Reduced Tillage

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  • Conference Spotlight: SFP Presenting in Early 2019

    Kelsie Raucher

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    The Cornell Small Farms Program will be attending several conferences in early 2019. From presentations of our research to special events, you can connect with the our team and fellow farmers at the conferences listed below. New York State Vegetable Growers Association  2019 Empire State Producer’s Expo Reduced Tillage Project: Ryan Maher, Brian Caldwell, &…

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  • Local Farms Trial Tarping for Reduced Tillage Research

    Haley Rylander

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    As the growing season winds down, Haley Rylander, a masters student working with the reduced tillage project of the Cornell Small Farms Program, has been visiting with farmers who have taken an active role in her research. Haley shares some of these farmers’ experiences and gives insight about using tarps to suppress weeds and reduce…

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  • Handbook Offers How-To and Tools for Reduced Tillage

    Kacey Deamer

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    If you’re interested in improving your farm’s soil health, reduced tillage may be the answer. Reduced tillage practices can minimize soil disturbance by using less intensity, going shallower, and restricting the width or tilled-area. They can be applied to a bed, within a field or across the whole farm. The practices can take many forms,…

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  • No-Till Organic Relay Cropping in Kentucky

    Ryan Maher

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    Salamander Springs Farm uses powerful cover crop sequences to produce crops, forage and seed. Susana Lein is ahead of the curve.  She has put together so many practices at Salamander Springs Farm near Berea, Kentucky that we can only scratch the surface in this article. Permaculture principles are at work in all aspects of the…

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  • Efficient Use of Cover Crops at the Food Farm

    Tara Hammonds

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    by Brian Caldwell and Ryan Maher Janaki Fisher-Merritt grew up on a pioneering organic vegetable farm.  Janaki’s parents, John and Jane Fisher-Merritt, started The Food Farm in northern Minnesota in 1975.  They moved to their current location in 1988, became certified organic in 1990, and started the first CSA in the Duluth area in 1994. …

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  • Reduced Tillage on Permanent Beds

    Ryan Maher

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    Permanent bed systems can help small farms improve soils and reduce tillage for a diversity of crops. Learn how farmers are adopting these systems and hear research results on how tillage, mulching and tarping practices can impact your weed control, labor use, and crop productivity. Ryan Maher and Brian Caldwell – Cornell University, Mark Hutton – University…

  • Small Scale No-Till Vegetables at Seeds of Solidarity Farm

    Claire Cekander

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    by Brian Caldwell and Ryan Maher Mulches and tarps combine to build active soils and suppress weeds. In 1996, Ricky Baruc and Deb Habib moved to 30 acres of forested land in Orange, MA.  Roughly 5 acres of woods over uneven, rocky soil were logged and cleared in preparation for a house, farm and teaching center. …

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  • A Vegetable Farm Covered in Green

    Claire Cekander

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    by Brian Caldwell Blue Heron Farm uses grass strips and cover crops to improve soils, increase productivity The arrangement of vegetable fields into a bed layout with permanent growing areas and separate wheeltracks (alleys) has several advantages.  In contrast to systems in which beds are re-formed every year, compaction from tractor tires is confined to…

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  • No Till, Permanent Beds for Organic Vegetables

    Tara Hammonds

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    by Brian Caldwell & Ryan Maher Four Winds Farm mulches with compost to suppress weeds and improve their soil. Jay and Polly Armour bought a rundown farm in 1988, with the idea of growing organic vegetables for sale.  Their first production garden was an old horse paddock, which had been trodden down for many years. …

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