I had no idea that plowing was bad! In my own garden I diligently turned over the winter cover crop and raked the surface smooth again. I thought I was helping to create a fluffy weed-free environment.

I was wrong!

First, tilling (plowing) messes with a complex underground ecosystem that is essential for healthy plants. Disturbing the fungi that access nutrients and process them into forms that plants need or the microbes that produce compounds that promote plant growth or the nematodes that eat pests is definitely not helpful! Plus, weeds thrive in this disturbed environment.

No-till practices also have this amazing benefit of keeping carbon in the soil. Having lots of organic matter is great for fertility and water retention. But that’s not all! Keeping carbon in the soil means it’s not in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. At scale, we could potentially offset up to 70% of global emissions!

You should definitely read David Montgomery’s book Growing a Revolution to learn more. It is an easy read and his message is inspiring. Most current farming practices are energy intensive and soil depleting but it wouldn’t take that long to to turn it around with no-till methods. And why wouldn’t we want to make this shift if it could curb global warming, reduce the need for fertilizers, and increase our resilience to droughts.

This is a revolution (well, one of many revolutions) that I want to be part of!