[Market-farming] Controling quackgrass organically?
Shawnee Flowerfarmer
farmingflowers at hotmail.com
Wed Apr 2 20:08:16 EDT 2008
To the text below, I would like to add that the Cornell website has superb resources for organic growers for all kinds of pest control. The only thing that I don't think Cornell has good science solutions for is that pesky groundhog family that's making me nuts, Bill Murray "Caddyshack"style. I have been using the baking powder solution to control fungus diseases with great success. Also, be sure to visit ATTRA...one of the best websites ever.
Shawnee, zone 5 and three kittens left to find homes for...although as an organic rodent control, these catlets and Mum, rock!
> From: stevegilman at verizon.net> Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2008 07:37:11 -0400> To: market-farming at lists.ibiblio.org> Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Controling quackgrass organically?> > Hi Martin,> I'm fortunate to be part of a SARE Ecological Weed Management > project led by Dr Charles Mohler at Cornell. What's below is small > part of a presentation I gave at the Long Island Ag Forum this winter > -- and I'll have an expanded version that I'm presenting at this > summer's NOFA Conference in August in Mass.> > A comprehensive manual is slated to be published in late 2009 by SAN > after extensive review from workshop presentations -- its working > title is: “Manage Weeds on Your Farm: A Guide to Ecological > Strategies” and is co-authored with Toni DiTommaso, who is also in > the department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Cornell University. An > entire section is concerned with how to think about weeds, along with > successful cultural management practices of how to deal with them.> > At root, an organic-ecological approach to managing weeds uses an > understanding of the biology of weeds to outsmart them by exploiting > their weaknesses. This is therefore an information-rich rather than > an input-intensive approach. Some of the precepts are quite easily > grasped, while the deeper-down management paradigm shift may require > some considerable between-the-ears adjustments. Also, this > understanding may help farmers to come up with further innovative > weed control strategies and practices.> > -- Wandering perennials such as quack grass and hedge bindweed are > often the hardest type to control. They spread by underground > rhizomes or horizontal roots, sending up daughter plants above > ground. Because they have the ability to renew themselves > vegetatively as well as produce windborne seed they can persist for > years, their clones becoming nearly immortal if left to their own > devices.> > Perennial weeds that propagate vegetatively require vastly different > strategies. Some perennial weeds may persist for years and years > because they have buds on their roots or underground stems that > sprout when the plant is damaged. The rhizomes of wandering > perennials such as quackgrass are simply thickened stems that store > nutrients horizontally underground, although they look more like > roots than stems.> > Roots and rhizomes form buds at regular intervals that remain dormant > due to hormones that are released from the growing tip of the > underground stems. As the distance between the buds and the growing > tip grows longer, the hormone concentration diminishes so that the > previously suppressed buds sprout and become a new above-ground > shoot. As anyone who has tried to tackle an area of quackgrass knows > – initial tillage a good way to rapidly increase the number of shoots > and thereby spread the plant.> > That’s because the cutting up of the roots and rhizomes by tillage > releases the buds from their hormonal suppression, causing them to > sprout. But the sprouts have less nutrient reserves to draw upon from > the segmented underground stems, and their growth is less vigorous. > And this is the key to the control of wandering perennials. The ideal > point to impact the plant is when the new emerging shoot has used up > most of the reserves of the original rhizome fragment – and before > the shoot forms new storage roots or rhizomes. With quack grass the > minimum size when the rhizome segment is at its weakest is usually > reached when the shoot has formed three leaves – and that’s the key > time for another round of tillage to finally kill the plant.> > Hope this helps,> Steve> Ruckytucks Farm> > > > >> >> > 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> >> >> >> > -> _______________________________________________> Market-farming mailing list> Market-farming at lists.ibiblio.org> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming>
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