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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Mulch Layer/ Buckeye

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  • From: "Paul Wiediger" <wiediger AT windstream.net>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Mulch Layer/ Buckeye
  • Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:07:38 -0500

 

 

 


From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of bcluton AT aol.com
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 8:36 AM
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Mulch Layer

 

Thanks Allison,

 

Do you know what type of flat bed layer it is?  It is a Buckeye flat bed mulch layer.  I’ll need to look up the model number, but here is a link to their website:  http://www.buctraco.com/MulchLayers.htm

 

also what types of crops have you been putting on "plastic" in your system.  And do you put drip irrigation under the biotello and pick it up at years end or do you not use drip?  Just about everything, except heavy seeded items like beans, peas, corn.  Just about everything else gets transplanted into plastic.  Yes, we use drip.  Bought a drip tape layer attachment w/ the mulch layer.  Sometimes we run multiple lines of drip in the bed.  Either run the extra line of drip by hand on the surface, or make 2 trips with the mulch layer, just not laying drip with the first pass, and doing the first pass from the opposite direction (drip tape is offset).  End of season, run a rotary mower over the bed, pull up the drip tape, run a tiller over the bed and it’s ready for another crop.

 

I really like having gotten away from regular plastic mulches and going to the Bio-telo.  I consider myself to be very conscientious about getting plastic out of the field, but years after pulling plastic, I can still till a field and find small pieces of it in the soil.  And in a dry year it’s next to impossible to get out, and weeds along the edge are always a problem.  With the Bio-telo, I can cultivate right up against the plastic, even cutting it, as long as the cultivator is throwing soil back over the edge to cover it back up, so we no longer have the weeds growing along the edge of the bed.  End of the growing season, I just pull drip and till.  If it’s mid-season, I can fertilize and have a bed ready to be planted that same day.  Really quick and efficient.  Our Oliver 1265 handles a Curtis 72” tiller, and we can spread fertilizer (composted chicken manure 3-4-3), till up the mulch, come back with the mulch layer (and drip tape) and have a bed ready to plant into.

 

Most mulch layers use a set of disc to open up a furrow for the plastic and a following disc to cover the plastic with soil.  If you look at the link, go to the section 4-3.  There are 3 pictures on the right hand side of the page.  The middle picture shows a different type of rear “shovel”.  Instead of a disc, it’s a long “shovel”.  I don’t now the name for it, but it leaves a flat aisle way behind it instead of a ditch that you trip in all season long.

 

And Paul answered this question cause Alison called him.

 

Paul

Au Naturel Farm

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Have a great growing season.

 

Brian Luton

www.stonesthrowfarm.biz



 




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