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Book Review "Weed the Soil! Not the Crop" This article was first printed in the July/Aug 2008 issue of the Organic Broadcaster, published by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service There is a Chinese proverb that says, "The farmer’s footsteps are the best fertilizer." The longer I farm, the more I believe that the farmer’s footsteps may also be the best cultivator as well. I've tried nearly every new cultivating tool over the past twenty years only to discover that the weeds seem to anticipate my next move, leaving me repeatedly flat-footed and out-smarted. It has taken me years to learn that weeds are largely responding to the opportunities given to them. Rather than change cultivating tools, I now firmly believe that the necessary changes need to be within my own frame of mind. A recently published book, Weed the Soil, Not the Crop, by Eric and Anne Nordell is proving to be an invaluable resource for helping change my war-like approach to weed control to one of a more holistic understanding of how cultural practices influence weeds. The Nordells are well known for their on-farm research as evidenced by the large crowds they attract at conferences and workshops throughout the country. Weed the Soil, Not the Crop is a compilation of a series of articles they have written over a twenty-year period for the Small Farmer’s Journal. This series of articles reflects a progression of inquiry that attempts to create a broader context for understanding weed life cycles and the soil conditions within which they thrive. The Nordell's have a gift for making detailed observations of how the whole farm acts as an organism. They have skillfully learned that weeds can not be isolated from crop selection and rotation, nutrient management, tillage and overall soil health. Their attention to the whole farm has allowed them to nearly eliminate weed pressure to the point where the two of them can adequately manage weed control in their market garden without the need for off-farm labor. Weed the Soil, Not the Crop lays out a cropping system that has largely exchanged the need for off-farm inputs with on-farm knowledge. The Nordell’s are quick to point out that the cultural practices that they employ can be implemented elsewhere with similar success. This book is essentially an invitation to other farmers to join them in learning from and with each other. In the book the Nordells offer a carefully laid out framework developed from their own experience as a way to inspire our own inquiry and experimentation. The Noredell's are students of history, and they have a keen understanding of when something worked well and when it needed to be adapted. They have resurrected the age-old practice of summer fallow as the foundation for expressing weeds in an attempt to pattern their crop rotation after the historical crop rotation used by area dairy farmers. They have successfully adapted older horse drawn implements and experimented with using them in new applications such as shallow tillage, minimum tillage and even no-till regimes. With the artistry of an accomplished baker, the Nordell's have learned to fine tune their soil amendments for optimum crop growth without allowing weeds to feast on excess nutrients in the soil. All of these observations and experiments are supported with extensive rotation calendars, charts and photographs that lay out a detailed process for learning to understand weed control within a greater context. How lucky we are to be the beneficiaries of their trials and observations. It gives me hope that I might learn to narrow the window of opportunity for the trouble weeds on my own farm. So rather than trying to figure out which new tool will finally solve my weed control problems, I’m looking forward to using this season to chart a new direction toward a more holistic approach to weed control. Weed the Soil, Not the Crop seems to be the best road map for success with weeds that I’ve ever come upon. I’m indebted to the Nordell's for illuminating the path for me. Weed the Soil, Not the Crop is available from the MOSES bookstore (715-772-3153 or www.mosesorganic.org) or from Anne and Eric Nordell directly at 3410 RT 184, Trout Run, PA. 17771.
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