Organic vs no-till

Perhaps you remember the experiment that I wrote about earlier in the year? (See post below entitled “experiments”)

Now that the spring has sprung and the crops (and the weeds!!) Are growing, I have been watching the two halves of the field with baited breath.

No till, below……

Organic below…….

You may say – it’s all green stuff, what’s the difference? I would say that the organic plants have established better, are thicker and healthier but have more weed present.

The no-till plants are thinner, less green and lush, have less weed, but have more clover present as the glyphosate used in the autumn to destroy the pasture does not kill clover very well. This could be seen as a bonus as the clover will sit under the crop canopy, fix nitrogen, and feed the crop as it grows.

But all in all, at this stage of the growing season I would place my bets on the Organic half of the field in terms of its yield potential.

Which is a good thing because we are planning to start our organic conversion in September of this year!