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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Building Soils for Better Crops

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: "E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>, livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Building Soils for Better Crops
  • Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 08:58:19 -0700


I'm not endorsing his specific methods completely, since I don't even
endorse 800-acre farms. But his outfit Midwestern Bio-Ag has made some
good progress with big farms.
http://www.midwesternbioag.com/educationalmaterials/index.html

My current concern is with small market farming operations that a lot of
people can make a good living at in the right locations, and get into
without taking on huge debt. That's what I'm spending these snowed in weeks
researching.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
-------------------------------------

The basics of biological weed control
http://www.newfarm.org/depts/talking_shop/0303/zimmer.shtml

Gary Zimmer, author of The Biological Farmer, laid out the ABCs of
controlling weeds through building soil, rotating crops and cultivation
before a standing room only crowd at the Upper Midwest Organic Conference
in late February

Posted March 21, 2003: Effective weed control involves more than good
timing or having the right tools.

The key to success revolves around soil management, according to Gary
Zimmer, a Wisconsin farmer who has authored the book “The Biological
Farmer.”

“Controlling weeds is all about soil building. Loose, crumbly soil
structures help control weeds, but hard, compacted soil is ideal for weed
seeds,” said Zimmer, who presented the seminar “Biological Weed Control
Strategies” at the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference. The Feb. 28
seminar was standing room only, as more than 100 people gathered to hear
Zimmer’s insights.
"Weeds are an indication that something’s not right. Whether you are
organic or conventional, you need to start thinking long-term about weed
control and soil management. It takes three to five years to improve soil
structure."

Weeds are indicators of soil health, according to Zimmer. “If you’ve
got hard, tight soil that’s low on calcium or sulfur and low in
biological activity, foxtail thrives in this. But weeds are nature’s
tools to fix the soil. If you left those foxtails there, they’d repair
the land in 50 or 100 years.”

But don’t misunderstand—Zimmer won’t leave those foxtails alone.

“Weeds are an indication that something’s not right. Whether you are
organic or conventional, you need to start thinking long-term about weed
control and soil management. It takes three to five years to improve soil
structure,” said Zimmer, who serves as president of Midwestern Bio-Ag
(www.midwesternbioag.com), an ag consulting business that focuses on
biological solutions.

Improving soil conditions

So what can you do to start controlling weeds better? Weed control
strategies can be grouped into four types--improving soil conditions,
rotating crops, growing smother crops and using mechanical control.

“Success usually isn’t just about doing one thing right. I’m a big
believer in shallow incorporating residues and subsoiling. I also
mineralize my soils, adding what is short and feeding the crop a mineral
balance for its specific needs,” said Zimmer, who operates a Wisconsin
dairy farm with his family and grows row crops on 400 of their 700 acres.

Adjusting these minerals involves a soil-balance approach, Zimmer
explained. “We start balancing with calcium and phosphorus but also add
sulfur and all the trace elements. Calcium and sulfur do improve soil
structure. Having lots of organic matter shallowly incorporated does make
the soil surface loose and crumbly. This allows rain water to soak in
better and reduce weed pressure.”

When soil structure improves, conditions will allow crops to grow
vigorously and develop huge root systems that help the crops shade out the
weeds.
“Weakening and killing weeds are two different things. Weed control is
about competition. You can do a lot of things to slow down weed growth and
give your crop an advantage,” Zimmer said.

To improve soil conditions, recycle organic matter like animal manure, crop
residues and green manures. But don’t add too much at once, Zimmer said.
When you spread livestock manure on your land, make sure you follow some
basic tips to control weed growth.

“You obviously don’t want to fertilize weeds, but that’s what soluble
nutrients do—they boost both your crops and your weeds. If you apply
manure, do it on grass fields or on a high mature residue crop like corn
stalks. Composting manure also stabilizes nutrients, and this will control
weeds.”

After a soluble manure application, plant a crop like oats, Zimmer said.
“These will grow and suck up a lot of the soluble nutrients that really
make weeds grow. They will also stop leaching and erosion, and they provide
green manure.”

Zimmer cited the example of an Iowa farmer who farmed conventionally and
developed a five-year soil management plan that included oats. “He
planted oats and then followed this with corn and soybeans. He says this
has made a tremendous difference in his soil. It’s true that oats
aren’t as cheap as they used to be, but they’re still a good value.”

Include crop rotations

Growing a variety of crops on the same field will also keep weeds off
balance, because certain weeds grow best with certain crops, Zimmer said.

“In a rotation, every crop does something different and each provides
some advantage. Crop yields are also better in a rotation,” he noted.

In addition, a good rotation sequence can help improve soil structure and
fertility, which boosts weed control. Livestock farms with rotations
including two or more years in hay will have easier weed control, because
in two out of the five years, no fresh weed seeds are added to the soil,
Zimmer said.

“Without livestock, taking a year off in the rotation really does break
weed cycles. It also builds soil organic matter and gives a way to build up
mineral and soil biological levels, setting the stage for a few years of
excellent crops. Even if you can’t take the whole field, maybe have a
full crop on 80 percent of the ground and don’t harvest anything from the
other 20 percent. It’s okay to let land go fallow.”

Smother crops improve weed control

Farmers can also try growing smother crops, which control weeds by shading
them out and releasing natural chemicals that kill weeds.

“My favorite smother crops are buckwheat and Sudan grass. Rye, clovers,
hairy vetch, alfalfa, barley, and oats also work well to control weeds.
Smother crops also improve soil structure, prevent erosion and provide crop
nutrients when they are turned under as a green manure,” Zimmer said.

If you don’t grow these as a main crop, the smother crops can be
interseeded or overseeded into an existing crop, Zimmer added. “Try to
keep the soil covered all year round. Every chance I get, I’ll be growing
something green.”

Machines add power to weed control methods

Finally, don’t overlook mechanical weed control. “If you have trouble
with weeds, the last thing you want to do is quit cultivating or rotary
hoeing. Rotary hoeing can give excellent control, provided the weather
allows it and it’s done early, usually two to three days after planting
and again when the crop is three to four inches tall,” Zimmer said.

Using more than one kind of tool for different conditions can be helpful,
Zimmer added. “The Buffalo cultivator has worked really well on our farm.
With the cut-away disks, long ridged shield and huge sweeps, we can clean
up most fields. Disking, rotavating, harrowing and plowing can kill
deep-rooted or perennial weeds.”

Zimmer said he and his family also like the Howard rotavator. “It can
leave the field in better condition and can kill almost any crop in one
pass, which minimizes trips over the field. It also leaves residues on the
surface, protecting the soil.”

Burning or flame cultivation provides another physical method of weed
control. “A set of propane burners can give good in-row early weed
control without harming crops. The per-acre costs are low,” Zimmer noted.

Most mechanical weed control methods should be used early in the season,
when weeds are just sprouting. Keeping the top inch or so of soil dry and
loose will reduce the chance of new weeds getting established, Zimmer
added.

What about chemicals?

If herbicides are necessary for a biological farmer (of course this isn’t
allow if you are an organic producer), try to reduce the rate and the
amount you use per acre, Zimmer said.

“Maybe just spot-spray the worst areas of a field, or only spray when
weather conditions prevent non-toxic control. Herbicide rates can often be
cut by about half while still getting effective weed control. Only banding
the herbicide in the row and using mechanical control between rows can
reduce rates even more,” he said.

Remember, weed control is all about improving soil structure. Zimmer
concluded, “Weed control really isn’t a battle. It’s about learning
to understand soil structure and soil health. But remember that this
isn’t formula farming. There’s no one right way. Find out what works on
your farm.”

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 1/19/2007 at 6:50 AM E. E. Mitchamore Jr wrote:

>I just listened to a CD, produced by TOFGA, on which Gary Zimmer gave the
>best overview of soil treatment for better crops that I've ever heard. He
>covered all the steps and related them to each other: Soil tests, mineral
>correction for the crops you want to grow, fertilization to replace
>nutrients you remove with crops, the role of humus and soil biology. Good
>stuff! His book is The Biological Farmer.







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