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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Surround and Naturalis

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  • From: "Wyatt Jones" <wyatt_jones AT netzero.com>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Surround and Naturalis
  • Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2009 16:58:17 -0400

Yes I use Biotelo on Eggplant Tomatoes, Melons, Squash, Cucumbers etc. it keeps the weeds under control for those and I either till or mow between, still have to cut down the stuff right next to the mulch but its not too bad, the edges of the row cover get all tangled in the weeds though and it gets hard to pull up which doesn't do the eggplant any good.  I'm careful but accidents happen.  The flea beetles don't seem to go for the eggplant till it gets larger.  They haven't gotten them this year yet, and they are pretty big now, or at this farm at all but I've had  a fair amount of problems with them in the past so I thought I'd ask about the Kaolin Clay (Surround) for future reference.  Corn, I can till well enough but I kinda gave up on any greens onions and small stuff as I hoed and pulled in the rows but the crops came up with the weeds LOL.  Then I just cut off the tops of the weeds with a sickle, I know this sounds crazy but the weeds did that to the cabbage but I simply raised my bush hog just high enough to miss the cabbage and they did great, huge heads and no worms at all.  Never had this many problems with weeds before but like I said the nitrogen is through the roof in this soil.  I have 15 acres tillable and only have this sort of problem with a little less than 5 of them.  I'm going to plant a smother crop there next year, maybe Sudan grass, but I planted some asparagus in part of it, which may have been a mistake.  I'm thinking about burning the weeds after everything dies back to kill as many weed seeds as possible and mulching the heck out of that next year.  The asparagus is growing fine but I ended up chopping some when I got in there to hoe so I let it go so I wouldn't do more harm than good.  I used woven ground cloth on my strawberries, BIG mistake, the weeds grow right through it, not as bad but still bad enough and they are harder to pull, once in a while it rips a hole in it.  I'm NOT putting herbicide down.  Some people have told me to do that, including an organic grower, and that is not an option.  I'll get them under control but it might take a while.  In the mean time I guess I won't grow things like onions, greens and carrots, except for a small plot for personal use, and use plastic for strawberries, its not the end of the world.  I'm still feeling out this place.  I planted melons even though it is heavy clay and these rains didn't do the muskmelons very well.  Ok before all the mud but I guess my fears were true when I wondered if it drained fast enough.  Watermelon is doing great, never better actually and the Asian melons seem to be doing fine as well  Cucumbers, ok but so-so.  I'll just put them up on the hill from now on.


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