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0 pointsmapt1y ago0 comments

There is a shift underway from ubiquitous tilling to lower and no till options. Tilling solves certain problems in a field - for a while - but causes others, and is relatively expensive. Buried lines do not coexist with tilling.

We are coming to understand a bit more about root biology and the ecosystem of topsoil and it seems like the 20th century approach may have been a highly optimized technique of using a sledgehammer to pound in a screw.

> IIUC that's what big box gardening centers do; with fixed retractable hoses for misting and watering.

Speaking from experience - they're making it up as their go along. Instructed to water the soil rather than the leaves and a certain number of seconds per diameter of pot, and set loose. The benefit of 'gentle rain' heads (high flow, low velocity, unlike misters) at close range is that they don't blow the heads off the blooming flowers they're selling, which is what happens if you use the heads designed for longer range at close range.

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westurner1y ago

Is there evidence-based agricultural research for no-till farming?

No-Till Farming > Adoption across the world : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming#Adoption_acros... :

> * By 2023, farmland with strict no-tillage principles comprise roughly 30% of the cropland in the U.S.*

The new model used to score fuel lifecycle emissions is the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model: https://www.energy.gov/eere/greet :

> GREET is a tool that assesses a range of life cycle energy, emissions, and environmental impact challenges and that can be used to guide decision-making, research and development, and regulations related to transportation and the energy sector.

> * For any given energy and vehicle system, GREET can calculate:*

> - Total energy consumption (non-renewable and renewable)

> - Fossil fuel energy use (petroleum, natural gas, coal)

> - Greenhouse gas emissions

> - Air pollutant emissions

> - Water consumption

FWIU you have to plant cover crops to receive the new US ethanol / biofuel subsidies.

From "Some Groups Pan SAF Rules for Farmers Groups Criticize Cover Crop Requirement for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Modeling" (2024) https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-input... :

> Some biofuel groups were encouraged the guidance would recognize climate-smart farm practices for the first time in ethanol or biodiesel's carbon intensity score. Others said the guidance hurts them because their producers have a hard time growing cover crops and carbon scoring shouldn't be limited to a few specific farming practices. Environmental groups said there isn't enough hard science to prove the benefit of those farm practices.

I have "The Living Soil Handbook" by Jessie Frost (in KY) here, and page 1 "Introduction" reads:

> 1. Disturb the soil as little as possible.

> 2. Keep the soil covered as much as possible.

> 3. Keep the soil planted as much as possible.

FWIU tilling results in oxidation and sterilization due to UV-C radiation and ozone; tilling turns soil to dirt; and dry dirt doesn't fix nitrogen or CO2 or host mycorhizzae which help plants absorb nutrients.

Bunds with no irrigation to not till over appear to win in many climates. Maybe bunds, agrivoltaics, and agricultural robots can help undo soil depletion.

"Vikings razed the forests. Can Iceland regrow them?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40361034

https://westurner.github.io/hnlog/# ctrl-f soil , no-till / notill / no till / #NoTill

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