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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Thermal weed control

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  • From: Steve Diver <steved AT ncat.org>
  • To: art AT complum.com
  • Cc: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Thermal weed control
  • Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2003 12:39:34 -0500

Hi Art -

Will industrial steam vapor cleaners work to control
tough weeds?

I don't know, but it's worth a try. The steam
equipment sold for weeding is *really* expensive.
So, a makeshift steamer from industrial cleaning
supplies or some other unit seems like the small-farm
solution. If you have 60 acres of organic berries,
or hundreds of acres of organic vineyards, the
commercial steamers become affordable.... something
like that.
A common approach with flame or steam, is to
increase the time of heat exposure. So it will work
better if you can have a length of heavy tarp that follows
the steam wand. It will capture and store heat for a few
extra critical seconds as you pass by with your tractor.
That's why some of the flame setups use hoods.

In addition to the suppliers listed in the
ATTRA publication on Flame Weeding, I have
learned the Atarus steamer from Australia
is available in the U.S. from Delta Liquid Energy.

Atarus at Delta Liquid Energy | California
http://www.deltaliquidenergy.com/thermweedprodpage.html

See resources in:

Flame Weeding for Vegetable Crops
ATTRA
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/flameweedveg.html

There was an invention featured in Farm Show
magazine one time, on how to craft a simple
hand held steamer for winter pipes and such, but I
figure it would also work for weeds . It sticks in my
mind, but I don't which issue. Farm Show is a great
resource for farm equipment, machinery, and home-made
gadgets... one issue after the other, it's an amazing
collection. You can get back issues on CD.
Farm Show
http://www.farmshow.com/

Fyi, an alternative to steam is the infra-red. They are
affordable and available. These are the Swiss made
eco-weeders, now available in North America from
a couple of suppliers.

Best wishes,

Steve Diver


Art Petrzelka wrote:

I was looking at industrial steam vapor cleaners and hot water power washers. Would the vapor have enough power to kill the stem and rhizomes (for Canadian thistles), or would a power washer have enough power to inject hot water or steam into the stem ? What method would be more time efficient?








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