Haha l admit l got that one late 
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Some of you might remember l tryed no dig potato planting this year. Time for a report.
The experiment took place on 2 small fealds about 7x15m each.
First one used to be young forrest land. I cut the trees, mowed the undergrowth as deep as l culd, spread some cow manure and layed the potatoes straight on the bare unplowed ground, then covered half of that with leaves and half with hay. After that l did not touch them till harvest (yesterday).
Resaults were mixed. There were some real good plants on spots where the mulch decomposed down to real nice humus. Then there were parts where soil was rock hard, still overgrown with roots from previous vegetation. The yeald there was poor. Then there were parts where a gopher got to the taters first… so that doesent count.
Second feald was a neglected grass feald for at least 20 years. Loads of thick bushy roots from vines, bushes and specialy blackberrys in the ground. It was plowed in the early spring to rip the roots, then leveled, manure spread on top and potatoes layed on the surface, folowed by a layr of leaves and later half of the feald with hay and half with some fairly strawy manure (bedding). This was allso left untouched untill harvest day (today).
This gave better resaults. Potatoes were a bit bigger and plentyer. Soil was allso much easyer to work with. Soil looked rich and full of humus and life. Gopger got some but he culdnt eat that many
This is from the first feald. The plants that grew well looked like this.
Like l sayd, full of life. We found a couple of those slug eaters in the soil.
This is the second feald. Notice there are 2 vorietys growing here, one on the right is not mature yet but the lower part is alredy scythed down and raked, redy to dig.
This is a averidge plant from the later feald. Plowed, manured, mulched.
It yealded about a wheelbarrow per row. Not hard to digg out. Potatoes grow shalow just under the mulch.
Now the conclusion.
In short.
Hay is way better thain leaves.
Strawy manure is good on top.
Plowing on the first year helps.
Gophers are sons of satan.
So, was it worth it? Depends. Compared to traditional potato planting and hilling the yeald was probably smaller. So, for a profesional farmer, l can not see this working. But for a small scale farmer like me, where only growing food for your self is in queation, absolutely! Its a plant and harvest system! What else can you wish for?? No hilling, weeding…
Ofcorse, there is work with raking leaves and hay, but most is still intact and ready for the next crop. I might only need to topp up a bit.
A couple of words on manure.
I started by placing about 0.5m3 of charcoal on the barn floor. Folowed by a layr of leaves, then old hay. Then the animals lived there trugh winter. Goats, pigs, fowl and rabbits. The manure/bedding was then over a foot deep in spring, and partialy decomposed when it was spread on the second feald. It was nearly all incorporated in the soil by worms since it was spread but occasionaly l found some gold in the soil. Black gold. Reminence of the charcoal in the manure, now butyfully incorporated in the soil.
Remember, the manure/char was not plowed in! Worms and soil life did all the plowing!
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Very little tillage, charcoal, manure… i think if you continue to do all this for maybe five years you will have almost the same production as commercial production. Only I don’t like plowing, but sometimes you have to.
I worked on a dairy farm and managed my parents 10 acres for 8 years.
Rindert
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Neither do l. It usualy does more bad thain good. Only thing plowing is good foris keeping the garden “civilised” in the human eye. I admit, l fell for that for years…
I zoomed on that picture from before. Here its in better quality.
This is all good quality hard charcoal (composted in manure). Just look at how it broke down to allmost like a paste, microscopuc particles that can be mixed with the soil by worms in later years. I can only imagine how fertile and easy to work with the soil wuld be after a couple of years of doing this! Better start soon!
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Potatoes look good but I was expecting a CPR (contruction progress report) as well
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On the way Sir! A bit late
Škoda worked hard too
Soon the concreete related buisness will be over. Then its wood all the way till the roof top.
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Its looking good so far! I am curious what the prevailing building method over there is for building house walls. Is stud framing the norm, or is masonry more common? I see you used OSB for your concrete formwork, so I assume people are using it to build stick-framed structures. Also your concrete pad looks like it is thick enough to build a nuclear reactor on top of! Is it insulated on the bottom? I feel like I remember you talking about that. I wish I lived closer; I would come lend a hand getting that roof up in a heartbeat.
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Thank you for the update, Kristijan. Looking good. What Carl said - I wish I was closer too.
I agree about the the slab looking sturdy, but maybe it’s only around the edge. I see you put rebar down - are you filling those hollow bricks with concrete? Don’t forget about the door. I see no gap
I bet you appreciate a level surface Perfect for knocking wall sections together. Or will the walls be all bricks?
We had our first frost night tonight. Feeling a little heavy-hearted.
I’m still partially layed-off from work. What about you? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have some time off right now.
Already looking forward to the next update?
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Strict masonary. Only in the last couple of years other styles became popular.
Well the plan was to pour the slab in the osb frame, then fix a frame on the other side and pour concreete wall in the same frame, then use that osb further in the build. Changed my mind.
Looks may be deceeving. Its 10" thick. Thin form the norm actualy.
Moisture insulated.
JO, yes, those blocks are called framing blocks or H blocks. Used for retaining walls and such. The house is sinked in the ground about a on 2 sides. I only need to come up above the ground with masonary.
Haha building in doors wuld be a good idea
Damn, thats sad… we expect first frost in 2 months.
I work full steam. Its hard. I dont get nearly enaugh work done. Work drains a lot of time and it was too hot to work in the midday. Unfortunaly wife cant help much either. I set up a extremely streched scedule and l barely manage it.
Ha, help wuld be wery apreciated
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I just did a garage. Half of the time alone. Holidays, no friends available. Almost finished. Just waiting for the doorman and brick layers. Feeling tired and need some vacation.
Respect Kristian. Your project is way way bigger and coming on strong.
We had the plan for a visit in may( didnot get to the point asking), but Covid changed plans.
Always nice to see what you are doing.
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Kristijan, on the other thread you talked about harvesting potatoes in a hailstorm and that made me remember how you planted them with heavy mulch this year. How did that work out for you? Was the yield good? No rodents feasting? No weeds? Could you find them all?
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Hi Don,
Scroll up to post 242 on this topic for a detailed report.
As for rodents, l see no difference. Gophers will take their share no matter what. But a good thing is they are teritorial so they tend to max their number, take their share and leave the rest.
As for finding them all, thats actualy way easyer. They grow much shallower. No need to dig a foot down in the ground. First round l dug out with a pichfork, second l plowed about 2-3" under the plants with my walk behind, got them all out. Not the best way thugh because my walk behind looks like this
and the track runs over the furrow and potatoes. When time alows l will flip the plow reverse for this job.
The parts where l mulched enaugh with hay require even less digging thugh.
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I automatised the log cart a litle bit
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That is a great method of driving your carrage. Is the “power unit” something that you have had around the house for 6 or 7 years? TomC
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Ha, close. 5 years
+20 characters
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Kristijan, did I see wife and daughter pulling more timber up the hill in the background?
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I was glad to see that you put the child labor a safe distance back from the completely un-shrouded belts and zipping saw blades. 
It is important to learn to be aware of your surroundings.
The mill looks great, though, keep up the good work!
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That picture looks quite familiar. I have been the automation for quite a few machines in my life.
When I was about that age Dad borrowed a mill, to cut the siding for our house. We were using a backhoe to sort logs and move them over to the mill to be loaded with the log loader. We had a pair of snaking tongs chained to the back bucket and I would hook them on the center of the log and dad would drive the machine. The last one I hooked up, I had hooked the log up and pulled my hand back and then I saw the thing was not hooked well so I reached back in to fix it and dad did not see me put my hand back. I would have been Ok but I stuck my right thumb into the point of the tongs right above the pivot pin and it acted like a pair of scissors to the end of my right thumb. I still have it but it is a little messed up.
All that to say after that the only thing I did after that was drive the mill back after dad had made the cut and was off loading.
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Haha l somehow missed that
Carl, l was planing to build a cage and protection around the mill but when l thod about it this way is better and no less safe. If anything goes it will go the opposite direction a safe distance away. There is allso no more pto. I think as long as noone stands in front of the mill its perfectly safe.
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After the framing is over l need a few days of lazyness. With wife unable to help with the lifting of hevy timber this construction is geting hard on my back. But finaly things are starting to look like a house. Goodfor the morale
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