Market Farming

[Steve Diver <steved AT ncat.org>]

Hey Matt -

I'm involved with assisting farmers all over the country and
I feel certain there are always a half dozen ways to improve
crappy soils and still achieve good production. 

I've read your tire project and I really encourage
you to look into alternatives.   It will cost too much
money for all those soil amendments and the tires will
ultimately become an environmental  headache; quite
possibly a toxic hazard due to heavy metals and weird
chemical by-products.

For curcurbits, look into lots of organic amendments as
a soil conditioner, balanced with minerals as needed, and
use geotextile weed barrier or plastic mulch to control weeds.  

With cultivation tools and cover crop rotations, you can
control weeds on bare soil, but the synthetic mulches are
superior for starters.  

If you want to explore the dynamic power of geotextile
weed barriers for curcurbits, look in the archives
for my previous postings, or contact me below.  

There are many practical and low-cost alternatives to tires
for "formed" raised beds. Steve Upson a Noble Foundation
has used that orange-meshed  construction  zone  fencing,
attached to stakes.

Steve Diver
http://www.attra.ncat.org