No-till transplanted onions in New England

I met Annalisa Wild Miller at the Maine Agricultural Trade show, but I was rushed with other things on my mind so I didn’t get to talk with her much. I took note that she mentioned something about an article her husband, Joel, had written in Small Farmer’s Journal (SFJ). I don’t get SFJ, so I didn’t know what a fantastic photo essay it was about their trials with no-till transplanted onions until I recently got my hands on a copy. Joel has been kind enough to share his photos with me.

The timing is perfect because it’s just about the season for onion transplanting at many farms in the northeast. If you have a patch of forage radish that did well last fall, consider trying this method instead of tilling before transplanting. Joel and Annalisa aren’t the first farmers I’ve heard say that one of the best parts about this “system” is that it saves valuable time in spring. With spring weather what it is, that time can be the difference between getting early crops in early and having to wait out some rain storms. Here’s their story from the beginning.

Radish rows were seeded on August 9 in Lee, NH. The rows were 17" apart and seeded with the #13 seed hole on a Planet Junior. The field had received compost earlier in the summer. Photo: Joel Miller

Radish rows were seeded on August 9 in Lee, NH. The rows were 17″ apart and seeded with the #13 seed hole on a Planet Junior. The field had received compost earlier in the summer. Photo: Joel Miller

I’ve always assumed that 17″ would be too far apart to get good weed suppression, but Joel found this spacing was sufficient. It was intentional, as it prepped the field in advance for 34″ onion rows in spring. Because they use horsepower, straight and even rows are essential. I’d call this precision cover cropping.

In the past, they had tried seeding forage radish in mid-September, and found that this did not give enough time in New England for optimal performance. There seems to be consensus that the first week of August is optimal for radish seeding in New England.

Two weeks after seeding, the radish is already looking good. Photo: Joel Miller

Two weeks after seeding, the radish is already looking good. With careful use of the row marker, the rows look like they were seeded with a drill. Photo: Joel Miller

In early October, the radishes were lush and no bare ground was visible. With careful use of the row marker, the rows look like they were seeded with a drill. Photo: Joel Miller

In early October, the radishes were lush and no bare ground was visible. Photo: Joel Miller

After nearly four months of good growth, the radish winterkilled with nights in the teens (F). Unlike the mid-Atlantic, there is no danger that radishes will not winterkill here.

In early April, the snow melted and the radish residue was minimal.  The gooey mat left after the snow quickly disappeared. The lack of residue is essential for allowing the soil to warm up and dry out.

The holes left by the radish roots were perfect for dropping in onion transplants. Where there was no hole, they used their hand dibbler to make one in line with the radish rows. Photo: Joel Miller

The holes left by the radish roots were perfect for dropping in onion transplants. Where there was no hole, they used their hand dibbler to make one in line with the radish rows. Photo: Joel Miller

transplanting team april 10 joel miller

Annalisa and Ayla Wild Miller transplanting onions on April 10 into the holes left by radish. Photo: Joel Miller

Soon after snow melted, the crew was transplanting onions into the field. By placing the onion plants (or any plants/seeds) directly in the radish holes, two important things are achieved (three, if you include the fact that this keeps them in a straight line!): the root channels left by the radish roots are easily accessible to the cash crop’s roots; and the nutrients from the radish are concentrated where the cash crop needs them. Especially important for allium crops, radish and other brassicas recycle large amounts of sulfur in addition to nitrogen and phosphorus. In fact, Joel did not add fertilizer to the onions. Not having to prepare the beds before transplanting “helped us get one big mark off the planting list before the early season rush really started.”

The first cultivation was in early May with a customized salvaged Lilliston cultivators. Photo: Joel Miller

The first cultivation was in early May with salvaged and customized Lilliston cultivators. (Cover crop on left) Photo: Joel Miller

In mid-May, Joel tried his custom tine weeder. He found that there was so little residue, there was no interference with their cultivating equipment. Photo: Joel Miller

In mid-May, Joel tried his custom tine weeder. He found that there was so little residue, there was no interference with their cultivating equipment. Photo: Joel Miller

In June, Joel went through again with 12" sweeps. the vigor of the onions here is starting to show. Photo: Joel Miller

In June, Joel went through again with 12″ sweeps. the vigor of the onions here is starting to show. Photo: Joel Miller

Joel has more information on equipment and working with his team of horses in the SFJ article (Summer 2014 issue). Although we’ve never actually met, he and I will be presenting a workshop on integrating forage radish and reduced tillage systems into organic vegetable production at the MOFGA Farmer to Farmer conference this coming November and I’m really looking forward to hearing what else they’ve been trying.

Oh, and how did the onions come out? Very well!

Red and yellow storage onions grown after being transplanted into forage radish root holes. Photo: Joel Miller

Red and yellow storage onions grown after being transplanted into forage radish root holes. Photo: Joel Miller

Thanks very much to Joel and Annalisa Wild Miller for sharing their experience and their photos.

 

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