About

Soil that is exposed to sun, rain, and/or wind dries out, erodes, and compacts quickly.

Keeping the soil covered with organic mulch (ex: leaves, hay, woodchips), inorganic mulch (ex: plastic weed fabric, gravel), and/or living mulch (ex: clover, grass) does wonders for soil health.

All of these mulches, when used reasonably, create moister, and more fertile soil. Mulches protect and feed symbiotic fungi, bacteria, worms, and other organisms in our soil.

Plants are a special mulch. Not only do plants protect soil from erosion and evaporation, their green solar panels (i.e. leaves) literally covert sunlight into energy (aka “exudates”) for friendly bacteria and fungi in the soil. In exchange, these soil organisms (aka “micro-herd”) bring water and nutrients into the rootzone of our plants.

Healthier soil life results in healthier plants, food, wildlife, livestock, pets, and people. Mulch protects and feeds soil life.

A diversity of plants results in healthier soil and a more balanced ecosystem of wildlife. The balanced ecosystem results in reduced crop loss from disease and herbivores. Plus, the diversity is beautiful, and can be delicious 😋

Chop and drop accelerates the regeneration of soil life by protecting and feeding soil life. It accelerates the ecosystem through what would otherwise take decades or centuries in natural succession (see also: Syntropic Agroforestry).

Chop and drop protects soil life because the residue left on the ground functions as mulch. It also feeds soil and replaces the need for composting and fertilizing. The plant residues (branches, stems, leaves, fruits, and roots) decompose above- and below-ground, leaving behind almost all of the nutrients they acquired during their lifetimes as inheritance for the next generation of plants.

Perhaps the most lucrative benefit has to do with “weeds.” Weeding is one of the most time-consuming and costly chores for farmers around the world. When utilizing chop and drop for competition management, weeds transform from being problems, to being the source of fertility, diversity, and environmental balance on our farm.

Steps: (1) Chop (prune but keep alive, or chop down and kill) plants that are too crowded, or have excessively dead foliage. (2) Drop the chopped off plant residue on the ground, or consider piling it nearby into tall mulch mounds. Mounds of residue compost in place, and they provide an excellent source of moisture for plants.

Livestock can be utilized to accomplish both the “chop” (grazing) and the “drop” (pooping and peeing).

The meaning of “too crowded” can be learned through observation. Symbiotic families of plants (aka companion plants) can live closer together. How close plants can live also depends on: how mature the plants are, what season it is, how healthy the soil is, and how cash crops are doing amidst the other plants.

Soil can be anaerobic (without oxygen; toxic) or compacted just below richly organic top soil. Shallow soil life results in shallow roots, which leads to less healthy, even diseased plants.

Broadforking and cover cropping are two low-disturbance methods for improving soil life deeper down. Additionally, many regenerative farmers rapidly improve their soil through a single initial till (and don’t till again) to incorporate compost into the deeper layers of their soil.

Soil moisture is essential for soil-life to flourish. On the flip side, when soil becomes too wet (i.e. poor drainage), soil life becomes anaerobic, soil compacts, roots can’t breathe, and plants get sick and die.

Thinking about and observing how rain water moves can help tremendously with both wet and dry seasons. With trenches, swales, and ponds, excess water is slowed down, and routed through reservoirs. Allowing water to seep deeply into the ground can provide moisture for many months of dry weather. Trenches also prevent crop loss and erosion by routing any excess water during the wet season off of the property.