Mulching
The top surface of the soil is called mulching.
The mulch works to preserve the vitality and fertility of the soil. This creates a microscopic atmosphere and emits such casts on the surface of native earthworms. So that living matter is formed in the soil. So the soil becomes soft and fertile. The number of germs of all kinds in this soil increases immediately. These germs need mulching to protect them from heat, cold, rain, hurricanes and other hazards.
There are three types of Mulching
(1) Soil Mulching
(2) Mulching in the plant residues
(3) Intercropping or mixed mulching
The plowing of the land is done with an ox driven plow or a lightweight tractor driven rotavator. This is because plowing with a light tool does not harm the germs.
Carbon begins to fly out of the soil at a temperature of 36 degrees. In addition, moisture also starts to fly in the air. The soil swells or shrinks due to extreme heat or frost. Causing cracks in the ground. Moisture from these cracks evaporates into the air. This reduces soil moisture and causes severe damage to soil and plant roots. To minimize this loss, the soil is lightly plowed and the soil surface is covered with mulch to protect it from moisture.
There re three purposes of plowing
(1) Increasing air circulation in the soil which can provide oxygen to microorganisms and roots.
(2) Increase water storage in the soil, which provides water to the roots and microorganisms.
(3) Weed control : When we apply urea to the soil, not only the crop but also the weeds grow faster. Natural farming does not give urea, which causes weeds. Grows less.
In organic farming we provide more than cow dung, tractor trolleys. So that weed seeds are added to the soil and the cost of farming increases.
Mulching of plant residues is the best weed killer method. Weed seeds need sunlight to germinate, but we do not get sunlight by covering the remains of plants on the ground. Due to which weeds cannot germinate. This is how weeds can be controlled. Moisture particles also do not fly away from the mantle and moisture is retained in the soil which makes the soil alive.
The mantle reduces wind speed. Thus more moisture is retained in the soil. The mantle reduces the speed of rain so that pits do not fall on the ground and the moisture stops flowing. The mantle plays a very important role in retaining moisture in high heat. Excessive heat causes moisture to evaporate into the air as carbon dioxide, which in turn raises the average temperature.
Even if there is a drought in a year, the cover protects the plants by taking moisture from the air. When we ming the remnants of monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous crops on the surface of the soil, the amount of organic matter in the soil is maintained. The soil becomes fertile due to the presence of organic matter. 1 liter of living matter absorbs 6 liters of water from the air. This is why natural agriculture thrives even in times of natural drought. That is, it gives good yields because it has a food supply of organic matter. Takes nutrients from native organisms and stores them in the body of the crop. When we cover the soil with organic manure i.e. mix the crop residues in the soil after taking mixed crop or intercrop, the nutrients in it are added to the soil. Which can take the crop. In natural agricultural soils, the body of bacteria is absorbed into the soil and provides all kinds of nutrients and the crop gives good yields.
In natural farming we do not use any herbicide. So that if the weeds that grow in our soil are mixed in the soil then the nutrients in it get to the crop. Who needs a crop. Weeds are a mirror of the soil. Friendly insects live on weed leaves. Is. Which destroys the damaging insects. Due to which nature itself destroys harmful insects and restores natural balance.
When we take several crops at once, due to the variety of crops, bees come on our crop and do the work of pollination. Due to which crop production increases with cleaning.
We do not destroy weeds in natural agriculture but if weed plants do not grow more than the main crop then there is no competition between the main crop and the weed plants.
The leaves of the main crop remain free to take in sunlight. Cultivation is essential for seasonal crops. But do not plow deep with a tractor. Because deep farming in natural farming is done by native algae. So that the roots of the crop go very deep. Worms make numerous holes in the ground. They come up over the hole. It doesn't go down to make the same hole but goes down to make a new hole. The earthworm passed through its own body while making a hole. Come and go. So that the soil becomes fertile. Covering in this way the earthworm goes about its work.
Flaxseed contains 5 times more nitrogen, 9 times more phosphorus and 11 times more potash than normal soil. Thus we can say that mixed crop, weed plant worms, crop residues and light plowing will make the soil fertile and increase the water storage capacity. And the soil becomes organic.