Surface Fermentation (Flächenrotte): Building Organic Matter, Tilth, and Fertility

Organic farming tends to involve lots of tillage, but tillage can reduce organic matter and soil tilth, making future tillage passes harder and hurting plant health. Fertility can also be limiting on larger scales if farmers don’t have access to enough manure.

A new covercrop/tillage technique from Germany is catching interest because it can build organic matter, improve tilth, and raise fertility. “Surface fermentation” (Flächenrotte in German) involves growing dense covercrops, then, in a single pass, lush covercrops are sprayed with a microbial inoculant, flail mowed, and incorporated with shallow tillage. The lush covercrops provide high-energy fuel for microbial fermentation, with nutrients fixed onto soil colloids. And the shallow tillage (2’’) preserves roots for future microbial inoculation into the surface layer.This technique is popular with organic field and vegetable crop farmers in Europe because it can raise organic matter, improve tilth, and provide fertility for cash crops.

Join us to discuss this surface rotting technique, and regenerative soil management generally, with farmer and soil nerd Tenzin Botsford. Tenzin farms in Northern WI and has been implementing many innovative soil management techniques on his farm. This episode will help advisors who want to explore how tillage can be a force for soil health and fertility.

This is a free Zoom Event!