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- #61
Here's a good spot that's been chemically sterilized... No structure to the soil, no sign of earthworms... Bindweed and salt grass...bindweed takes hold when the soil is so damaged that nothing can compete with the roots, shade it out, and no nematodes in the soil to control the roots. Bindweed. Yuck. 
Ten feet away, the poo has been collecting along the fence for years..no bindweed. No pigweed. No salt grass. Structure that can be seen with the naked eye. The first step. Kochia. Still telling me the ground is alkaline, but water retention is better and kochia penetrates to the subsoil taking the good stuff down with it. The next step here would be intensive grazing and cutting to weaken roots then over seeding with something to alter the pH back to neutral so the rye, oats, grasses can thrive.
After years of adding beneficials, boosting good weeds to smother out bad withholding water (which has been tricky this year. We got our full annual amount of rain in just May, so the weeds are popping, that kochia stand is 6' already..)
It should look like this.
Permaculture practices, organic practices...sustainable agriculture. It takes a huge amount of patience to get from point A to point B...the benefits csnt be realized in days; it takes years. I csn get this field certified organic now, 7 years of work, record keeping, chasing crop dusters away, hand pulling weeds at times...Whatever you want to call it, it's WORK and it's totally worth it to see this grass after looking at that cornfield lol...chickens in paradise haha
Ten feet away, the poo has been collecting along the fence for years..no bindweed. No pigweed. No salt grass. Structure that can be seen with the naked eye. The first step. Kochia. Still telling me the ground is alkaline, but water retention is better and kochia penetrates to the subsoil taking the good stuff down with it. The next step here would be intensive grazing and cutting to weaken roots then over seeding with something to alter the pH back to neutral so the rye, oats, grasses can thrive.
After years of adding beneficials, boosting good weeds to smother out bad withholding water (which has been tricky this year. We got our full annual amount of rain in just May, so the weeds are popping, that kochia stand is 6' already..)
It should look like this.
Permaculture practices, organic practices...sustainable agriculture. It takes a huge amount of patience to get from point A to point B...the benefits csnt be realized in days; it takes years. I csn get this field certified organic now, 7 years of work, record keeping, chasing crop dusters away, hand pulling weeds at times...Whatever you want to call it, it's WORK and it's totally worth it to see this grass after looking at that cornfield lol...chickens in paradise haha
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