Market Farming

[Joe Solomon <jsolomo2 AT ix.netcom.com>]

hmdrawrod AT pipeline.com wrote:
<deleted>
We use a combination bedshaper and plastic mulch layer built by Buckeye Farm 
Equipment.
(Don't have the address handy but can probably dig it up if you want it.) Our 
soil is
probably much like yours  We first go over the ground with a 6' tiller then 
we form the
beds and lay the plastic, plus T-tape for irrigation. It takes a little 
adjusting so the
first couple of beds are not quite what I like. Plastic seems to work well 
with tomatoes,
peppers and melons but not so well with broccoli. I think it gets to hot 
under the plastic
for the roots. The biggest problem with plastic is not laying it but removing 
it. Both the
physical removal and the disposal of the plastic are problems.  Last year we 
made removal
somewhat easier by using a tractor mounted cultivator to dig up the edges. We 
use an
International 140 with center mounted cultivators. We remove the 2 inner 
shovels and
spread the outer shovels to catch the edge of the plastic. It worked pretty 
well but you
still have the problem of disposal. This year we're going to try using 
photo-degradable
plastic and hopefully have less problems.

Joe Solomon
Solomon's Strawberry Farm.