No Till Garden - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Tilling the soil is becoming a practice of the past in the agriculture production industry and possibly the gardening world as well.

Ag Reporter Sarah Gustin takes you to Selfridge to introduce you to no-till gardening.

Proving you that no till farming and no till gardening aren't all that different. 

(Corie Lund / NRCS District Conservationist) "There's so many people that talk about that it couldn't work and it's such a common practice with our farmers. Our farmers can do it large scale, so why not be able to do it small scale

The Natural Resources Conservation Services Office in Selfridge sprayed this 20x50 plot with round up in the middle of May, a week later planting started. 

we used the sharp end of a pick axe and just moved the soil so it just sliced it a little bit and planted seed right into it about 2 inches deep it worked out well.

Everything from sweet corn to green and yellow zucchini, peas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, gourds and pumpkins now call this old piece of lawn home.

Best of all, Lund says this no till garden is also minimum maintenance.

She says they only water once a week, pull a few weeds while out picking produce and haven't even fertilized.

(Corie Lund / NRCS District Conservationist) "That's a common question. Some people ask how much fertilizer we have put down and so far we have not put any fertilizer down."

(Sarah Gustin / sgustin@kxnet.com) "The office plans on using the same garden plot again next year, but they will be applying some real-life field practices. Like a crop rotation. Instead of the sunflowers being on the east end of the garden, they will probably be moved to the west end."

(Bruz VanDusen / NRCS Employee) "I knew it could probably happen because they do it in the agriculture field, but I wasn't sure how it would work because I grew up around tilling gardening and I was always helping pull weeds. That's what I was used to and when we did this it just took the work out of everything and it's really been phenominal.It's been just a kaldeoscope of progress."

All that garden progress is turning heads.

(Corie Lund / NRCS District Conservationist) "There is so much talk in the town. people drive by and say, wow Corie we didn't really think it would work, but it looks great and it's better than our garden. It's a really big positive look and I am surprised at how many people are willing to change their ways so far. It's kinda neat. Everyone is going to try no till next year.

In Selfridge for KX News, I am Sarah Gustin.

Lund says so far NRCS has given away or donated nearly all of the garden produce.