Gabe Brown isn’t afraid to put 25 species in the seed box
Bismarck, North Dakota — Gabe Brown acknowledges that no planted crop will build soil health as quickly and completely as a well-managed and very diverse perennial pasture. But that doesn’t mean he can’t try.
And boy, does he try. Gabe says the seed boxes on his no-till drill often contain 15 to 25 species at any one time, chosen from a wide variety of warm and cool season grasses and broadleaf crops. Buckwheat, barley, turnips, hairy vetch — you name it, Gabe plants it in mixes that give new meaning to the word “variety.” And he’s ready to use that seed at almost any time when winter isn’t ruling the northern Plains. Continue reading “Plant diversity as the key to soil health”