[Market-farming] Controlling quackgrass organically?
Marcy
mlynn at pcisys.net
Wed Apr 2 00:04:05 EDT 2008
Conventional wisdom says the best way to control quackgrass is to first
spade up the area, being extra careful to sift out every single piece of
root. Dry the roots thoroughly, then burn them completely. After burning, be
darn careful what you do with the ashes!
Sorry, I couldn't resist!!
I tried plastic before too. Can't tell you what the long term results were
since I moved, but short term seemed to make it stronger.
Marcy
From: market-farming-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Glen Eco Farm
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 9:20 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: [Market-farming] Controling quackgrass organically?
I know this question has probably been asked several times before on this
list but i am too busy (lazy?) to go dig it out of the archives so I am
going to ask it again. Just what are certified organic farmers doing to
control quackgrass?
I've been spot spraying with glyphosate for a number of years now and I may
as well quit because it isn't working. The stuff just keeps popping up all
over the place. I lay out my crop ground in alternating strips with grass
so I can have a form of crop--noncrop rotation and soil building with grass,
legumes, and various perrenial weeds growing in the non crop areas. I keep
these areas mowed and rotate them back to crop strips every couple of years.
I am resolving this year to try and be a better boy by repenting of some of
my past sins of using forbidden materials (even on a limited basis) such as
glysophate (aka Roundup), some salt based fertilizers (side dressed or
foliar sprayed), and some broad spectrum insecticides and fungicides for the
worst infestations. It's kind of like drinking beer. One can easily
justify drinking a little every now and then--after all beer is not that
high in alcohol and it won't hurt you if you don't overdo it--right?
Trouble is after awhile you find your self drinking more and more. If you
really want to play it safe just stay away from the stuff!
Of course I can go out and diligently dig it up--or cover it up with several
layers of black plastic--yeah right! It's really getting itself established
in the current noncrop strips and is going to be a real mess in a couple of
years when I try to rotate it back to crop strips. The only thing I know to
try right now is to get a better chisel plow, rip the hell out of the
infested spots, and hope for another drought this summer. If that doesn't
work I guess the next thing will be to look for another farm.
Marlin Burkholder
Shenandoah Valley
Virginia
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