The Ecological Farm with farmer/author Helen Atthowe: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System

Hear how “The Ecological Farm” author/farmer Helen Atthowe developed a minimalist no-till, no-spray, grow-your-own fertilizer method over decades of research and application on her own farms. Helen has been applying and refining the principles of soil, plant, and whole farm ecosystem health for decades, and we’re glad she finally wrote it all down in one place!This interview is of personal interest for interviewer Andrew Mefferd, as he had the pleasure of visiting her Woodleaf Farm in California 20 years ago when he was a farm apprentice. For farmers who aspire to “close the circle” and stop relying on off-farm inputs, this conversation has a lot of ideas for how growers can farm more self-sufficiently, as well as ecologically. It is also a realistic book, acknowledging that developing an ecological farm may in many cases take years of development; in the meantime there are recommendations for interventions for pests, diseases and other problems so growers can stay in business until ecosystem-based solutions are fully functioning. In Shop Talk with Neversink Farm, we chat about new tools, old tools, how they can benefit your farm and tips to use them successfully with Conor Crickmore of Neversink Tools, which manufactures tools for farmers.In this episode of Shop Talk with Neversink Farm, we discuss methods and timing for stale seedbedding. Stale seedbedding is a technique to intentionally let weeds germinate before a crop has emerged, in order to eliminate them using quick methods like flame weeding or blind cultivation without risk of damaging the crop. Though stale seedbedding can be done multiple times over the course of a season, we discuss a simple method for knowing when to time your last weeding pass just before the crop emerges, to reduce competition as much as possible.Thanks to our collaborator on this podcast Neversink Farm. They make this podcast free to everyone with their generous support. For tools designed and made by farmers, check out www.NeversinkTools.com Order The Ecological Farm book- GFM magazine subscribers always get 20% off books:https://growingformarket.com/store/products/246 Connect With Guest:Website 1: http://woodleaffarm.org/Website 2: http://veganicpermaculture.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AgrarianDreams/videos Download A FREE Magazine Issue:Go To Growing For Market Magazine: www.GrowingForMarket.com