Stubble Mulch was the name given to a soil and moisture conservation practice in the 1950s and 1960s. I think they now call it conservation tillage. Rather than plowing the stubble field residue into the ground, the idea was to lightly till or tickle the soil so that crop residue remained on top of the soil. Each little stem or weed or dried leaf left there was a miniature snow fence and shelter belt.

    Multiplied by the thousands left on the soil, each collected a tiny bit of drifting snow or provided a tiny bit of shade so moisture wasn't drawn out of the ground so rapidly, and helped prevent wind from blowing dirt around. Of course, millions and millions of these little shelterbelts and snow fences on each field added up. Anyway, my columns, I say, do not plow too deeply, but only tickle the soil and move things around slightly.