One of the most common gardening and farming techniques around — turning over the ground — is doing terrible damage to soil, a group was told last week.
At a talk dubbed “Common Ground,” organized by the Ipswich Garden Club and the town’s agricultural commission, organic farmer Caro Roszell of the Northeast Organic Farming Association said crops can be planted without extensive tilling.
The event was was held in Gathr and saw around 45 participants given a light supper and a drink before the talk.
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“Historically, farmers and gardeners have not seen their efforts as two sides of one coin,” Kahn wrote in her column earlier this month.
“That changed last year, when the Ipswich Garden Club invited Jay Stanbury, head of the Ipswich Agricultural Commission, as a speaker,” she added.
Concerns about some farming practices, climate change, and the collapse of pollinator populations spurred on the talk, Kahn said.
Roszell said plowing is not a natural condition for soil. It kills off beneficial bacteria and fungi and releases carbon and nitrogen into the air, she added.
The only people who view it as a good thing are fertilizer companies, who sell the nutrients that need to be replaced, Roszell said.
Stanbury said future talks are likely on topics such as water management and invasive species.