harvests in his small farm. Learn valuable tips, techniques, and the culinary wisdom that makes this garden truly exceptional. If you're passionate about sustainable gardening and delicious homegrown produce, this video is a must-watch. Get ready to embark on your own no-till gardening adventure and elevate your harvests to new heights!
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#bountifulharvest #GardeningJourney
OMG!! What a layout! If you have a full-time job and did all this on the week-ends, farming/gardening is in your blood.
Thanks pal 🙏 I did build it all while I had a job. But I quit my job a little over a year ago, now I just garden in my backyard full time. 🙌💪💪
@@chefsharvestfarm I have very similar goals and would be so grateful to achieve even a fraction of your greatness!
What you are doing here is how I do my no till , no pesticides, no herbicide, and no chemical fertilizer gardening. Good job 👍👍👍👍👍👊
Heck yeah 🙌 thanks for the positive feedback! I appreciate it 🙏
Loved that table of plants at the end of the video 😂🤪
Ha! Most people don’t actually watch till the end 😂
I was gonna say, that last table looked like some wacky tabbacky lol! Might as well!
Great info from the video! I am in my 2nd season with a large cut flower garden. I have six 30in by 75ft rows. Last fall I stock cut all rows down and then covered with a generous layer of mushroom compost and then this spring did a swallow till to get the beds ready for planting. Of course the weeds got away from me as I too work a full time job outside of this. I am trying to wrap my brain around a cover crop and using a silage tarp to kill it off as to get away from tilling all together and hopefully lessen the weed pressure. Thanks for making this video I found it educational! Peace and love from Kingsville Ontario Canada! :)
Heck yeah! Thanks for the positive feedback 🙌 I learned this method from Daniel Mays of Frith Farms book. It’s called “The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm” he shares several similar methods also. I think you would get a lot from it. I need to start leaving links in the description.
Links! Yes please! Love the info you're sharing and more is always welcome! I have a small garden and hope to grow. Until then, I'm turning my waiting room into a classroom!
@@chefsharvestfarm Ordered the book right after you replied! Thank you! I am excited for next season of growing and this one isn't even done yet :)
Beautiful! Thanks for such a clear explanation of this method.
You are so welcome! Thanks for commenting, I appreciate it 🙏
I love it nothing better than seeing your hard work bloom I grow flowers my Frist year for my second year I have done some planning going to try and sale flowers in 2024.
Good luck
Heck yeah, flower farmers are the first ones to sell out every week at my farmers market! Thanks for the positive feedback, I really appreciate it 🙏
Wow. Thats a huge farm you have now! Its amazing how much youve accomplished. Congratulations
Thanks so much! 😊
1st off, love the overalls! 2nd, brilliant!!!!!!! I want to start a garden now. Thank you for the wisdom.
Thanks pal 🙏 I appreciate the positive comments. I hope to continue releasing videos outlining everything I’ve done to get here. Hope you’ll follow along!
You have a beautiful garden! I used to worry about making worm dead-zones by covering land for so long but now I rationalize that they just move. After many years of wood chips mulch I have a thick layer of mycelium dirt in some spots (and also thriving worms)
Heck yeah! I’m pro wood chips all day 🙌 and they’re typically free or sometimes I pay a $20 delivery fee for a dump truck full. Thanks for the positive feedback, I appreciate it 🙏
Well done! 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you 🙏
The layout is awesome
Thank you 🙏
Im in south east Arkansas and I am currently battling barmuda, idk why I havent thought of this method! Brilliant!
Ugh! It's the worst! I really find the best way is to just dig it out with a fork.
Great plan!
I’m doing this. Renewed my excitement for gardening!
Thank you
Heck yeah! Thanks for the positive feedback 🙏
This is the neatest way to have a plentiful supply of food. Thank you for sharing this with me.
You’re welcome, thanks for the support and comments 🙏
Have you seen any of the research about phthalates in food coming from things like silage tarps and other agricultural plastics? I just learned about this and trying to figure out how I can no till easily without it.
I definitely hate the use of so much plastic. You can just smother the grass with like 10” of leaves and wood chips. It will kill most of the grass over about a year or two and do great things for the soil.
Cardboard or if you live where you can gather paper lawn bag. Cut them open and lay them down overlapping the edges. Use tree limbs,hay or grass clippings ro hold in place
Great job my fellow organic gardener.
Thank you 🙏
AWESOME JOB mate! & very detailed too. BUT, can you by any chance leave the writing on the screen a little longer, as some of us can't read really fast & miss what you write.
Thanks Gary! Yes I will keep that in mind next time 🙏
Wonderful setup. Fellow no till gardener here❤
Thank you 🙏
Thanks for sharing !! WOW, you really pack in a lot of rows there on your plot !
Heck yeah 🙌 it’s a lot for sure. 😂
Awesome video man. Congrats on the beautiful farm. Lots of hard work! Im building one right now!
Thank you 🙏 good luck 🍀
Garden looks super clean 👏🏻
Thanks!
This video came up for us... So glad to meet you. It's great to see how you've transitioned your growing space and what you've done. Just subbed!!!
Hey! Good to meet ya! Thanks for the positive feedback. I appreciate it 🙏
Awesome and inspiring video. Many thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
Is that mary jane at 11:45? Absolutely Love your garden brother! So much love and hard work! Your channel is gonna blow up
@@chrxmeface thanks so much!
I love it ❤️ can you explain, in another video, your drip system please 🎉 how to care for it in winter from freezing in the lines, ect??? Thanks bunches
Heck yes 🙌 I’ve been thinking about an irrigation video. It’s a lot 😂 but I will try to prioritize it. Thanks for the positive feedback, I appreciate the support 🙏
@@chefsharvestfarm I'm small scale starting out and sick of hand watering lol but don't get the drip system layout and care 😘 thanks from TX
@@l.dschick-inn-palacecrafts6174 I totally get it! Irrigation was one of the most intimidating things to tackle. But it’s pretty easy once you jump in.
@@chefsharvestfarmwhat is the size tarp you used❓❓❓? Also, I've been just adding my compost, ( chickens manure, garden & kitchen scraps, grass clippings and mulch) composted for a few months, right in top of my garden beds. Then plant. Each season so twice. Thinking the watering will take nutrients to the roots. Is this correct?????❓❓❓
@@l.dschick-inn-palacecrafts6174 i bought it from farmers friend. It comes 24x100. But I cut it in half so it’s 2 - 24x50.
I had no clue you could just put compost right on top. That’s awesome
@@brianmb heck yeah 👍 it’s a great method 🙌
Hello, Can you please inform me where you heard that winter rye ( grain not grass ) which you called rye grass later in the video is alleopathic. Thanks in advance. Farmers plant million's of acres using winter rye as a cover crop then plant seeds direct into it for over 10 years now. No problems
I learned it from Daniel Mays book called “The No-Till Vegetable Farm “. But you can also Simply google it and find lots of resources. Thanks for commenting 🙏
what a lovely heart you are
Thank you 🙏
Great vid man - inspiring for an aspiring market gardener here in Wales, UK.
Thank you 🙏 I appreciate it
Beautiful! Thanks for the helpful info!
Heck yeah! Thanks for the positive feedback! I appreciate it 🙏
Bravo you two! Just found your channel and am binge watching this Sunday...my day of rest. Thank you for sharing your process!
Thanks for watching! I appreciate it 🙏
Thanks for sharing the secret. Wow.
You bet!
Great job! ❤
Glad you like it!
Wow... man you are a genius. I have never seen this smart simple method anywhere else
Thank you 🙏
This is the very best explanation and description that I've heard anywhere... thanks!
You're very welcome! 🙏
Hell yeah - loved the outro edit 🤙🏼🍃
@@roo-dog3484 thanks 🙏
Awesome ! I think it may need to be longer than 3 weeks under tarp, most likely not less at least.. maybe depending on just how sunny &/or hot it is during that time or how vigorous of, type of, weeds that had been there, but yeah !!
Yes it definitely depends on the temperature. The warmer the weather the faster the tarps will work.
Great Video!
A lot of information and experience.
I am going to try the t-post method
Keep it up
Thank you 🙏
Great,informative video! Would you consider sharing where you got your tarp and what size it is? How did you decide about how much to grow and how to organize it? Thanks for sharing!
Heck yeah! I’ll share anything you want to know! I get the tarps from farmersfriend.com. I believe the ones I have come in 100 ft long x 24 ft wide. I cut them in half so they’re 50 ft long. All of the beds in my garden are 50 ft long and 30 inches wide (with a couple exceptions). I make all the beds the same size so that all my drip irrigation and row covers, shade cloth, and insect net are the same size. So I never have to find a specific drip line or cover for a specific bed. They’re just all the same. it’s not necessarily the size that’s important. But I would recommend making them all the same for these reasons.
Hi ! NOT to knock getting them from farmer's friend if u can, but just to let you know that these generally are called silage tarps and can be found near bailing twine (or ask) at farm stores, such as Fleet Farm or Farm & Fleet here in the upper Midwest. Some hardware stores, esp. in towns that don't have the bigger chains, will stock some. They come in various sizes.
THEN too... you can ask a local farmer ( like a dairy farmer) if they have big chunks getting always ( weekly-ish at least) trimmed off their feed piles/ground silos as they delve further into them. IF they have time or can work with you to call u up to come do it, they can be cut on purpose to be a decent shaped and size of chunk. Or u take what u get and cut it up or otherwise make it work at home. Anyways, it's free, this way, and may save it from being thrown out with garbage. Obviously, you may not want GMO feed residue clinging to it, but you can look for non gmo or OG farms or just shake it off there and further rinse off in driveway at home as needed. I currently get it from my bff's OG dairy but it's also usually quite clean besides some dust n mud.
You guys are great keep it up
Thanks so much 🙏
Your method, like many other market farmers (e.g. Jesse Frost, Richard Perkins, Charles Dowding, Daniel Mays...) is great. But it requires a LOT of compost and compost can be expensive ... and I can never make enough! I'm trying to do more with green manures, winter rye, fall leaves, and lots of mulch. 😊
Heck yeah man! There’s lots of great no till methods. Everyone has a different context for sure. For me compost is a pretty insignificant cost. I get 20 yards delivered for $500. I probably put down 3 wheelbarrows of compost per bed - twice a year. About $80 worth of compost per bed per year. But some people don’t have access to compost like I do.
@@chefsharvestfarm For your operation, $500 is merely an investment with a large payback of $2k weekly. But for a home gardener like me with a large garden on a tight retiree budget, it just doesn't work out. So I get creative with more affordable organic amendments.🙂
Great video Mikey! I'll be planting a winter hardy oat cover crop soon to terminate and then tarp next spring. You're right when you said you need to plan ahead. All the best 🤗
Thank you 🙏 good luck! I hope it goes great 🙌
Bravo. This is awesome!
Thank you very much!
Inspiring Video 😊 I appreciate you taking the time to share this wealth 🙏 I subscribed to your channel 😁 Many Blessings to you and your Family..
Heck yeah! Thanks for the positive feedback! I appreciate it 🙏
@@chefsharvestfarm Definitely 😁 I appreciate you my friend 🙏🤠 I gained so much wisdom and knowledge from this..
You've developed a very neat, organized garden. Looks great! Congrats!
Thanks so much!
I was like “where do I know this guy? Where do I know this guy??”
Hey mike! We met last year at the farmers market!
Heck yeah 🙌 I’m here every Saturday. Stop by and say hi again sometime. Thanks for the comment 🙏
This is awesome
Thank you so much.
I have a spot i want to try this on
Heck yeah 🙌 thanks for the positive comment! I appreciate it 🙏
My first comment on your videos. thanks for sharing. Second time watching. Wish you the best of luck but I don't think you need it. Keep up the hard work!
Thanks for dropping comments! It goes along way 🙏 thanks for the support 🙌
🍁😉nice plants
Thank you 🙏
Great channel with great info. Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge with us!
Thank you 🙏
I have watched so many no till video’s and yours was the easiest for me to understand as a beginner. I only have hand tools so definitely doable for me. I live an hour away from Knoxville so having found your video was inspiring because we’re in the same growing zone. I subscribed and I’m hopeful you will have the time to post more videos. Really enjoyed it!
Heck yeah! I appreciate it. I plant to post regularly. But learning to edit videos is a little slower than anticipated 😂 thanks for the support 🙏
Great vid bro. Good info. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you 🙏
Boom ❤
Thank you 🙏
Can you recommend somewhere to get quality compost in bulk in the Knoxville area?
I send a dump truck driver to Monterey mushroom farm to pick up their spent compost. But you can also get it from Thress Nursery.
Garden is awesome and is clearly working great, so don't get insulted or disheartened by what I say next. It is meant as informational not a critique, more driven by a pet peeve of misinformation perpetuated on CZcams.
This is not no till. May as well go ahead and till when you bring in compost because it causes many of the same issues and possibly more depending on practices over the years and the source of the compost. It can also be expensive to bring in resources like this. I understand that many are under the impression that this is no till because of CZcams influencers, so I don't blame you for calling it that. That said, the way you are doing this WILL prevent many of the issues other CZcams "no till" folks will have (but will likely hide) such as: compaction, weird inflitration/water retention, anaerobic zones, and various nutrient issues. That cover crop between the compost and your soil is what will prevent those issues for at least a year or two (depending on your soil type and microbiome). If you continue using a cover crop every year you may never have the issues those that bring in compost and pile it up on top of previous compost have.
You already did the work of real no till by using a good cover crop, flatening it and then tarping. Most crops will push through that "mulch" of rye if you plant them through it and give them a little "hole." That is no till. Before you skip out on the compost get a good soil analysis and go from there. If your soil will take years to build. . keep doing the compost, if you have good soil save yourself a lot of money, time, effort, and use your soil to grow in. Properly amended soil is so much better than compost in so many ways. Since your already using a cover crop I know you are intelligent enough to get your soil right using them and other best practices.
Edit to share a very useful tool: casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/
Hey no hard feelings 🙏 these practices are absolutely what I have learned as no till methods. But that’s the great thing about gardening in my garden. I can do whatever I want and it doesn’t matter if others don’t agree. I’m just sharing what works well for me. Thanks for commenting 🙏
Awesome garden. Where are you in Knoxville? I live in Seymour and would love to talk to you. This is my second year of raised bed planting and am still learning.
Yes I am in Knoxville. I sell my products at market square on Saturdays. The best way to learn from me is to follow my CZcams channel. I’ll be releasing new content regularly (one or twice a month till I get faster at editing. And if you would like I can add you to my email list. That way you’ll get notified if I do workshops or farm visits locally. Thanks for the support 🙏
Do you plan to continue cover cropping in your established rows? If so, winter-kill or winter-hardy covercrops?
I’m planting about 4-5 beds of winter rye this year. Mostly in beds that have erosion issues, just to keep the soil in place and help build the soil up for next season. If I had say an acre or so to work with, I would keep about a quarter acre in cover crop at all times and just rotate the plots. I think winter kill cover crops sound like a great idea. But I don’t really have experience with it. I’m in Tennessee, so it is likely that winter might not kill most winter killed cover crops.
@@chefsharvestfarm Peaceful Valley makes a winter kill covercrop blend heavy on beans & peas. Just wbsearch. It also has some oats that can stay green if you have mild winters minus at least one good hard frost at some point. If it is still green in Feb, mow it close & tarp it. That will kill it good & dead. The oat residue makes a nice in place mulch mat you can plant through for seedlings.
You'll need to dump compost & rake to get a level seed bed to run a push seeder.
Look forward to watching your progress.
Beautifully done garden, and process, i hope to be doing the same thing
You can do it! Hope you’ll follow along for more tips! Thanks for commenting 🙏
Boom information. Awesome
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you. ;)
Heck yeah 🙌 thanks for watching and commenting! I appreciate the positive feedback.
Looks fantastic, but coming from Ireland, don’t understand what you mean by crimp. The video is speeded at that point so can’t quite see if you are cutting the rye or flattening it.
Just flatten it. By crimp I guess I mean to snap the stem of the plant so it will die. However, without tarping it is likely the plant would stand back up.
Great video! I’m also in Knoxville and am wondering where you got your compost from? I’m leery of grazon being in bagged compost. Did you use Hines Fine Soils? Thanks! It’s amazing ❤
Currently I use mushroom compost from Monterey Mushroom farm. It’s a valid concern. I typically start some pea or beans in it when I get it. Legumes are one of the most effected plants from grazon, so if the seeds sprout and look healthy, good to go. If they sprout and look wanky and stunted, you should do further testing and contact the USDA. Thanks for commenting 🙏
Where do you get tarps that last more than 8 months? In California im unable to find a tarp under 300 that lasts more than 8 months.
I’ve had all my tarps for 3-5 years. Some have holes I just tape them when possible. I’ve gotten them from farmersfriend.com (free shipping) and Johnnyseeds.com.
I love your method! One caution, though. Several times you called this “rye grass”. This is winter rye, a cereal grain. If a viewer buys rye grass, which is an aggressive perennial, the termination may not work to kill it. Also rye grass has no allopathic qualities to prevent weed seeds from germinating.
Thanks for clarifying 👍
I know that if you bury wood chips in the soil it will rob nitrogen from the soil and nothing will grow. Is that not the same with dried straw, or is it somehow different?
Would chips will NOT rob nitrogen from the soil. This is another one of those CZcams influencer perpetuated gardening myths. The ONLY time this is even close to accurate is when soil is anerobic and wood is present. This creates an opportunity for certain fungi and bacteria that feed on cellulose (mostly) to grow and they do tie up nitrogen TEMPORARILY (usually short periods of time) only in direct contact of the wood. All the soil surrounding the wood is unaffected and even BENEFITS (as long as it is aerobic) from the nutrients released by the microbes. . . . So, IF the wood is "robbing" nitrogen you've got a LOT bigger problems in the anerobic soil than nitrogen issues.
Wood chips on TOP of the soil never have this issue and neither does pushed over rye grass.
It is grass instead of wood.
Green instead of brown.
Also the roots are still there keeping soil healthy
I’m not really sure about the science. But the straw does not seem to rob nitrogen at all. I definitely try not to to bury wood chips. But I’ve never had any negative results.
Agreed 👍
Where is the best place to get those silage tarps?
Farmersfriend.com probably… they have free shipping. But I’ve also bought them from Johnnyseeds.com
What is a name of a Grass that show from the start of the Video? Subscriber from South Africa 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
That is the winter rye cover crop that I planted.
@@chefsharvestfarm ok thanks farmer
could you have put some clover or vetch and not had to use compost ?
Not really. The compost is necessary in my context. You could try it though.
where do you get those big ass tarps
Farmersfriend.com
@@chefsharvestfarm what size do u use
That's crab grass
Ah! Good to know! I knew it’s one of those! Thanks for commenting 🙏
i dig you my guy but I want you to use sun screen so you can skip the cancer. Live long my friend. Also, what are your thoughts on market garden pickling for sale?
Thank you 🙏 I don’t sell pickles
@@chefsharvestfarm I was thinking more on the line of other pickled products. But pickled turnips, water melon rinds, and other pickled products. Kimchi so forth. Most folks don't realize the issue isn't how much you can grow in no till, it's how much you can harvest and what to do with it. because you can grow a shocking amount in a very small space. I've grown 4-5 crops nearly on top of each other. And they grew very well.
@@MistressOP got ya! But no… I sell everything fresh right now. But I sell most of it to restaurants and they do those types of things with it.
@@chefsharvestfarm yeah i've never done restaurants. They go in and out of biz too fast here. And those that don't have people. There's prolly a lot more small meduim farms that are no-till/no pesides out here. since it's cali the market is flooded.
@@MistressOP heard that! I go back and forth all the time! Sometimes restaurants buy a lot and I get super excited! I say screw the markets! But other weeks restaurants orders are small and I have a good market and I’m saying screw restaurants 🤣🤣🤣 but the truth is that’s just business! The key is to keep my sales outlets diversified. And always be on the lookout for additional sales outlets. My goal is to sell as much as possible every week before I go the market. I’ve been working hard the past week or so on my next video about how I sell my produce to celebrity chefs! I should be releasing this video in a day or two.
That worst weed you talk about is Bermuda grass
I thought so! It’s the worst! But I dug most of it out. So it’s not an issue now 🤞🏻
Impressive. Great job! Keep up the fantastic work!
Thanks pal 🙏
Great job! I love how efficiently you used the space with the condensed 14 in walkways. Two questions: Do you re-apply compost throughout the year? If so, do you find in a challenge with the tight row spacing or are you able to get in there with you wheel barrow? And, what advantage do you find in crimping and not cutting the cover crop?
I do re-apply compost at least a couple times a year. I use wheel barrows with one wheel. So they fit right down the path. You could definitely mow it. You would need sufficient equipment to do so… my T-post was free 😂 also if you cut the stalk it’s more likely to poke through the tarp. Thanks for the support 🙏