Yesterday, we heard from Dan Oosterbrink of Local Harvest in BC, Canada, who is farming no-till veg on 20+ acres. He was the first farmer we’ve spoken with who is effectively at mid-scale, sort of…

Back in season one, we spoke with Shawn Jadnricek of Wild Hope Farm in South Carolina, US. At the time, he was growing on 6 acres, using intensive cover cropping regiments—and a tractor w/ a roller crimper—to suppress weeds, manage fertility, and keep the soil covered.

He has since expanded to 12+ acres. Josh and I visited Wild Hope back in the late Summer to film his cover crop presentation and get a tour of the farm, including: how to go from pasture to permanent raised beds, choosing cover crops based on your goals, the tools of tractor-based no-till veg, and some of the other innovative things going on there.

No-Till Cover Crop Presentation

For slides to reference, click here.

Wild Hope Farm Tour

Needless to say, Shawn is brilliant when it comes to extensive cover cropping in a no/low-till context. It’s particularly important for growers in the hot and humid Southeastern US, where organic matter may be more volatile and snow cover throughout the Winter non-existent. No matter the scale, cover crops can fill several important roles on a no-till veg farm: keeping the soil covered, keeping it rooted, increasing biodiversity, adding fertility, etc. and we could all learn a thing or two from what’s happening at Wild Hope.

Do a little homework today. Pop in those earbuds and listen to his presentation, write down a few questions, and join us at 7PM EST on YouTube to have them answered by a pioneer in no-till cover cropping.