[Market-farming] Question on killing quack grass

Steve Diver steved at ipa.net
Fri May 9 10:36:31 EDT 2008


There's an old sequence of cover cropping and fallow
tillage. You are disrupting roots and shading/smothering 
out perennial grass, in combination. 

Cover crops that function as smother crops are best
because they shade out warm-season quack grass.  
E.g., buckwheat, jap millet, sudan.   

But you really need to have good timing, tillage 
equipment, and cc seed on hand to get the job done
several times over the course of the growing
season. 

But for most folks, I'd recommend an easier method
that lends a greater level of confidence that you
kill quack real good without chemicals; i.e., weed barrier.  

Get a big roll that is 15' wide and lay it out in 
lengths of your garden such as 50 to 100'.  Tack it 
together to get 30' or 45' wide.  Leave it there for 
whole growing season.  No quack grass.   No-till is best. 
Scalp mow the grass and tack weed barrier down on top 
of grass. 

'Sunbelt Weed Barrier' and 'Lumite' are the two
good brands but there might be others in the real
durable category.  Don't settle for cheaper versions 
from box stores cause they don't work the same. 

You can also grow cucurbits during the no-till period
(first growing season) where you're choking out quack grass.  
Spread rock phosphate, organic N (feather, fish), compost,
and whatnot-fertilty-boost onto scalp-mowed grass surface.  
Lay down weed barrier. Burn 3-4" holes every 4' to 6'. Drill out 
root ball soil with a portable drill and soil auger. Set in 
your transplants and tuck in with organic fertilizer blend 
mixed with root ball soil.  Mulch right around transplant.  
Otherwise leave weed barrier exposed.  Meticulously pull any 
quack leaves that creep thru hole while transplant is young 
and has not yet developed a canopy. Plant on wide spacings so 
as to leave plenty of weed barrier. 

Other thing is extend the weed barrier about 4-5' past your 
garden spot.  You want a vegetation-free, mulched border zone 
to prevent quack from creeping back in on ya.  Also it makes
a nice pathway and border around garden. 

Lift weed barrier in fall and plant cover crop via broadcast
onto no-till soil surface. Small seed (clover) will germinate 
on soil surface with a light irrigation but larger seed (peas) 
might require a light raking to get seed-soil contact.

Steve Diver
Texas 



>Pat Meadows 
>
>Our back lawn consists solely (or at least largely) of quack grass.  I
>cannot weed much (physical problems) so I cannot get rid of it by weeding.
>That's been established.  
>
>I'd like to put a sizeable area of the back lawn back into use growing
>food, but I must kill the quack grass first.  I don't want to use RoundUp
>if I have any choice whatsoever.  
>
>I don't plan to grow anything there this year; but I'd like to start
>getting it into shape for next year.  I can have the area plowed or tilled;
>and then I can sow a cover crop.  
>
>Any recommendations for a cover crop that will out-compete quack grass?  
>
>We live in the Appalachians in Northern Pennsylvania, and have
>comparatively cool summers, with nights often down into the 40s, if that's
>relevant.  The soil in that particular area isn't too bad as I've grown
>things there before and added a lot of organic matter, but it is definitely
>clay-based.
>
>Thanks very much!
>
>Pat
>-- 
>Northern Pennsylvania






More information about the Market-farming mailing list