I finished sowing the 2021 winter crop this past weekend just gone. Only had one bin of seed left (about 40kg), which I was deliberately holding onto for several weeks, such that I can see the effect of seeding later in the season. It was sown 27/6 up on the main plateau, in a lantana affected area, alongside an earlier section shown in the photos late in this post.

Growth of the crop (earlier sowings) is varying significantly depending on location. The Eastern area has some of the best growth as seen in the photos below:

Farmers typically plough or till the soil before seeding, as this provides a means to get good seed to soil contact. It also makes it easy to bury the seed a little (generally larger seed = deeper depth), and softens the soil for initial root growth. It also messes up the soil structure by breaking up macro aggregates, destroys fungal hyphae that the plants have a symbiotic relationship with, and is generally equivalent to smashing up the homes of billions of tiny beneficial microbes and critters.

No till seeding isn’t new – it has been around for many decades, gradually increasing in prevalence. There are a number of different sorts; I’ve chosen the route of a double disc opener to minimise soil disturbance. Though it really should be called minimal till, not no till….