3 ms·
What is it exactly about the way horses till that leaves the soil in better shape? I'm pretty sure the ship has sailed as far as tractors being used over horse
by cvsh 9y ago
What is it exactly about the way horses till that leaves the soil in better shape?
I'm pretty sure the ship has sailed as far as tractors being used over horses, but surely there are ways to improve tractors' technique by drawing lessons from horse tilling, so it leaves the soil in better shape.
- exDM69 9y agoIt is mostly weight and pressure packing the soil too dense, and then getting tilled to expose it to air. The soil loses nutrients and the ability to hold moisture and organisms like worms, bugs and bacteria. The article describes these issues better than I can. Crop rotations and other things matter but the weight and pressure are the biggest difference as far as I know.
- milesvp 9y agoThere's a planet money episode about a guy who started raising chickens due to noticing soil differences on 2 sides of a fence. I wouldn't rule out the increase in horse poop as a significant factor in soil health for this farming method.
- exDM69 9y agoThe amount the horses poop while doing work is completely negligible. We did haul a big cart of manure from the stables, like half a ton or so. Yes, manure is a good fertilizer and promotes a good ecosystem of microbes but it needs animals on pasture (an element in good crop rotation) or bringing it from elsewhere to get the kind of quantities needed.