Organic farming is a paradise garden or a road to Life. Organic farming in the country from scratch - video
Evgeny Sedov
When hands grow from the right place, life is more fun :)
Content
Human health is directly dependent on nutrition. Eating foods with GMOs or grown using pesticides and fertilizers leads to irreversible consequences for the body. Modern agronomists propose to turn to the experience of our ancestors, to make natural farming the basis of agriculture.
Organic farming - what is it
Organic farming differs from traditional soil cultivation in a gentle approach to the natural ecosystems that exist in nature. The use of pesticides, deep processing has become detrimental to the earth, reduced fertility, disrupted the natural cycle of substances, nullified the benefits of worms and microorganisms. Eco-farming is based on the awareness of the free interaction between soil, plants, animals, organic residues, while a person should play the role of a helper, not a pest.
Fundamentals of organic farming
The principles and basics of organic farming are easy to understand and are as follows:
- The earth is a living organism, the structure of which should not be disturbed. Intensive cultivation of the arable layer, excessive digging, loosening, mineralization, and other agricultural work are very laborious and lead to high material costs with low efficiency. Natural farming on a farm or garden plot leads to minimal costs, while allowing a good harvest every year.
- Mulching is the main method to improve the quality of the soil, to create favorable conditions for the natural system. Mulch is straw, sawdust, hay, fallen leaves, roots and cut weeds - everything that covers the beds from above protects the black soil from excessive evaporation of moisture, erosion and hypothermia.
- Reasonable top dressing, which is designed not to destroy beneficial microbes, fungi that utilize organic matter, but to enable them to multiply, suppress pathogenic bacteria, fix mineral elements, process everything that can serve as natural humus.
Agriculture according to Ovsinsky
The Russian scientist I.E. became the initiator of parting with the classical way of digging a garden. Ovsinsky, author of many scientific papers, agronomist by education. Farming according to Ovsinsky is an ideal way to let the earth recover itself without interfering with the natural course of nature. As evidence, the pioneering breeder in 1899 wrote The New System of Farming, in which he argued in favor of the minimum intervention of the plow in the soil structure, which ensures an environmentally friendly environment and high-quality, safe products.
Organic farming - Kizima's method
Galina Kizima can be considered a contemporary authority on the benefits of organic farming. After receiving a Ph.D., the woman seriously took up issues of increasing productivity through the right approach to the practice of cultivating the soil. Organic farming according to the Kizima method has become widespread, described in books and articles. The basic principle of her garden is three “not”: do not weed, do not dig, do not water. The author introduced the concept of a “smart” garden bed into use, and proved the effectiveness of her method from personal experience.
Organic farming - beds
To create conditions for plants in the beds, similar to those that exist in the wild, the agricultural technology of natural farming is called upon. The goals of the method: improving the quality, volume of the crop, preserving natural fertility while saving time and effort. To implement this idea, we use:
- gentle loosening of the upper 5-7 cm of soil in spring and autumn;
- the use of exclusively organic fertilizers in the garden plot, including compost, manure, humus, green manure, as well as microbiological developments;
- biological products, agricultural products that protect plants from pests and diseases.
Organic farming - where to start
The question of when and where to start organic farming is increasingly being asked by rural residents, owners of garden plots. The answer is reassuring: you can switch your home garden to a completely new system known as "organic beds" at any time of the year, but the autumn period is considered the most suitable. In practice, the main task of agriculture will be the rapid restoration of the upper fertile layer, the correct selection of protective equipment, the maintenance of the natural ecosystem, and the preservation of it in this state through elementary actions.
Natural farming in the garden - practice
Periodic, deep digging is not acceptable if your goal is organic farming in the country. The desire for perfect tillage spoils the earth, has the opposite effect on it, making it heavy, dry, lifeless, hard as a stone. As practice shows, this can be avoided using certain techniques:
- break the site into small beds, depending on the species composition of the plants that will be planted;
- try to cover the soil with natural, organic materials, since bare land is unprotected, less infertile;
- regularly mulch the soil to a depth of at least 10 cm, which will reduce the growth of weeds, protect plants from pests, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, and ensure long-term preservation of moisture in the ground.
Every gardener dreams of growing a rich, environmentally friendly, healthy crop on his plot without spending a lot of time and effort. With the onset of the season in traditional farming, summer residents spend most of their time digging, frequent watering, and applying mineral fertilizers to the soil. They have to constantly weed and loosen the soil, which leads to the depletion of the earth - it becomes gray and lifeless, and the gardener gets tired and does not want to do anything in his garden. It turns out that the traditional farming that was previously done does not give the desired results, and all the work of the gardener is in vain. It is good that there is another, simpler and more effective method of tillage and plant care. This is natural farming, which is already used by many people. In which you do not have to perform all these difficult and tedious work.
Natural farming methods:
"We don't dig." In natural farming, we do not dig the soil, but loosen it to a depth of 5-7 cm so that it does not lose its structure and natural tubules.
Review. Minimum tillage. Potato
Our parents always grew potatoes the old fashioned way: digging, hilling, weeding, watering, etc. It took a lot of time, effort and health. And we - the younger generation - did not want to do this at all. On our site, my husband and I use the methods of natural farming - everything grows on our own, but our parents still could not believe that it was possible to grow potatoes in a garden, and even not to spud! Therefore, we decided to conduct an experiment and compare how best to plant potatoes - traditionally or natural. They planted potatoes in an undigged bed and during the season they only mulched - filled up with grass and weeds, and dug up the next bed, and planted the same potato variety. As a result, twice as many potatoes were harvested from an undigged bed without much effort than from a regular bed. After that, natural potato beds were unanimously recognized and approved by our parents!
Digging soil undigging soil
dug soil undigged soil
Review. Minimum tillage, carrots.
In 2002, we read somewhere that it is harmful to dig up the soil and that yields can be the same and even higher on undigged soil. For interest, on one bed, carrots were grown in dug up soil, and on the other bed, they did minimal tillage with a flat cutter to a depth of 5 cm. In the fall, they harvested and it turned out to be approximately the same on both beds. It was also interesting that in autumn the undigged soil was very loose and the carrots were pulled out of it by the tops. And the dug-up soil became very hard by autumn, and in order to pull carrots out of it, a shovel had to be used (first photo, 2002).After that, we had no doubts left, and for fourteen years now we have not been digging the soil. We bring organic matter into the beds, the earth in the beds becomes very loose and we collect more crops without a shovel than our neighbors, who in spring and autumn, it is not clear what they are digging their garden plots for. Look at what kind of carrots we grow on soil that is completely uncultivated by any tools (second photo, 2009).
Novosibirsk. Ivantsova Natalia
Review. Minimum tillage, corn.
For seedlings of corn, we prepared two beds: we dug one, and the second, on which green manure grew that year, was loosened with a Fokin flat cutter. We were surprised: corn developed completely differently! On a carefully dug-up bed, it lagged far behind in development, and on a bed, the soil of which was not touched with a shovel, the corn was much taller and more powerful. And the harvest differed significantly: the corn did not ripen in the dug earth, it had to be thrown away. In a bed with minimal tillage, the corn is ripe, the cobs are juicy and tasty. Since then, we do not dig the soil, but only sow green manure and do minimal cultivation: we loosen to a depth of 5 cm and do not interfere with nature itself taking care of our crop! 
dug soil
undigged soil
"We mulch." We cover all plantings with a thick layer of organic matter (mowed lawn grass, weeds after weeding, trimmed green manure, straw, fallen leaves, mature compost and humus). The bottom layer of mulch rots and becomes an additional source of nutrition for plants. Weeds do not germinate through a thick layer of mulch, so you do not have to deal with constant weeding. Mulch also retains moisture and reduces the amount of watering.
Review. Wet under mulch, dry without mulch.
I mulch all the plantings in the garden, but my hands did not reach the lilies. This spring, an apricot was planted next to the lilies, which, immediately after planting, was mulched with mowed lawn grass. After a while, I noticed that next to the mulched apricot, the bare ground was covered with cracks and began to resemble a lifeless desert. The soil was damp under the mulch. I decided to see how deep the earth dried up, but I couldn’t even dig a hole with my hand, the earth became very hard and dense. In a mulched area, a hole could be made with ease, the earth was wet and loose. I saw such a clear difference that I felt ashamed in front of the lilies. Mulch turns any lifeless desert into a blooming oasis - now I know for sure!
G.Chelyabinsk. Gurianova Natalia
Review. Yield difference with and without mulch.
Everyone in our family loves asparagus. It is good both as a side dish and as an independent dish. Not to mention vitamins and nutritional value. I decided to plant a lot this year so that it would be enough for the whole winter. Allocated a whole bed, planted and mulched. There were a few seeds left, which it was a pity to throw out, so I stuck it on the next bed and did not mulch. The result was just amazing! The yield of beans that were mulched was twice as high. Mulching is just a godsend for busy gardeners who have no time to weed, loosen and water! Thanks to this simple method of natural farming, I doubled the yield without the use of special dressings and methods.
G. Chelyabinsk. Guryanova Natalia
Review.Mulching peach.
I tried one of the methods of natural farming - an unusual shelter for peaches for the winter: under one tree I poured two bags of chopped branches as mulch, and nothing under the other. And already in the summer there was a noticeable difference. Peach without mulch gave almost no growth, and peach mulched in the fall gave a powerful increase. And the next year, the mulched peach gave an excellent harvest of delicious fruits.
Gomel. Krivenkov Sergey
Review. The mulch helped loosen up the soil.
One piece of land has not been cultivated for two years. As a result, the soil became very compacted and overgrown with grass. We did not dig and loosen the site, but simply dug holes, covered them with compost and planted cabbage seedlings. The entire soil around the cabbage was mulched twice in a season with a thick layer of grass. Several times over the summer we watered the cabbage and mulch around the cabbage with "Shine 1" (1 tbsp. per 10 liters of water). As a result, the cabbage was born to fame, and the soil was easily loosened with a flat cutter in the fall. Just like that, in one season without digging, the mulch helped to make the compacted soil loose!
"We're bringing in organics." We introduce organic matter in the form of compost and humus into the holes during planting, and also in spring and autumn we plant green manure - a variety of herbs that penetrate the earth with their roots, loosen it and provide additional nutrition when rotting. The more organic matter in the soil, the more fertile it becomes, and a healthy and rich crop grows on fertile soil.
Review. Corn and organic.
For more than ten years now, we have been planting all plantings on the garden plot exclusively in organic soil mixture. Everything grows remarkably, there are heaps of vegetables, but the neighbors do not believe that this is all due to the action of organic matter. Then I planted corn in ordinary soil in one container, and corn in organic soil mixture in another container. After some time, the difference in the development of plants became noticeable and I showed both corns to my neighbors. At the same time, he advised to pay attention to the condition of the soil in different containers. They were very impressed with the effect of organic matter, how much more powerful the corn was in it than in ordinary soil. Here I use the "trump card" - I take both plants out of the pots. In the ground, the roots of corn have just begun to emerge from the clod of earth. And in whom the organics were all intertwined with the root system. The neighbors were so impressed by this difference in the root system that they threw away all their bags of mineral fertilizers and began to harvest organic materials for future plantings. 
G.Novosibirsk.Ivantsov Dmitry
Feedback. Radishes and organics.
I have always considered radish an unpretentious crop. But I noticed that radish began to grow well only when I began to apply natural agricultural technology on my site. In a bed with organic matter, it sprouts better and grows faster, and it tastes great. Just one bucket of compost and radishes on the table at least a week early!
Elena Lekomtseva, Achinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory
Review. Cabbage and organic.
This year, once again, I was convinced how wonderful the agricultural technology of natural farming is! If you do everything right, applying all the techniques of PZ, then the plants grow much faster and can give good yields in a short time.
This year I had purchased seedlings of various types of cabbage and my own, sown late. Purchased seedlings were planted on May 31 in the ground (with the addition of coconut, biohumus and humus to the hole). And its seedlings sat down on a permanent place only on June 23. I was amazed by the quality of my seedlings. She was all stocky with a chic root system. The seedlings did not even notice the transplant to a permanent place - they did not get sick, as usual. Immediately began to grow. The soil mixture for seedlings was as follows: earth + vermicompost + coconut. And the purchased seedlings in cups had ordinary earth. She planted her seedlings both in the ground and in organic beds with the addition of humus, coconut and biohumus.
Result: my seedlings (planted late) caught up with the purchased ones. The secret is very simple. All plants love to eat. For seedlings and adult plants, you need a “tasty” soil mixture and the right top dressing. For this, the plants are grateful for an early good harvest!
In the photo: On the left is purchased cabbage, on the right is my cabbage.
Novokuznetsk. Shelestova Svetlana
We sow green manure.Green manures are annual plants that make the soil structure porous and fertile.
Review. Potatoes after beans.
We love siderata. Different green manures increase soil fertility in different ways. On the place vacated after harvesting onions and garlic, we sow various green manure crops. And in the spring we plant different vegetables on these ridges. Siderates rot during the winter and increase fertility in the garden. Last year we harvested carrots after oilseed radish. The yield from the experimental bed (after radish) was about 20% higher than from the control. This year we did an experiment with potatoes. They planted potatoes in a garden bed, half of which grew legumes last year: beans and beans. Potato care on both halves of the ridge was the same throughout the season. Even at the time of harvesting, it was clear that the number of tubers in the hole in the half of the ridge after legumes was greater and they were larger. We weighed the harvest. From half of the ridge after legumes, 26 kg of potatoes were harvested, from the control half - 19 kg. The increase in potato yield after legumes was approximately 27%. 
G.Kurgan.Pridannikova Julia
"We use biopreparations." In natural agriculture, for root watering of plants, we use biological preparations "Shine", which contain beneficial microorganisms. They accelerate the processes of decomposition of organic matter, thanks to which the soil becomes nutritious and fertile. Plants in such soil develop strong and healthy, and yields increase significantly.
We make foliar top dressing with a bio-cocktail, which includes four types of biological products.
Review. Bio cocktail and gerbera
I have an indoor gerbera that once bloomed and delighted. But over time, it began to look worse: the leaves are pale, dull, constantly turning yellow and dying off. And she stopped blooming altogether. I decided to spray her with a bio-cocktail, although I didn’t really hope for improvements: after all, she was already an “old woman”. But a miracle happened! Within a few days, she looked younger: the leaf became dark, juicy green, shiny, straightened out. The flower seemed to “raise its shoulders” and came to life! And soon it bloomed, and this happened for the first time in the last couple of years. I was convinced: a bio-cocktail for plants is a gift and I spray everything with it! Be it flowers, vegetables or trees.
G. Barnaul. Grigoricheva Tatiana
Review. Savior biococktail
A tragedy happened in our garden: mid-June, everything is fragrant and suddenly a thunderstorm, downpour and all-destroying hail! In 15 minutes, the elements kneaded everything into porridge, as if shrapnel pierced the stalks of potatoes and tomatoes, chopped onions and cabbage. We thought that this was the end of our gardening season, but we decided to treat it with Biococktail. A week later, they saw that the garden had revived after a meat grinder and began to grow new leaves and shoots. We continued to solder the plantings on the leaves with a bio-cocktail, we did this every week. And they hoped for at least some kind of harvest. But, honestly, we did not expect to get this! It was a real victory for Natural Farming! 
Orsk
Review. Biococktail for cucumbers.
In the middle of summer, at the very height of the cucumber season, neighbors and gardeners began to complain about the yellowing of cucumber foliage and the death of plants. Some managed to collect only one bucket of harvest. This made me very worried, and I became even more diligent in caring for my cucumbers. Two or three times a week I sprayed them with a bio-shake and watered them with Radiance. As a result, I salted cucumbers for three families, and they keep growing and growing, more and more, young, even, one to one. And now it's the end of August, but it seems that the Zelensky people do not even suspect about it. The leaf is green, healthy, beautiful. So, thanks to natural agricultural technology and a bio-cocktail, my borage kept its youth and health until late autumn, and I gathered a generous harvest! 
G.Miass.Antistova Nadezhda
Try to apply the methods of natural farming on your site and you will see how easy it is to grow large and tasty crops on fertile soil!!!
Are you still fighting weeds and pests in the country, earning yourself sciatica? But adherents of organic farming prefer to be friends with nature, rather than fight. But in order to live the same way, you will have to start with a radical change in the way of thinking about the purpose of agriculture, about what is the “correct” garden.
Organic farming as a branch of agricultural technology has emerged since the end of the 19th century, and rumors, disputes and discussions around this method of cultivating the land still do not subside. There are also many approaches and theories within the adherents of this direction of agriculture. But the essence is the same: organic farming is, first of all, a careful, sparing attitude towards nature, maintaining the natural balance and ecosystems, refusing mineral fertilizers and pesticides.
Organic farming has many interchangeable definitions, synonymous terms: natural, ecological, biological, natural, life-giving farming.
Basic principles of organic farming:
- Refusal of plowing, digging of the earth. In this way, it is believed that a healthy balance of the soil ecosystem is maintained. And healthy soil means healthy plants that can resist diseases and pests.
- Growing environmentally friendly products. Complete rejection of the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. Weed and pest control methods are reduced to the prevention and use of herbal, folk methods.
- The ground must always be covered with vegetation. They are widely used here - fast-growing crops, planted after the main crops on temporarily empty land.
- Less laborious processing of the site, giving with a larger and better result. Farming is fun, not hard work.
Natural farming guru
"Relieve your ardor, gardener!" - with these words, as a rule, the well-known author of many books on biological farming B.A. begins his address at lectures to gardeners. Bagel. In the traditional idea of the “correct” garden, many summer residents see such an exemplary garden: ideal even beds and rows of crops, not a single weed, and also a lot of hard work.
All these myths are debunked by fans of ecological farming. They believe that labor does not have to be slavish and exhausting. And it is much more useful for both humans and nature to maintain the natural order of things in the ecosystem. “Spy” on nature, learn from it, apply the acquired knowledge and observations in your summer cottage.
Advice. If you decide to move away from traditional farming to natural farming, for inspiration, we recommend reading several books on the topic: One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukooka; "Agrarian revolutionary" Sepp Holzer; "About the garden for the thrifty and lazy" Bublik B.A.
So, Sepp Holzer has 45 hectares of land and cultivates it alone with his wife with a minimum of agricultural machinery: he has only one tractor. B.A. Bublik believes that steel has no place in the garden and refuses shovels, choppers, does not even loosen the soil with a pitchfork, but puts it “under the stick”, watering it only with ice water (not higher than 9 degrees). And the author of many works on natural farming, G. Kizima, well-known in Russia, preaches three “not”: do not dig, do not weed, do not water.
Practice natural farming in spring and autumn
You can switch from traditional to organic farming at any time of the year. One of the main methods of biological farming is the rejection of deep digging of the earth. It is believed that by raising the layer of earth more than 5 cm, the ecosystem is thereby disturbed. The earth eventually becomes poorer, with beneficial microorganisms, beetles, worms, etc. appearing in insufficient quantities. Which leads in the future to the need to use mineral fertilizers, which are harmful to both nature and humans.
Natural farming allows you to get environmentally friendly vegetables and fruits The soil for sowing the crop is not dug up, but slightly raised with a pitchfork (ideally no more than 2.5 cm). Some farmers do not even use a pitchfork, but put them under the stick. That is, they stick a stick into the ground and plant seeds or seedlings in place of the formed hole. After sowing, the land is mulched with straw, sawdust, peat, rotted compost, etc.
Advice. For planting plants “under a stick”, you can use a stalk from a shovel or another stick that is convenient for working along the length. To do this, she sharpens the end with a cone, which will be stuck into the ground. For convenience, you can also make a handle at the top of the stick, and a limiter pedal at the bottom.
Due to the active use of mulch, which does not allow moisture to evaporate, watering is done much less frequently. Mulch is also one of the main ways to control weeds. But it is better to use mulching on proven crops: potatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes. There are plants that "do not favor" mulching, preferring open and hot soil: corn, watermelons, melons.
With the help of mulching, the land is cultivated on virgin soil. To do this, prepare the beds in the fall as follows:
- They mow the grass.
- They fall asleep with manure: horse, chicken.
- Lay a layer of mulch, for example, straw with a layer of 30 cm.
- In the spring, remove the layer of mulch, select the remaining weed roots with your hands and plant seeds or seedlings.
You can also cover the beds with dense material, for example: roofing material, pieces of linoleum. It is useful to cover a layer of mulch with a film on top - this will speed up the process of overheating and decay of the weed on virgin soil.
All listed actions can be applied in the country, both in spring and autumn.
Siderates are our everything
One of the agricultural practices, which is an integral part of biological farming, is the planting of green manure on temporarily empty land. According to many farmers, these crops are the best natural fertilizer. For these purposes, such fast-growing and micronutrient-rich plants are used, such as:
- legumes;
- mustard;
- clover;
- colza;
- spring rapeseed;
- rye.
Green manure can be planted in spring, summer and autumn. In spring, such fast-growing and frost-resistant plants are planted as: mustard, rape, phacelia. They are sown very early and grow until it is time to plant the main crop. Then the green manure is cut with a flat cutter a few centimeters below ground level, and the main plants are planted in the soil prepared in this way. Tops, stems can be used as a shelter for beds with crops.
In autumn, rye and mustard are most often sown. Sowing is done after harvesting vegetables. Rye is harvested at the end of autumn, cutting the stems at the base. And the mustard goes under the snow. In the spring, it is cut with a flat cutter and the main crops are planted.
Organic farming is an environmentally friendly production based on respect for nature and human health. There are many techniques and methods of natural farming. But, in any case, each site is individual. There are no absolutely identical sites in terms of soil composition, microclimate, and list of planted crops. What fans of organic farming do not get tired of repeating is: “Listen, look at your land, your plants. And put the acquired knowledge into practice. Nature must be trusted always, every day.”
Natural farming: video
Personal experience of an experienced gardener
How do most gardeners sow in the beds? Usually, “how everyone does it” and how convenient it is for the owner of the site. And it would be better to sow the way the plants need! This is the principle of organic farming - to do as in nature. It turns out it's much more efficient. Yields are getting higher and work is getting smaller! Doubt it's possible? Check it out in the new season!
Usually the process of planting (sowing) looks like this: digging the earth - leveling the surface of the beds - cutting grooves - sowing (laying) seeds in them - filling the grooves with earth from their side walls - watering.
As a result:
Too much effort is spent, since digging is a very laborious process;
Soil fertility is lost (its air-water permeability is violated, since the porous structure of the earth, created by channels and voids, formed in place of already decayed roots and worm passages, is destroyed;
Soil microorganisms perish, processing plant residues into food for plants;
The grooves cut for sowing have a variable depth, as a result of which the seeds also lie at different depths. This leads to their germination and oppression of weaker late shoots by early ones;
The rows of germinated seeds are tortuous. Because of this, the row width is different, and it is larger than that of a flat line. As a result, weeding is difficult. This is because it is impossible to cut straight narrow grooves (even with flat cutters), and also due to the displacement of seeds already in the ground when they are watered after planting;
Few gardeners know that plants grow better if the seeds (as in nature) lie on dense, naturally porous soil, and a loose, loose “blanket” (mulch) covers them from above. Then the best conditions for plant growth are provided, because in the dense underlying soil, due to the capillary effect, soil moisture is constantly supplied to the seeds (it is not in vain that the earth is compacted with rolls before sowing wheat); and from above (through the mulch) air constantly enters.
How to ensure the same conditions? You can repeat a theory a thousand times and not convince anyone. I will tell you about my experience, which I have been using for more than one year.
1. I don’t dig up the soil, but only loosen it by 5-7 cm with a Fokin flat cutter (without bending my back and with much less effort).
2. Combine this loosening of the soil with proactive weed control, as long as it is not “interfered” by the growing plants. it is known that with regular mowing (or mowing with a chopper), weeds degenerate; it is enough to mow them before planting 2-3 times, coming to the dacha once a week, so that the weeds become much smaller. At the same time, I spend no more than 10-15 minutes on such a “passage” of a ten-meter bed with a Fokin flat cutter.
3. I water the loosened bed ... before planting.
4. Then I push the grooves in wet soil with one or 2-3 slats, hammered together by crossbars. The distance between the slats is equal to the distance between the future rows of plants and slightly more than the length of the blade of a small flat cutter. This allows me in the future (before the grass) to loosen and weed the aisles with one movement of the flat cutter underground along the rows.
5. I spill the grooves with a solution of biopreparations "Siyania-2" or "Vostok EM-1" at a concentration of 1: 1000 (a tablespoon per 10 liters of water) - to restore the capillarity of the soil, increase its fertility and sanitize it from pathogens.
6. I sow the seeds into the grooves pressed through by the slats.
7. I fill them with compost - and ... I don’t water them!
At first glance, this technology takes longer. And you reread it. How much use is in this technique, and how much we did “at the same time”: they cut down the weeds with a flat cutter, and compacted the rows for sowing, and launched EM-beneficial microorganisms into the soil ...
As a result, we get what we were striving for - the seeds lie “along the line” and at the same depth, on a hard, wet bed, covered on top with “loose” compost, in which there is also plenty of nutrition! And the fight against weeds is facilitated - they are exhausted in advance. And I suppress the rest, covering them in the aisles of grown plants with a layer of 5-7 cm mulch so that light does not pass through it. As mulch - chopped grass. In addition, the grass, while decomposing, feeds the plants + it is not necessary to water it often, since the evaporation of moisture decreases + it is not necessary to loosen the soil under the mulch (a crust does not form after rains and watering).
Conclusion: less work, and higher yields. What is required!
Watch nature
Finally, I want to remind you of the wise advice: “trust, but verify!” Adapt to the conditions of your site!
On my “sand” I water the bed before pushing the grooves, and on clay soil this technique can lead to clay sticking to the rail and uneven grooves. In this case, you need to be pre-moist, but not sticky.
Use any advice ”wisely”! And even better - learn from the "smartest" - from nature! Check with her, copy her - she is wiser than any adviser!
Principles of organic farming in practice
For seven years now, following the commandments of N. I. Kurdyumov, B. A. Bublik, N. Zhirmunskaya, Yu. I. Slashchinin, I have adhered to the principles of organic farming and "do not dig a garden." And was not disappointed!
I divided my plot of six acres with a concrete path into two equal parts: the southern- garden, northern- garden. Along the south fence- raspberries on trellises in three rows.
The garden was divided into sixteen stationary beds 1-1.2 m wide, and the beds are oblique- at an angle of 120° (or 60°) to the center track. I made furrows (more precisely, paths) between the beds 30-40 cm wide, not lower, but in some places even higher than the beds themselves.
The beds were fenced with flat slate, tiles, boards. The paths were covered with sawdust and crushed branches of different trees. Walnut branches, chopped with a hatchet into pieces 1-3 cm long, go especially well on the paths.
I made exactly the same beds and paths in the garden part of the site. Only the beds turned out to be wider (up to 2 m) due to fruit trees.
Garden- garden ... This is conditional, since 8 gooseberry bushes are planted in one row on one garden bed, on the other garden- 11 bushes of honeysuckle of seven varieties, on the third- 12 columnar apple trees of six varieties, on the fourth- 10 columnar pears. Another garden bed- two-plane grape trellis. And five garden beds are equipped with permanent wire trellises for cucumbers, tomatoes, cowpea, curly beans.
Two garden beds are occupied by two-plane grape trellises. On the remaining garden beds (ten of them) he placed fruit trees and berry bushes. On the garden beds, between the trees, I grow vegetables and green crops. In the near-stem circles, I grow catnip, oregano, peppermint and field; anise lofant grows under unabi and sea buckthorn, and under an old pear- echinacea purpurea. In spring, I plant dwarf marigolds, nasturtium, beans, a golden mustache (fragrant collision) and some houseplants in empty places in near-trunk circles.
Fruit, everything in a row, strongly wildebeest, pinch and form cup-shaped crowns. I've been doing this all summer. Therefore, I do not have trees higher than two meters. Unabi shrubs and Daurian sea buckthorn are higher than fruit-bearing apple and pear trees. And he brought two gooseberry bushes in a standard form to a height of two meters.
On the grape trellis brought non-covering varieties of grapes. Under the grape trellis, located from south to north, I plant beets, dill, spinach, chard, onions, asters, sorrel.
And in the fall of 2005, I planted black currants under grapes. This is not in the recommendations of N. I. Kurdyumov. Apparently, the mutual influence of grapes and currants has not been studied. In such cases, I recall one of the orders of Peter I: "Do not keep the charter like a blank wall, because the rules are written there, but there are no times and cases."
And such a planting of blackcurrant, in my opinion, is very good: in the morning the sun illuminates the currant bushes, in the midday heat they are covered with grapes, and in the evening- again under the sun. I do not use chemistry: currant bushes are planted with garlic and winter onions, the soil is thickly mulched with rice husks all year round.
One question remains: how will the summer watering of currants affect the grapes?
Once in July, I watered very well, with top dressing, one grape bush on the arbor, as a result, I lost 70% of the crop due to cracking of not yet ripe berries.
So, in seven years, I brought at least 10 trucks of manure and humus and 3 trucks of sand to the site. I used a trolley to manure many, many different organic matter and enough ash. Every year, each grape bush I receive a bucket of ash, fruit trees, berry and ornamental shrubs are not deprived of it.
As a result, my site became ten centimeters higher than all the neighboring ones. Each bed has its own soil, its own acidity. To the cucumber patch- more fresh manure, for tomato- a little humus and a lot of mulch, mostly cardboard, but for carrots- a lot of sand, a lot of nettle mulch.
Until 2003, manure was fermented with the help of the Baikal-EM-1 working solution (1:100), the beds and tree trunks were treated with the Baikal-EM-1 working solution (1:1000) in spring and autumn, and since autumn 2003 I use only my own EMs, prepared according to the technology of N. I. Kurdyumov and Yu. I. Slashchinin. Every year from March to October, I have a barrel with a solution of my EOs, which I use for irrigation and for composting organics.
I compost any organics directly on the beds, along with the remnants of the mulch. I use compost pits only for breeding worms. After the rain, such worms crawl out onto the asphalt !!! And I them- in a jar and on your site.
There are also questions regarding mulching.
I planted two saplings of grapes in the yard, and then the yard was concreted, leaving "stem circles" around the saplings with a diameter of 30-40 cm. It turns out that concrete- is it mulch?
I covered the trunk circles of sea buckthorn with a thick layer of fine gravel with sand and humus. Is that also mulch?
Ruberoid, different polyethylene films- is it a multimaterial?
But what about then: "Mulch- it is some kind of decomposable organic material that covers the surface of the soil.” (N. Zhirmunskaya)?
And another question: how many buckets of mulch, such as rice husks, and even better humus, do you need to fill at least 8-centimeter (and someone recommends 10 cm, and even 15 cm) layer one square meter of the bed surface? And if the whole garden? And if all the beds (I have 28 of them)?
I know ... I mulch all the plantings - "total mulching" is called. And only organic: manure, compost, humus, sawdust, hay, straw, weeds, rice husks. I collect leaf litter and weeds from neighbors, nettles- in ravines, straw- on the outskirts of the fields, cardboard boxes- from the market, from the shops.
I mulch raspberries with corn and sorghum straw every year in autumn. All year round I have strawberries, honeysuckle, gooseberries, currants, all other shrubs- from hyssop and rue to vitex and unabi, all columnar apple trees, pears and cherry plums. All year round, the near-stem circles of pome and stone fruits are slightly mulched.
Perennial grasses in spring easily break through a 1-3 cm layer of mulch. I plant garlic and winter onions (sets and selections) directly in the mulch around berry bushes. Around honeysuckle and all columnar plants, I plant only winter or spring onions, because when harvesting garlic, the roots of trees and shrubs are severely damaged.
In summer, pome and stone fruit trees and seedlings, berry and ornamental shrubs, all garden and flower crops I feed with my EM compote, infusions of nettles, legumes, chicken manure, flint pebbles. I combine fertilizing with watering. At the end of July, I stop feeding with infusions, but I spill everything composted with EM compote until November.
In autumn, individual beds, after abundant watering with an EM solution, are covered with cardboard, which I press against the soil with something heavy so that the wind does not blow it away. By spring, microbes and worms process the organic matter under the cardboard and partially eat the cardboard.
Every autumn I clean the trunks of old trees from dead bark, and in early spring I coat the trunks and skeletal branches with a creamy aqueous mixture of clay and mullein, to which I add a little ash and copper sulfate.
I don't use any chemicals on site. No fertilizers, no poisons. I only add nitroammophoska to EM compote- 200 g for every 200 liters. I use bitoxibacillin against the Colorado potato beetle. I used an ax against the curliness of peach leaves ... I have not "splashed" Bordeaux liquid for five years.
But the most important thing: for the seventh year I have not been digging beds either in autumn or in spring. I don't bother my assistants- microbes and worms. I don’t step on the beds, I don’t trample them myself and I don’t allow guests. This is the main law in my area, even for a two-year-old grandson.
I only loosen unmulched areas of beds after watering or rain, shallow- up to 5 cm.
As the main garden tools, I use Fokine's large and small flat cutters, potato and garlic "planters" made according to Fokine's description and slightly improved, pitchforks and a shovel for working with organic matter. Another sickle. With a bayonet shovel I only dig planting holes and dig up potatoes.
I don't need a rake on the site. They and all sorts of other hillers and rippers, hoes, hoes can easily replace Fokine's flat cutters. With a rake, I only collect garbage on the street in front of the house and leaf litter from my neighbors. I do not collect my leaf litter on the site at all. He's "lost in the mulch.
More about tools: pitchforks, shovels, rakes, I try to plant on rectangular cuttings. I try to get rid of round cuttings and handles. I believe that the tool should be first of all convenient, and then beautiful. Therefore, I was surprised by one article about the "improvement" of Fokin's flat cutter. One craftsman "modernized" the flat cutter: the stalk, rectangular in cross section, was replaced by a round one. Well, at least this note appeared after the death of V.V. Fokin. His invention is a specially curved piece of iron made of good steel, screwed with two bolts precisely to a handle that is rectangular in cross section.
I understand that everything can be “modernized” ad infinitum… I suffer from this myself. V.V. Fokin did not write that it is convenient to measure, for example, the width of the beds or the distance between currant bushes with a flat cutter handle, if centimeter marks are applied to it every 5 or 10 cm.
Stationary beds make it easier for me to rotate vegetables, their joint plantings, provide consistent plantings. On each bed I have 5-6 crops growing at the same time. I learned to combine them by planting dates, by growth, by their mutual influence.
There are no problems with crop rotation, since I use green manure: oats, barley, wheat, beans, fenugreek- i.e. cereals and legumes. He refused rapeseed, cruciferous fleas love it very much. Refused and alfalfa- its greens and hay are not particularly liked by my chickens. And it was tempting: seven cuttings per season from 2-3-year-old alfalfa.
"On the paths and wherever possible, grass grows..."- write K. Malyshevsky and N. Kurdyumov. And I have a variety of greens, legumes, marigolds and calendula everywhere, wherever possible. And the grass on the paths is unacceptable for me, especially in the morning, in dew or after rain,- indoor slippers, in which I walk around the site almost all year round, quickly get wet. I don't have dirt.
And if plantain, dandelion, celandine or chamomile appear on the beds, then for me these are not weeds, if they do not interfere with vegetables. Weeds I call spinach-raspberry, fennel, chervil, mad cucumber, propagating by self-sowing, as well as tomatoes, watermelons, zucchini, pumpkins and even cucumbers, the seeds of which fall on the beds, more often in raspberries and under currants, with manure and from the chicken coop. If on the beds I grow only yellow and black tomatoes (these are "cultivated"), then red ones ("wild") grow by self-sowing.
I try to explain to my friends and neighbors: if compost from plant residues of legumes is a high-quality fertilizer, then why not make an infusion of legumes for top dressing? And if nettle is recommended to insist as an excellent top dressing, then why not compost it? Why not mulch potato, carrot, onion and other plantings with nettles? On the slopes of ravines, before flowering, nettle grows into 2-meter impenetrable thickets. Take the sickle- and forward...
Most of the neighbors, unfortunately, do not understand me, they laugh. My site is called a park, and they call me- Michurinist. But I do not take offense at them, I forgive them when they cannot distinguish okra from castor bean, lagenaria from cowpea.
It's a shame when in the fall all the plant remains are in a heap- and for matches. And even worse: all the organics through the fence, into the street, and there, along with leaf litter- into the fire, and the ashes- into a garbage truck.
S. Kladovikov , Krasnodar region