Do nothing farming...where next?

[martian]

As a disciple of the great Masanobu Fukuoka and his 'do nothing farming' ideas, I'm wondering how far we can take it.

This is the pleasing result of my contention that mowing the lawn is so last century. It's humming with bees and butterflies, it's full of colour and interest and, should we ever run short of grazing, could double as food for the mob.

 

[Dead Rabbits]

As a disciple of the great Masanobu Fukuoka and his 'do nothing farming' ideas, I'm wondering how far we can take it.

This is the pleasing result of my contention that mowing the lawn is so last century. It's humming with bees and butterflies, it's full of colour and interest and, should we ever run short of grazing, could double as food for the mob. View attachment 536814

I do mow the yard several times a year, but it really bothers me to do so. So, I put the weaned calves on it.

White clover, wide and narrow leaf plantain, chicory, wild lettuce, red clover, Matua brome, fescue, orchard grass, crab grass etc. Just too pretty to mow.

 

[Daniel]

Try that here and you end up with an unpleasant mix of barley grass, nettles, thistles and cleavers in 3 years.

 

[clbarclay]

Try that here and you end up with an unpleasant mix of barley grass, nettles, thistles and cleavers in 3 years.

Likewise, nature as a whole will quite happily carry on without us, but if we want something from the land (be that monoculture, beneficial diversity, drainage/flood control or just pretty sights etc.) then it will requires management to get what we want, even if most of the time that means do nothing, we still need to keep an eye on it and do what is necessary (defining what really is necessary is another matter).

 

[Feldspar]

As a disciple of the great Masanobu Fukuoka and his 'do nothing farming' ideas, I'm wondering how far we can take it.

This is the pleasing result of my contention that mowing the lawn is so last century. It's humming with bees and butterflies, it's full of colour and interest and, should we ever run short of grazing, could double as food for the mob. View attachment 536814

Are you going to continue the topiary fish thought? I do think you ought to do a martian next.

 

[britt]

Try that here, and I'll be sleeping on it !

 

[martian]

Likewise, nature as a whole will quite happily carry on without us, but if we want something from the land (be that monoculture, beneficial diversity, drainage/flood control or just pretty sights etc.) then it will requires management to get what we want, even if most of the time that means do nothing, we still need to keep an eye on it and do what is necessary (defining what really is necessary is another matter).

You are, of course, absolutely right. I dug out Fukuoka from the bookshelf and checked up what he was on about. He agrees with you, the 'do nothing' was really to wind up farmers who do too much, in much the same way as we like to have a pop at farmers who spend hours power-harrowing; we all have to do something to mould nature to get what we want from her, the trick is to do the smallest amount possible.

And then, train yourself to find the results pleasing on the eye...

 

[Feldspar]

You are, of course, absolutely right. I dug out Fukuoka from the bookshelf and checked up what he was on about. He agrees with you, the 'do nothing' was really to wind up farmers who do too much, in much the same way as we like to have a pop at farmers who spend hours power-harrowing; we all have to do something to mould nature to get what we want from her, the trick is to do the smallest amount possible.

And then, train yourself to find the results pleasing on the eye...

*Maschioing!

 

[SilliamWhale]

Ive read of people saying that all may have not been as it seemed on mr fukuokas place. Nobody took it on

*Maschioing!

Your a sado-maschio-chist

 

[SilliamWhale]

Mr Fukuoka had a system of white clover permanent understorey and then alternated with dry rice and barley didn't he?

 

[clbarclay]

Steady not @martian, you will have thinking I am right about other things



Was this a typo?

*Masochistoing!

 

[clbarclay]

Ive read of people saying that all may have not been as it seemed on mr fukuokas place. Nobody took it on


Your a sado-maschio-chist

I don't know about the sado part, but I will take the mankini wearers word for it, in this case no evidence is necessary to prove it, unless its only available in a pay to view scientific journal.

 

[martian]

Ive read of people saying that all may have not been as it seemed on mr fukuokas place. Nobody took it on

I think it's being run by his grandchildren, but they've modified some of his more hard-core tenets. It does sound a bit like Joel Salatin's place, with dozens of interns to do the donkey work. Fine not to have any machines on the place if you've got some cheap labour. But his message isn't so much a recipe of 'how to do it' as a slightly whimsical philosophical musing on what's important in life and how farming can influence everything. Comfort wasn't something he set much store by and I suspect that's the main reason why doing things his way is still a minority pursuit.

 

[martian]

Mr Fukuoka had a system of white clover permanent understorey and then alternated with dry rice and barley didn't he?

Pretty much. He also manipulated the water to flood fields occasionally to kill the weeds, but used much less water than the traditional flooding technique. Scattered seeds on the surface, sometimes wrapped in clay pellet, he returned all straw to the fields and left it uncut as a mulch. 100% no-till as all seeds left to try their luck under the straw, no soil moved.

 

[martian]

Are you going to continue the topiary fish thought? I do think you ought to do a martian next.

That is a martian. They've found a lot of water on Mars, apparently. Might be worth a bit of a fishing expedition...

 

[Feldspar]

That is a martian. They've found a lot of water on Mars, apparently. Might be worth a bit of a fishing expedition...

Wonder if Easyjet fly there?

 

[martian]

Wonder if Easyjet fly there?

I think you'd be better off with Virgin. Or not that much better off, his Intergalactic thing sounded a bit pricey

 

[Feldspar]

I think you'd be better off with Virgin. Or not that much better off, his Intergalactic thing sounded a bit pricey

Apparently the venture has struggled to get off the ground let alone into space.

 

[martian]

It's interesting how the species composition changes from year to year. Getting more broadleaves than the (mob) grazed ground the other side of the hedge, though that too evolves all the time. By evolve, I mean 'gets better'. Both garden grass and meadows are heaving with butterflies and grass-hoppers this year, a real joy.

 

[New Puritan]

@martian - so have you mown that at all? I'm getting similar results in the third year of having 4m margins round the edge of my fields which can only be mown on the inner half. Do you ever weed out problem species - e.g. docks?