On-Farm Video w/ Podcast Guests JM & Wild Hope
No-Till YouTube Channel
No-Till Growers is now on YouTube! Well, we’ve actually always been there, but we’re doing something a little different, new, bigger. We want to go to some of these amazing farms we’ve interviewed on the podcast and bring a video component to you, the grower. Short of everyone going to see these farms themselves, and you SO should if you have the opportunity, a picture is worth a thousand words, and videos even more so when understanding some of these no-till approaches and concepts. Here are a couple of examples we’d like to share to illustrate…
JM’s Wild Side
Among other things, JM and Farmer Jesse took a moment to talk about the greater ecology on the market farm. You can see around both Le Grelinette and Quatre Temps the hedgerows, nesting boxes, beneficial bug hotels, pond habitats, etc. And he gets a little opinionated about the pristine market garden. Not something you’re going to find in a webinar. Although, his webinars are insightful, too.
A Wild Hope Farm Tour
Speaking of pond habitat, it came up briefly at the beginning of the Wild Hope Farm tour last weekend (a thin segway, but hey I’ll take it). Shawn attests that wherever he has inserted a small pond habitat—no fish, important—his pest pressure has decreased dramatically. Podcast guest Josh Sattin, if you don’t already know, has become well versed in making short informative videos for no-till market gardening and came down to capture the full tour.
It’s long, but packed with information on how Wild Hope is adapting no-till strategies and extensive cover cropping on a larger-than-your-typical-market-garden scale. However, much of it is still applicable on a small scale if you’re looking to incorporate cover crops into your rotation. Shawn is operating in a very unique space. Not only are they growing organic veg in the south east, but also at a scale you just don’t see, and he’s using the opportunity to dial in increasingly ecological approaches to a tractor-based model. Because, it’s not challenging enough, apparently. Admittedly, they are not completely no-till, but are eliminating the need for tillage more and more with each season.
In the video, you’ll see a lot of bare ground. Keep in mind, they haven’t had rain—exactly 0”—in 10+ weeks and what should be fields of lush cowpeas, rye, and clover are… well… not. Growing at such a scale does make them more vulnerable to the changing climate. Even still, what Shawn, Katherine, and Rachel are doing at Wild Hope is truly inspiring. They’ll be hosting more events in the future, so if you’re a grower in the South, or want to incorporate more no-till veg and cover cropping rotations on a larger scale, keep your eyes on these guys and gals.
Want to see more?
If you want to see more clips from our weekend in the field on these farms, like how Shawn uses a compost pile to passively heat a high-tunnel for Winter production, head over to our Patreon page and consider becoming a supporter. If you’re already supporting No-Till Growers—and you rock—think about increasing your support to the next tier. These are not cheap to produce, but are very valuable for the no-till movement, and we would love to bring these farms to you in a higher resolution, to add video to the podcast, and help you incorporate some of what you hear and see on your farm. Quite simply, the more support we receive beyond keeping the podcast going, the more of these videos we’ll be able to do.