No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture: Pesticide-Free Methods for Restoring Soil and Growing Nutrient-Rich, High-Yielding Crops

by Bryan O'Hara

From a veteran organic grower: a unique agricultural methodology that delivers higher yields, higher quality, and higher profitability--absolutely free of herbicides or pesticides

Farmers are rapidly adopting no-till techniques for the extensive benefits they provide by enhancing soil biological functions. The diverse, balanced soil environment in no-till beds and fields provides growing conditions for vibrantly healthy plants and bolsters crop and farm ecosystem resilience in the face of climate challenges and declining air and water quality.

In No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture, renowned grower Bryan O'Hara describes the multi-year process of transitioning his Connecticut vegetable farm to a no-till system. O'Hara uses absolutely no herbicides or other pesticides on his farm, and he asserts that this flexible, nature-friendly agricultural methodology is critical in maintaining the health of the soil and the farm ecosystem as well as for economic success. The methods developed at Tobacco Road Farm, now also in use on other farms in O'Hara's region, have shown stunning results in yields, quality, and profitability.

O'Hara delves into all facets of a holistic growing system perfected over 25 years of farming, including no-till bed preparation techniques, seeding and transplanting methods, irrigation, use of fertilizers (including foliar feeds), compost preparation and application, culture of indigenous microorganisms to support soil biology, reduced tillage systems, pest and disease management, weed control, season extension, and harvest and storage techniques. O'Hara also explores the spiritual dimension of managing a farm ecosystem: the importance of observing the natural balance between plants, soil, air, water, and sunlight and the ways in which working to maintain that balance influences practical production decisions such as when to plant, water, and fertilize a crop.

O'Hara's goal is to pass on his knowledge to those who feel the impulse to make their livelihood in harmony with nature. His techniques require a relatively small land base of a few acres or less and little capital investment in equipment. Because of this, home gardeners and homesteaders also find value in his methods. This manual provides growers with advanced techniques and insights not available in any other single book on vegetable production, a unique methodology that will allow them to continue to adapt to meet future challenges.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2020

Reviews

[Pam Dawling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryan O’Hara’s No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture is the work of an expert. His bio says he is known for “providing mountains of details in a concise, practical and cohesive manner”, which sounds like my kind of writer!
His book includes science, art, and philosophy. It is an example of something I realized a while ago: if a farmer pays good attention to what works well, and acts in accordance with their observations, it doesn’t seem to me to matter exactly why they think it works! Although I don’t share the author’s spiritual outlook, or practice of Biodynamics, I do highly value healthy soil, diverse ecosystems, crop rotations, nutritious food, good relations with our neighbors and peace in the world. And so I can use the pointers to achieve some of these goals. Bryan has been paying exquisite attention for decades!
This no-till book is very different from Andrew Mefferd’s Organic No-Till Farming Revolution: High-Production Methods for Small-Scale Farmers which I reviewed in May 2019. That book provides a menu of varied methods for those who want to increase the amount of no-till growing on their small-scale farm. Any reduction in tillage is a good step: you don't have to commit to permanent no-till everywhere. Read Andrew’s book first and choose the reduced-tillage options that suit your farm. Then read Bryan’s book on one particular way of no-till vegetable production and see which parts will work for you.
Bryan and his partner Anita started farming in Connecticut in the early 1990s. Experienced, enthusiastic and energetic, they quickly succeeded, and prepared to expand Tobacco Road Farm. Fortunately, Anita realized the three acres of vegetables they already had was a better fit with their goals: providing for their family year-round, keeping them healthy and happy, providing a service to fellow humans, and freedom from economic subjugation. They embraced Biodynamics as a way to improve crop health, and then Korean Natural Farming. KNF (developed by a Korean, Cho Han Kyu) and making brews of microorganisms (IMOs).
After noticing that tillage was detrimental to their soils, they switched to no-till and were stunned at the differences. The vegetables taste wonderful!
Bryan writes an inspirational narrative, without any fluffy chat. It’s like being in conversation with him. Not everyone can make a discussion of soil quality so engaging! He has a suitable humility about stepping in and influencing the fine balance of the ecosystem. His advice: “be careful not to get in the way of delicate, naturally functioning systems.”
If you are drawn to Biodynamics, I think you’ll love this book. If you are drawn to very successful crops, I think you’ll also love this book. You just might skim some it.
The next section of the book is about preparing land for a gradual transition to no-till. Don’t expect to make an overnight change! Try various approaches on small areas. Reduce your tillage until you no longer need any, or just need occasional tillage. Don’t worry that opening a furrow for big seeds, or digging up root vegetables, will get you expelled from the No-Till School! Try to avoid tilling simply to prepare seed beds.
Various conversion methods are explained, even clearing woody growth. First set up a system that doesn’t need primary tillage (usually heavy tractor equipment), but uses secondary tillage tools (rototillers, disk harrows, field cultivators, walking tractors, hand rakes and hoes) for bed prep (and occasional subsoiling to deal with hardpan).
Bryan recommends a three step process for killing old crops or weeds. First is mowing: Bryan most often uses a flail mower on a 16 hp BCS 850. Second is preventing regrowth by solarizing using clear plastic sheeting to heat the soil surface to 125F or more, for a day. Unlike solarizing to kill pathogens deeper in the soil, killing annual crops or weeds is very quick, provided air temperatures are 75F or more. Perennial roots will not solarize quickly – it’s best to remove these before transitioning. Those that arrive later will need digging out, or longer term solarizing using black silage tarps over the winter. For anti-plastic growers, organic mulches of cardboard covered in 2 ft of fresh cut hay can substitute. There is a good review of various mulching materials, and the photos show his own trials. Oak leaves (and coffee grounds) seem to repel slugs!
Mowing or rolling and crimping is another method, given a thick cover crop and good timing. Flaming can work to kill emerging weeds if any mulch is well-watered first. Reading the book will save you trying all the cover-management methods that don’t work well. At Tobacco Road Farm, they now solarize as much as ¼ acre at a time, moving the covers from plot to plot.
The chapter on seeding and transplanting includes a chart of planting methods, seeding rates and spacing for about 65 crops (not just the top twenty!), instructions for hand broadcasting, sowing in rows by hand or by EarthWay. They have learned to get the most from their Earthway, customizing plates, leaning right while pushing, and only half-filling the hopper for round seeds (to avoid the “brassica grinder” effect).
The transplanting section describes clearly how to make use of outdoor nursery seedbeds for growing bare root transplants as we do. For more delicate seedlings February-June, Bryan likes soil blocks on benches under shadecloth or rowcover tunnels.
The crop rotation chapter includes a planning chart showing what goes in each plot when throughout the course of a year. The system includes flexibility: if a crop continues to grow well in a spot, it doesn’t get rotated. That challenges one of my cherished beliefs! My next challenge came with the information about the influence of the moon on crop growth. I have raised eyebrows myself, claiming that frosts are more likely with a full moon. It sounds so woo-woo, but it fits my observations. Perhaps Bryan is more observant of details, more woo-woo than me, or both. I’m happy he acknowledges that sometimes a crop needs to be planted regardless of lunar position.
Next is a valuable chapter on soil fertility and crop health assessment. This is an area I would like to practice in more. Not just testing pH and the main minerals, but also the Brix measurement of sugar in the crop sap, the electrical conductivity, and soil compaction. Bryan gives a good explanation of cation exchange capacity (the nutrient-holding capacity), and points out the challenges of achieving a good high CEC and then of adjusting the elemental nutrient balance: you need large amounts of material to bring the elements into balance, compared with a low CEC soil. And never forget: “the objective is not to balance a soil test but to get results in the field.” Strong biological activity can outweigh chemical element imbalances.
A slightly acid pH of 6.5 helps cations be more available to the plants: the acidity favors a higher level of fungal activity, which releases nutritional elements held in bonds that resist bacterial action.
Phosphorus buildup is an issue for us growers who use a lot of compost. It is hard for labs to assess phosphorus levels, because many factors influence its soil availability. Compost grows strong plants which in turn reduce water pollution, including phosphorus. Looking at the big picture leads to different solutions than focusing down on soil phosphorus content. Soils high in OM often test high in P because the test includes all the P-containing living fragments. Water-quality regulators are focused on phosphorus contamination of waterways above and beyond that of other pollutants like excess synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and industrial byproducts.
The information on composting is thorough, and Bryan recommends up to 100 tons per acre for a new vegetable patch. Thereafter, 30 tons or more per acre pre-plant. There is a good comparison of various organic fertilizers, and instructions on making bonemeal after cooking meat. There are fish fertilizer recipes which (to my surprise) call for “unprocessed brown sugar.” When I was a hippy grocer in the 70s, our sugar supplier told us there was really no such thing as unprocessed brown sugar - all brown sugars are white sugar with various proportions of molasses added back in. There's no more nutritional value in brown sugar than in white sugar. Even “raw” sugar isn't raw. I guess the only unprocessed sugar is a length of sugar cane or a chunk of sugar beet! Is sugar a big evil, like a synthetic fertilizer, that we don’t want to add to our gardens, or does it have a place?
Some growers apply raw manures, or uncomposted food byproducts directly to the soil, (“sheet composting” or “trench composting”) in the fall for crops the following spring. It’s certainly less work than making a compost pile, but is the result as balanced as a composted mix? Everyone has to make their own decisions. Bryan takes a thoughtful look at these options, and milk, seaweed, charcoal, vinegar and more.
He gives us his precise recipes for liquid and solid feeds for seed-starting, for young plants, and for flowering plants; recipes to be modified by growers for their own conditions. He adds particular ingredients to the base recipe of 30% wood chips, 20% dead leaves or straw, 40% cattle manure and 10 % vegetable scraps.
After this we get into the production of Biodynamic preparations, which do seem to require faith. Next are the Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO). This is part of Korean Natural Farming, and involves “farming” captured forest microorganisms (most noticeably, fungi) with a bait of cooked grain.
Weed, insect and disease control come next in the book, necessary but not directly income-earning aspects of farming. Increasing crop health and vitality for the long term is of fundamental importance here. There is a sense in which pests can be useful: as indicators of an imbalance that the grower would do well to address.
Reducing the weed seed bank is a long-term improvement. Destroy weeds as they germinate, and do not bring up weed seed by tilling. Try not to import weed seed with brought-in materials. Since Bryan was able to stop tilling, galinsoga no longer pops up [envy!]. Crop rotation can help break weed cycles by altering the growing environment. Switch between cool weather and warm weather crops, soil-covering crops and vertical crops, and keep roots in the ground all the time.
Stale seed beds and shallow hoeing can kill weeds without tillage, and solarization can kill not only germinated seeds but ungerminated ones near the surface. Mulches can prevent weed seed germination. Good hoeing technique and tools can remove the weeds that still pop up.
Don’t over-react if problems arise. Monitor pests or diseased plants and count a sample. Determine if the pest numbers warrant your intervention. Also determine if it’s too late to save that crop. Learn if managing the crop differently next time might make it more resistant to pests or diseases. It might take a season or two for changes to pay off in terms of stronger crops. Carefully look for any improvement, as an indicator that your actions are steering things in the right direction.
Beneficial insects, rowcovers, insect netting, shadecloth, shelterbelts and other kinds of crop protection all help crops grow stronger. I learned that our friends, the Cotesia glomerata wasps that parasitize brassica caterpillars, and overwinter as pupal cocoons on the undersides of brassica leaves, will hatch out in spring on the very day the overwintered brassicas start to flower. The 20-50 day lifecycle needs brassica flowers, so don’t be in a hurry to cut down all your bolting greens! The flowers provide nectar for the adult wasps. The leaves, as we know, provide food for the caterpillars, which provide the host for the wasps to lay eggs in. The wasp larvae feed on the caterpillar until it dies, then pupate.
The next chapter is on organizing things to produce vegetables year round. Off-season growing takes more attention and understanding than growing the crops at the easiest time of year. And can bring higher prices and more appreciation. People do want to eat year-round! Protective structures can earn their keep. Tobacco Road Farm uses lots of low tunnels in their snowy winters. Snow cover is actually a benefit to low tunnels, holding the covers in place, and providing insulation. In our climate, I think hoophouses work better. Because our winter weather switches back and forth from cold and icy to warm and sunny, we would spend a lot of time ventilating low tunnels. Without snow cover, we suffer wind and radiation losses through the clear plastic on cold nights.
We need to harvest more frequently than growers in colder climates (not complaining!), and the stooping over, opening and closing of low tunnels gets tiresome. We appreciate walking around in our (no-till) hoophouse, where all the crops are visible at once. Different climates call for different solutions. If you are working with winter low tunnels, read this book and learn how to customize a snow shovel for clearing snow from the tunnels, by rounding and smoothing the corners of the blade. And here are tips for charring sawdust to melt thicker snow. They use a pump to blast a slurry of charred sawdust, salt and molasses over the tunnels. Sounds like a fun winter activity!
Bryan points out how healthy, sturdy crops will have a longer shelf life after harvest, paying back the year-round attention to soil and environmental health. Here are tips on ergonomic harvesting of small crops at ground level (rest one elbow on your knee) and efficient harvesting (while cutting, decide where to make the next cut). The speed of decision-making can be the bottleneck in harvesting, so practice to speed your decision-making.
Why do we grow vegetables? To meet basic human needs for health and happiness; to provide healthful foods, with the potential for job satisfaction and happiness. Sometimes slogging through and finishing a project is the most efficient. Sometimes switching to a different plan is more efficient (or at least, effective). Efficiency includes having a plan and having the flexibility to change plans.
The Further Reading includes a list of twenty books, and I am honored to be among those 26 authors. There is only one other woman among the authors. Bargyla Rateaver is from Madagascar, and with her son Gylver Rateaver, she wrote The Organic Method Primer in 1993. Some reviewers and obituary writers refer to Bargyla as “he”. Farmers are not all of one gender (or of one color). Thanks Bryan for including some of the diversity that exists.
At the beginning of this review I said it was not a “menu” book, but a “specific method” book. Then I found myself picking and choosing from the ideas Bryan presents. It really isn’t a fixed meal. There is something everyone will love in this accomplished work. You don’t have to add all the Special Sauces.

[Nathaniel Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book secretly hides it's conspiracy theories and whackadoodle ideas neatly in a environmentally friendly title.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtra...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodyna...

You have been warned.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is pretty awful. Any actually good information about no-till is buried in the pages alongside conspiracy theories such as chemtrails, government control of the weather, and EMFs. I would encourage potential readers to read Daniel Mays' "The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm," where they will find the same relevant information without the woo.

[Kevin M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is very well written, and full of observations, techniques, and value judgements that make a lot of sense. But it has no references to other works, or research to back up its claims, and the author's credibility is weakened by references to conspiracy theories (the military controls the weather) and pseudoscience (use astrology to determine planting times and to understand people). So my recommendation is: read this, but do so with a critical mind.

[Blake Wolfe · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want to read a 263 page textbook full of conspiracy theories, redundant language, and worthless info that could have been a 1500 word blog post, this is the book for you.

Bryan O'Hara, described as "concise" has managed to write 70,000 words on a simple subject, somehow changing an easy and common sense practice into a dissertation that he didn't even get a PhD for. Not to mention, he managed to pepper in his conspiracy theories about chemtrails, governmental weather control, and the apocalypse every prepper is waiting for. His words on these subjects are but half-truths, presenting misinformation packaged as a helpful and well-meant warning.

I've spent years learning about this method of gardening (and practicing) and this is the first book I absolutely detested on the subject. Bravo.

[Socrate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cele patru stări elementare care sunt de primă importanță pentru producția de legume sunt solul, apa, aerul și lumina soarelui (căldură). Gestionarea adecvată a acestor elemente în comun între ele conduce la o recoltă de succes. Prin urmare, este de mare folos să se creeze o fermă sau o grădină în care aceste stări să fie în mod natural în echilibru relativ. Acest lucru poate reduce eforturile de management și potențialele erori ale producătorului. Totuși, vor exista întotdeauna dezechilibre de la an la an sau nevoia de a produce recolte pe terenuri mai puțin perfecte și, prin urmare, este important să se dezvolte o varietate de tehnici pentru a restabili echilibrul.

[Sabeena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book does have a further reading section (including Rudolph Steiner's work which is one of the only sources referenced), but lacks references for its many claims. Some things are intuitive, like that exposed ground dries out more quickly. However, there are too many interesting and questionable statements that need context and connection to previous scholarship. After the first chapter I just skimmed the things I was most interested in because I was doing too much work to look things up myself.

[Cathi-anne Cook · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want to know how to run the authors farm while learning about pseudoscientific biodynamic agriculture this book is for you

https://thezone3perspective.ca/2023/0...

[RuBisCO Reviews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading books on no till organic methods is always a risk as you never know if you are stepping into the whack doodles. Skip this one unless you did too much acid in high school and believe in biodynamics and chem trails.

[Karen Mahtin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little hard to get into because I wasn't looking for a book about biodynamic growing methods, but one can learn something from most books about growing food. 3.5 stars

[Will G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chemtrails!

[Jennie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chemtrails and burying minerals in cow horns? Didn't realize this was a book about biodynamic farming. It's a no from me.