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No-Till Gardening
A Mulch System for Growing JustAbout Everything
NOFA-VT Winter Conference 2009
Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.
Vegetable and Fruit TA AdvisorNortheast Organic Farming Association of
Vermont
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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ToolsNeeded
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No-Till Gardening: Using
Straw Mulch
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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch
Clear Off MulchFor Direct Seeded
Warm Season
Crops Until TheyGerminate
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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch
Direct Seeded CoolSeason Crops Only
Need a Furrow
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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch
Direct Seeded Crops and
Sets Require A ThinnerLayer of Mulch
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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch
Cool Season
Transplants Can
be MulchedImmediately
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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch
Warm Season
Transplants Should
be Mulched Beforethe First Rain To
Prevent Soil Splash
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No-Till Gardening: Straw Mulch
Perennial Plants Canbe Kept in Mulch
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N Till G d i U i
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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 and
After Cutting
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Cover Crops in No-Till Gardening
Final Cutting
Annual Ryegrass
Oats
Buckwheat
Rye-Vetch
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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. Rodale
Press.
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 toecological strategies. M.A. Altieri and C.I.Nicholls with M.A. Fritz, 2005. SAN.
Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control
R.Dufour. ATTRA. 2000. ATTRA: (Many Topics)