Here's an insightful email from Dominique Soltner, a seasoned conservation agriculture practitioner, sharing his real-world experience.
Check out this experiment, complete with photos of every stage, titled "After the Raspberries". Comparing two thriving raspberry beds—one remontant (everbearing) and one non-remontant—led me to phase out the non-remontants. While remontants yield less overall, they produce far superior quality fruit.
We mowed the non-remontant canes at the base using a brushcutter and left the woody debris in place on the 15 x 1.30 m bed. The micro-tractor passed over it, crushing everything down. In October-November, we added a thick layer of old hay followed by dead leaves. It wintered over.
In spring, decomposition made it simple to dig planting holes for tomatoes. A few stray raspberry shoots were easily removed, but the raspberries largely gave up and didn't resprout aggressively.
Results: I'd never watered so sparingly before—virtually none until July. The tomato harvest was outstanding. During the severe 2009 drought here, with no storms, I added drip irrigation but used it minimally.
This woody material mimics BRF (woody ramial fragments), which users rave about for building humus that dramatically boosts water retention. Lignin, a key component of stable humus, is no doubt the reason.
After the Tomatoes: With the mulch mostly decomposed, I'll apply my standard autumn layer, primarily fallen leaves.
I'll soon share this on www.agriculture-de-conservation.com, where they've offered me a "TCS Garden" section.
Best regards, and I'll keep exploring the article list—starting with raspberries!
Sincerely,
Dominique Soltner
Thanks to Dominique Soltner for this valuable firsthand account.
