Visiting Zamyatkin I.P.
“Your agricultural technology of natural farming seems to be correct, but show me what will happen in a few years!” “And does it work in our region?” We went on a “business trip” to get answers to these questions.
We are a group of comrades, middle-aged and older, actively seeking any information, experience, contacts on new technology. Our path is to Shushenskoye, where Zamyatkin I.P. has been practicing organic farming on his plot for 18 years. “You only got here too late, the harvest is already in,” the owner warned us. “But will we see the soil?” - being surprised by the harvest is one thing, but seeing living, revived soil is more important. Ivan Parfentievich, a 72-year-old farmer, is cheerful and fresh, positive and open to communication. He worked on the land all his life: as a tractor driver, agronomist; Now he conducts classes at the Michurinets club in the village. Shushenskoye, travels by invitation to seminars, and conducts lectures at his site. He publishes articles and shares his experience at a scientific level. Its land greeted us with the gold of tall birches growing around and the warmth of an autumn day.
- How did you come to the agricultural technology of organic farming?
– I accumulated information for a very long time, collected notes from newspapers. Such notes about the experiences of some academicians became possible only during the “Khrushchev Thaw.” And I stopped digging in 1990, when the question of survival became a pressing issue in our country. At first, there was no significant increase in yield. The soil, like any organism, needs time to recover. (Just imagine: a person drank and drank and quit. He won’t become healthy the next day!) But it hasn’t become less, and less physical labor is spent from the very beginning. I got the result in 6-7 years, then it became clear that the high yield was due to this.
- What about the weeds?
“There may be more weeds in the first year,” we cut them with a Fokin flat cutter or a “Strizh” cultivator, I have them, I ordered them. And then the weeds will go away! Weeds love to live in dug soil. All the land that is not under the beds is under meadow grass. I mow it regularly, the grass is used as mulch. Mulch suppresses weeds in the beds, because not a single plant develops in the dark.
Zamyatkin's plot looks like a clearing, along which low beds-boxes are laid out. There is soft, short grass everywhere, the row spacing is spacious, the same width as the beds, about 70 cm.
– Ivan Parfentievich, why mulch?
- We will protect the earth from temperature changes and drying out. Have you noticed that on my 10-acre plot of land there is one tank of water? And I want to remove that one, it’s not needed.
- Only for this purpose the mulch should not be laid thinly, right?
– Absolutely right, at least 7 cm, and better – 10. But there is another secret. The soil without digging has a lot of channels of different sizes. During the day, the soil is cool, and the air is warmer and contains moisture. And the water condenses on the walls of the soil channels, the greater the temperature difference, the greater. At night, on the contrary, the soil is warmer and the air is cool - condensation again. There is so much water that it is comparable to precipitation!
- Can we take a look and see what’s there under the mulch?
- Certainly!
Under the dried, neatly folded grass in the beds there was dark earth, in small lumps, pleasantly moist. Holes and grooves in it were easily made by hand.
“I’ve already thrown away all the tools, and the flat cutter is also in the attic; I don’t need it anymore!” – the owner laughs .
– So only on top, under the mulch?
– Try it yourself.
Ivan Parfentievich gives us a long birch pole, 3-4 centimeters thick. The first of us takes it with caution. The pole goes half a meter into the ground. Of course, we tried everything - the result was the same. Will your shovel be able to loosen the soil by half a meter?
- What needs to be done to make the soil loose to such a depth?
– We add organic matter from above with mulch, and for deep enrichment I plant green manure. Rye, beans, oilseed radish, mustard - yes, there they are, with seeds. The seeds are our own. Seed plants do not take up much space, and you will be sure of the quality of the seeds. After mowing, green manure leaves a large mass of roots in the soil, which go deep and rot there. Both food for soil inhabitants and the structure are restored. The soil is very complex. Everything there is like in a city: its own communications, roads, everything is on floors, everyone has their own role. And our shovel... Imagine that Sayanogorsk was crushed by a huge excavator! How many will survive? And how soon will the city flourish again? We don't know much about the soil on our site.
- And then how not to make a mistake?
– Read, listen, it’s never too late to learn. And most importantly, learn from nature! There is no such phenomenon in life that would not have existed before in nature. And in wisdom we are still far from it.
Ivan Parfentievich told us many more different tricks: how to prevent dew from settling on our tomatoes, how to cope with malicious weeds in 2 years without turning over the ground. There was no limit to the surprise and wisdom of the order reigning in this area. But many things seemed very familiar to me. The agricultural technology of naturalists and organists is the same, regardless of the starting point from which one came to it. The main thing is to listen to the earth, it will tell you.
- Many people won’t understand you. But get a MIRACLE with your own hands, not for someone else, without deception, for yourself! And when you receive it, you will have no doubts! If you have questions, look for answers. Achieve, don’t give up if something doesn’t work out in the first year. – the Farmer wished us goodbye. But we had no doubts after seeing it with our own eyes.
The historical village of Shushenskoye is the bank of the Yenisei. The soil is poor sandy loam, in summer it can be above +35°, in winter up to −45°, there is little snow. Every second year there are severe droughts. Bread burns out in arable fields, potatoes don’t bear fruit—many people don’t even dig them. And at this time, Zamyatkin steadily and effortlessly collects fivefold harvests.
Zamyatkin’s site has not seen a shovel for about twenty years. According to him, in ten years the fertile layer has deepened to 30-40 cm. The soil has become so loose that there is no need to drive in pegs for tomatoes - they stick in easily. The potato harvest approached two tons per hundred square meters. Cabbage - heads of cabbage by the pound - up to 1800 kg per hundred square meters. The yields of cabbage and carrots are three to five times higher than average, and the berry fields produce abundantly. Zamyatkin does not use manure, much less compost. From fertilizers - only ash. Now in his beds, as he puts it, there is truly fertile agrozem. This means that the maximum harvest is guaranteed in any year.
How does he do this?
Of course, a third of the increase comes from varietal agricultural technology: Zamyatkin selected the best varieties for himself and literally became close to them. But two-thirds of the success is the natural garden system: narrow beds, no plowing, sowing green manure, reasonable fruit replacement, mulching.
“The harvest is no longer a problem. I seem to have gotten over record mania. Now my goal is maximum natural fertility and sustainable agro-biocenosis.”
Beds.
Zamyatkin’s beds are stationary, 80 cm wide, with passages of at least a meter. This is how they are born. In the first half of June, the lush grass is trampled down. A half-thick layer of various plant organic matter is piled on top of it. And from above - two fingers of the earth. An ideal bed: it won’t let out the weeds, and it breathes so that it can quickly rot, and it’s a home for the worms. It stays like that until the end of summer. In August, cold-resistant green manure is sown here: mustard, oilseed radish. And in the spring - peas, beans, beans: let them fertilize the soil additionally. Fruit production begins with them. And if the soil is good, you can plant watermelons and potatoes.
Only a flat cutter takes care of the beds, and only superficially. All summer - mulch, in spring and autumn - green manure. The weed problem disappeared along with the empty land. When there is always a dense crop, or mulch, or thick green manure in the garden bed, where can weeds live when their niche is occupied? And they exist quietly, without pretending to be massive and greyhound.
Diseases are also a thing of the past.
Zamyatkin introduced into his practice the smartest technique - eliminating morning dew. Places simple film screens over the beds. Heat rays are reflected back onto the garden bed - that’s it, no dew! Only those things that are prone to getting sick are covered this way: onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes.
Mulch Zamyatkin has the same basis for soil maintenance as green manure.
He spends almost no time and effort on collecting organic matter. A thick layer of separately harvested “hay” is used only for special purposes: to create new beds, smother weeds, cover the tree trunks of seedlings. And on the beds all year round there is natural, “green manure mulch”.
The technology is simple. In August, some kind of cold-resistant green manure is sown under a rake, and before frost it produces a thick green mass. Without allowing it to set seeds, we cut it off with a sharp shovel. It turns out to be a layer of hay. In the spring it is three times thinner: it has become denser and partially eroded. We rake clean furrows in it, sow and plant in them. The plants stood up, burst into bloom - all the soil was covered.
Winter rye usually does not freeze out and begins to grow in the spring. This “mulch” has to be cut below the tillering node, otherwise it will grow back.
Option: the green manure is not cut, it freezes, and in April the bed is bristling with straw. Mulch is also effective - it will protect from wind and frost. We make holes directly in it or cut rows. Later we break it and put it on the garden bed.
You can mulch with any organic material, as long as you have it.
Experiments have shown that excellent potatoes grow under a thick layer of plant dust and straw. In recent years, Zamyatkin has been growing it this way. I spread the “seeds” over the bed, covered them with loose organic matter, helped the sprouts emerge if necessary, and finally covered everything up. In August, I lifted the mulch - underneath there were clean tubers, even straight into the pan.
And here’s what’s typical: wireworms, May beetle larvae and other beetles are not found in mulch. Apparently, they do not risk rising from the soil: too many here are not averse to feasting on them. One way or another, but for many years now under the straw all the tubers have been clean and without damage. And if you bury them in the soil, many will be chewed up.
The rules of organic mulch are simple. In the fall, cover the soil as early as possible - let it live longer and freeze later. In the spring, on the contrary, first rake the coarse mulch onto the paths: let the soil thaw and warm up.
What gardeners cover their seedlings with in order for them to take root! And it still dries. Zamyatkin, as always, took a closer look at nature - and everything was already invented there. The snow has melted - we sow phacelia. By the time of disembarkation - a covering carpet. We dig holes and plant. Calm, partial shade - the seedlings are thriving. And if frost threatens, it’s easy to throw the film directly on the green manure. The seedlings began to grow, it became crowded - we cut off the green manure and put it as mulch.
Now everything is clear!
Mulch is a multi-layered and multifaceted concept. Speaking about protecting the soil and seedlings, it is difficult to draw a clear boundary between the layer of sawdust, dead turf, dry stem... dwarf cedar, shrubs, trees. Forests and steppes are the “mulch” of the planet. Woodlice and worms live and swarm in the forest floor and turf, and you and I live in the layer of forests, gardens and parks. But imagine that your garden and forest are uprooted. “One month the soil is bare, a month it dies,” says Zamyatkin.
N. I. Kurdyumov
The historical village of Shushenskoye - the bank of the Yenisei. The soil is poor sandy loam, in summer it can be above +35°, in winter up to −45°, there is little snow. Every second year there are severe droughts. Bread burns out in arable fields, potatoes don’t bear fruit—many people don’t even dig them. And at this time, Zamyatkin steadily and effortlessly collects fivefold harvests.
Zamyatkin’s site has not seen a shovel for about twenty years. According to him, in ten years the fertile layer has deepened to 30-40 cm. The soil has become so loose that there is no need to drive in pegs for tomatoes - they stick in easily. The potato harvest approached two tons per hundred square meters. Cabbage - heads of cabbage per pound - up to 1800 kg per hundred square meters. The yields of cabbage and carrots are three to five times higher than average, and the berry fields produce abundantly.
Zamyatkin does not use manure, much less compost. From fertilizers - only ash. Now in his beds, as he puts it, there is truly fertile agrozem. This means that the maximum harvest is guaranteed in any year.
HOW DOES HE DO THIS?
Of course, a third of the increase comes from varietal agricultural technology: Zamyatkin selected the best varieties for himself and literally became close to them. But two-thirds of the success is the natural garden system: narrow beds, no plowing, sowing green manure, reasonable fruit replacement, mulching.
“The harvest is no longer a problem. I seem to have gotten over record mania. Now my goal is maximum natural fertility and sustainable agro-biocenosis.”
BEDS.
Zamyatkin’s beds are stationary, 80 cm wide, with passages of at least a meter. This is how they are born. In the first half of June, the lush grass is trampled down. A half-thick layer of various plant organic matter is piled on top of it. And from above - two fingers of the earth. An ideal bed: it won’t let out the weeds, and it breathes so that it can quickly rot, and it’s a home for the worms. It stays like that until the end of summer. In August, cold-resistant green manure is sown here: mustard, oilseed radish. And in the spring - peas, beans, beans: let them fertilize the soil additionally. Fruit production begins with them. And if the soil is good, you can plant both watermelons and potatoes.
Only a flat cutter takes care of the beds, and only superficially. All summer - mulch, in spring and autumn - green manure. The weed problem disappeared along with the empty land. When there is always a dense crop, or mulch, or thick green manure in the garden bed, where can weeds live when their niche is occupied? And they exist quietly, without pretending to be massive and greyhound.
DISEASES ARE ALSO A thing of the past.
Zamyatkin introduced into his practice the smartest technique - eliminating morning dew. Places simple film screens over the beds. Heat rays are reflected back onto the garden bed - that’s it, no dew! Only those things that are prone to getting sick are covered this way: onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes.
Zamyatkin’s mulch is the same basis for soil maintenance as green manure.
He spends almost no time and effort on preparing organic matter. A thick layer of separately harvested “hay” is used only for special purposes: to create new beds, smother weeds, cover the tree trunks of seedlings. And on the beds all year round there is natural, “green manure mulch”.
The technology is simple. In August, some kind of cold-resistant green manure is sown under a rake, and before frost it produces a thick green mass. Without allowing it to set seeds, we cut it off with a sharp shovel. It turns out to be a layer of hay. In the spring it is three times thinner: it has become denser and partially melted. We rake clean furrows in it, sow and plant in them. The plants stood up, burst into bloom - all the soil was covered.
Winter rye usually does not freeze out and begins to grow in the spring. This “mulch” has to be cut below the tillering node, otherwise it will grow back.
Option: the green manure is not cut, it freezes, and in April the bed is bristling with straw. Mulch is also effective - it will protect from wind and frost. We make holes directly in it or cut rows. Later we break it and put it on the garden bed.
YOU CAN MULCH WITH ANY ORGANIC, THE MAIN THING IS THAT IT IS.
Experiments have shown that excellent potatoes grow under a thick layer of plant dust and straw. In recent years, Zamyatkin has been growing it this way. I spread the “seeds” over the bed, covered them with loose organic matter, helped the sprouts emerge if necessary, and finally covered everything up. In August, I lifted the mulch - there were clean tubers underneath, even straight into the pan.
And here’s what’s typical: wireworms, May beetle larvae and other beetles are not found in mulch. Apparently, they do not risk rising from the soil: too many here are not averse to feasting on them. One way or another, but for many years now under the straw all the tubers have been clean and without damage. And if you bury them in the soil, many will be chewed up.
The rules of organic mulch are simple. In the fall, cover the soil as early as possible - let it live longer and freeze later. In the spring, on the contrary, first rake the coarse mulch onto the paths: let the soil thaw and warm up.
What gardeners cover their seedlings with in order for them to take root! And it still dries. Zamyatkin, as always, took a closer look at nature - and everything there has already been invented. The snow has melted - we sow phacelia. At the time of disembarkation - a covering carpet. We dig holes and plant. Quiet, partial shade - the seedlings are thriving. And if frost threatens, it’s easy to throw the film directly on the green manure. The seedlings began to grow, it became crowded - we cut off the green manure and put it as mulch.
NOW EVERYTHING IS CLEAR!
Mulch is a multi-layered and multifaceted concept. Speaking about protecting the soil and seedlings, it is difficult to draw a clear boundary between a layer of sawdust, dead turf, dry stems... dwarf cedar, shrubs, trees. Forests and steppes are the “mulch” of the planet. Woodlice and worms live and swarm in the forest floor and turf, and you and I live in the layer of forests, gardens and parks. But imagine that your garden and forest are uprooted. “One month the soil is bare - a month it dies,” says Zamyatkin.
The historical village of Shushenskoye - the bank of the Yenisei. The soil is poor sandy loam, in summer it can be above 35°, in winter up to −45°, there is little snow. Every second year there are severe droughts. Bread burns out in arable fields, potatoes don’t bear fruit—many people don’t even dig them. And at this time, Zamyatkin steadily and effortlessly collects fivefold harvests.
Zamyatkin’s site has not seen a shovel for about twenty years. According to him, in ten years the fertile layer has deepened to 30-40 cm. The soil has become so loose that there is no need to drive in pegs for tomatoes - they stick in easily. The potato harvest approached two tons per hundred square meters. Cabbage - heads of cabbage per pound - up to 1800 kg per hundred square meters. The yields of cabbage and carrots are three to five times higher than average, and the berry fields produce abundantly. Zamyatkin does not use manure, much less compost. From fertilizers - only ash. Now in his beds, as he puts it, there is truly fertile agrozem. This means that the maximum harvest is guaranteed in any year.
How does he do this?
Of course, a third of the increase comes from varietal agricultural technology: Zamyatkin selected the best varieties for himself and literally became close to them. But two-thirds of the success is the natural garden system: narrow beds, no plowing, sowing green manure, reasonable fruit rotation, mulching.
“The harvest is no longer a problem. I seem to have gotten over record mania. Now my goal is maximum natural fertility and sustainable agro-biocenosis.”
Beds.
Zamyatkin’s beds are stationary, 80 cm wide, with passages of at least a meter. This is how they are born. In the first half of June, the lush grass is trampled down. A half-thick layer of various plant organic matter is piled on top of it. And from above - two fingers of the earth. An ideal bed: it won’t let out the weeds, and it breathes so that it can quickly rot, and it’s a home for the worms. It stays like that until the end of summer. In August, cold-resistant green manure is sown here: mustard, oilseed radish. And in the spring - peas, beans, beans: let them fertilize the soil additionally. Fruit production begins with them. And if the soil is good, you can plant both watermelons and potatoes.
Only a flat cutter takes care of the beds, and only superficially. All summer - mulch, in spring and autumn - green manure. The weed problem disappeared along with the empty land. When there is always a dense crop, or mulch, or thick green manure in the garden bed, where can weeds live when their niche is occupied? And they exist quietly, without pretending to be massive and greyhound.
Diseases are also a thing of the past.
Zamyatkin introduced into his practice the smartest technique - eliminating morning dew. Places simple film screens over the beds. Heat rays are reflected back onto the garden bed - that’s it, no dew! Only those things that are prone to getting sick are covered this way: onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes.
Mulch Zamyatkin has the same basis for soil maintenance as green manure.
He spends almost no time and effort on preparing organic matter. A thick layer of separately harvested “hay” is used only for special purposes: to create new beds, smother weeds, cover the tree trunks of seedlings. And on the beds all year round there is natural, “green manure mulch”.
The technology is simple. In August, some kind of cold-resistant green manure is sown under a rake, and before frost it produces a thick green mass. Without allowing it to set seeds, we cut it off with a sharp shovel. It turns out to be a layer of hay. In the spring it is three times thinner: it has become denser and partially melted. We rake clean furrows in it, sow and plant in them. The plants stood up, burst into bloom - all the soil was covered.
Winter rye usually does not freeze out and begins to grow in the spring. This “mulch” has to be cut below the tillering node, otherwise it will grow back.
Option: the green manure is not cut, it freezes, and in April the bed is bristling with straw. Mulch is also effective - it will protect from wind and frost. We make holes directly in it or cut rows. Later we break it and put it on the garden bed.
You can mulch with any organic material, as long as you have it.
Experiments have shown that excellent potatoes grow under a thick layer of plant dust and straw. In recent years, Zamyatkin has been growing it this way. I spread the “seeds” over the bed, covered them with loose organic matter, helped the sprouts emerge if necessary, and finally covered everything up. In August, I lifted the mulch - there were clean tubers underneath, even straight into the pan.
And here’s what’s typical: wireworms, May beetle larvae and other beetles are not found in mulch. Apparently, they do not risk rising from the soil: too many here are not averse to feasting on them. One way or another, but for many years now under the straw all the tubers have been clean and without damage. And if you bury them in the soil, many will be chewed up.
The rules of organic mulch are simple. In the fall, cover the soil as early as possible - let it live longer and freeze later. In the spring, on the contrary, first rake the coarse mulch onto the paths: let the soil thaw and warm up.
What gardeners cover their seedlings with in order for them to take root! And it still dries. Zamyatkin, as always, took a closer look at nature - and everything there has already been invented. The snow has melted - we sow phacelia. At the time of disembarkation - a covering carpet. We dig holes and plant. Quiet, partial shade - the seedlings are thriving. And if frost threatens, it’s easy to throw the film directly on the green manure. The seedlings began to grow, it became crowded - we cut off the green manure and put it as mulch.
Now everything is clear!
Mulch is a multi-layered and multifaceted concept. Speaking about protecting the soil and seedlings, it is difficult to draw a clear boundary between the layer of sawdust, dead turf, dry stem... dwarf cedar, shrubs, trees. Forests and steppes are the “mulch” of the planet. Woodlice and worms live and swarm in the forest floor and turf, and you and I live in the layer of forests, gardens and parks. But imagine that your garden and forest are uprooted. “One month the soil is bare - a month it dies,” says Zamyatkin.
N. I. Kurdyumov
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