Project Overview
Information Products
Commodities
Practices
- Crop Production: no-till
- Soil Management: soil microbiology, soil quality/health
Summary:
Tillage disrupts the soil microbiome and, while it leads to short-term gains, ultimately this reduces soil health, increases compaction, and propagates weeds. By comparison, no-till methods, or practices which limit or eliminate mechanical turnover of soil layers, stimulate the growth of natural microorganisms which help to make soil nutrients more biologically available, increase organic matter content, and can reduce overall labor while yielding successful harvests.
No-till farming methods are increasingly part of the dialogue in conventional crop farming, but the techniques employed at large scales are not practical or accessible for small vegetable growers. Multiple recent references (Mefford 2022, 2019; Mays 2020; O’Hara 2020) offer no-till recommendations, but there is little practical guidance for small-scale, organic vegetable farming. Especially in the Midwest, these farms are highly diversified and require flexibility in approach. On our farm, we see little improvement from year to year by tilling our fields, which have highly variable soil, significant compaction, and weed pressure from foxtail and Canada thistle.
This project aimed to build understanding for no-till farming methods for vegetable growers by piloting three recommended approaches, comparing results for soil and crop health and economic viability, and sharing results with other growers.
The primary goal of this study is to test recommended methods of no-till vegetable growing to identify the most sustainable approach in terms of soil health, labor investment, and crop health and yield. Over the 2023 and 2025 growing seasons (2024 we were granted an extension due to weather conditions), we compared three no-till treatments with a control (tilled) approach in a randomized test plot with both observed and measured outcomes. Educational outreach for this project included on-farm field days in addition to sharing results and lessons learned with other growers and researchers.
As of December 2023, we successfully initiated the test plot, collected soil temperature, plant health, and observational data, received analytical results from pre- and post-growing season soil tests, and shared results in one on-farm field day and related educational outreach, despite extreme drought and pest conditions which limited the growing season to August-October.
References:
- Mefford 2022, Practical No-Till Farming
- Mefford 2019, The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution
- Mays 2020, The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm
- O’Hara 2020, No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture
In 2024 our project had been delayed due to excessive rain late spring into early summer this year. We were able to plant cover crops on the control beds as well as the deep compost beds early in the spring. We also replanted the Dutch white clover in the living mulch beds since we had no germination last year. Both the cover crops and the clover germinated and did well. We were able to flail mow these beds before the heavy rains began.
Before we could prepare the beds further for planting the rains began dropping large amounts every couple of days for the entire late spring into early summer. Since our soil is very heavy clay the excess moisture kept us from planting and maintaining the project beds. With the excess moisture weeds, especially quack grass crept into the beds.
The ground finally dried out, but we felt it was too late in the season to plant the crop planned for the 2024 season (sweet peppers) successfully and collect relevant data for the project. Our modified plan was to till the control beds and plant a fall cover crop that would freeze back over the winter. The deep compost mulch and cut and carry beds were tarped to kill back the weeds and quack grasses that have crept in, and the living mulch beds were mowed to keep weeds back and encourage the clover.
In spring of 2025 we continued the project that was planned for 2024 to complete the study.
We prepared and planted the test beds, collected observational data, received analytical results from pre- and post-growing season soil tests, and compared beginning and ending test data. Results were shared in several on-line presentations, a field day, conference presentations, and in hosting a round-table workshop.
It was very clear that in working with our poor soils, just implementing the study treatments without any other inputs, our soils actually went backwards in soil health. Nutrient imbalances were clear in some of the treatments and in others, there just wasn't any improvement. We feel that a more aggressive approach is needed to increase soil health, whether no-till or minimal till is used.
Initially, both the deep compost and cut and carry beds discouraged weed pressure. But over the course of the study, weeds, especially quack grass and Canada thistle, crept into the beds and needed constant attention. Labor ultimately did not very much in the total amount of time spent on the beds, just was needed at different times over the season. Initial labor on the deep compost and cut and carry mulch, was mostly at the beginning of the season, but for the control beds, spread out over the season. Deep compost mulch was by far the most expensive option and pest pressure did not very much over the treatments.
Given what we have observed from this study, it has been our decision that for us, using a hybrid approach would be the most beneficial for our farm. This would include adding a smaller amount of compost to our growing beds (approximately one inch) lightly worked into the soil and then cover with approximately six inches of hay or straw mulch. We fell that this approach will add fertility to the soil and discourage weed growth while protecting the soil from sun and excess rain. We may also include routine additions of compost tea or extracts and along with other bacterial or fungal foods in the hope that this will also aid in encouraging soil biology.
Project objectives:
We proposed to compare three distinct no-till treatment methods with a traditional (tilling) approach to identify the most sustainable. The results helped us plan for and modify no-till methods on our farm and provided valuable, practical results to share with other vegetable growers.
After review of the most recent literature, we have selected the following no-till treatment methods to study:
- Treatment A: Occultation of cover crop with weed fabric; residue topped with 6 inches of compost. Plant transplants into compost. Maintenance would include hand weeding and hoeing of annual and perennial weeds. This method is being used by several farms switching to no-till methods.
- Treatment B: Flail mow cover crop with a walk-behind-tractor flail mower. Plant transplants into mowed residue and mulch with 6 inches of chopped hay or straw. Maintenance would include hand weeding only. A version of this method has been promoted by Jan-Hendrik Cropp, a German farmer.
- Treatment C: Flail mow cover crop with walk-behind-tractor flail mower. No-till seed clover into residue to grow a living mulch. Plant transplants into seeded residue. Maintenance would include hand weeding only. This method builds upon a SARE grant study by Dana Jokela of Sogn Valley Farm (FNC19-1171), taking his approach one step further by not tilling the bed and monitoring the biological and nutrient activity in the soil.
- Treatment X: Our control method will be a traditional tilling approach including tilling in the cover crop and transplanting directly into prepared soil. Maintenance would include hand weeding and hoeing.
We tested these three methods in a plot on our farm in southeastern Minnesota over two growing seasons (2023 and 2025, 2024 being an extension year). The plot (see attached diagram) will have a total area of 6,250 square feet (about 1/6 acre) arranged in 12 beds.
Each bed was 2.5 feet wide by 100 feet long, with 2.5-foot pathways between beds. Our planned arrangement allows for randomization of each method, including the control, in each of the three replicates, which will reduce the impact of confounding variables and allow us to correct for natural variation across the plot.
Initial preparation consisted of tilling the entire block and forming beds with a tractor-drawn bed shaper raised to approximately 6 inches. All beds began with an initial cover crop of a mix of oats, field peas, and buckwheat. Over the 23-month project duration, we planted two cycles of spring and fall cover crops in addition to a cash crop (cauliflower in 2023 and peppers in 2025) throughout the plot. The no-till treatments will be applied separately to each row.
To identify the most sustainable no-till approach, we will collect soil samples and make routine observations throughout the plot as described in the “measuring results” section. Observations were recorded using a monthly log for each of the 12 beds. Data was entered into spreadsheets for statistical analysis. We ceased data collection by December 31, 2025, to allow time for statistical analysis and reporting.
The objectives of this project include:
- Evaluate which of the three treatment methods provides the largest gains in soil health over the project duration by comparing soil sample data and quantitative observations.
- Establish a practical, sustainable balance between labor investment and ecological benefit of three no-till treatments by comparing return on labor with measured soil and crop health.
- Share study progress, results, and practical implementation techniques with other small vegetable growers through farm field days and publication or conference presentations.