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  • From: "David Inglis" <mhcsa AT verizon.net>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Weed control Advice?
  • Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:00:34 -0500

Tom I agree with most of what you have said.
With apologies for cross posting my own writing I would like to add:

......I realized that the chief expense is not land but labor and the
Intensive planting method requires high labor input. This is why
BioIntensive makes make sense in a greenhouse environment, the space becomes
much more expensive [and productive]and therefore BioIntensive becomes
justifiable. But not in the field.
At this point [32 years later] I use far more extensive growing techniques
than I started with. I grow everything in two x 24" rows or 6 x 8" rows on
4' permanent beds on 5' centers. The only crop I get off my Tractor to weed
is carrots[Kubota 245H with custom Belly mount tool bar]. Where I can, I
also double or triple crop these beds with overlapping [in time] crops in
what I call swing planting. I.e. plant 2 rows then 2 to 3 weeks before
harvest plant 1 row down the middle then back to 2. I also give most crops
lots of room in the row.
The primary reason for the two row system is to be able to weed one row at a
time very aggressively and at high speed without looking away to check other
rows. It wastes some space for some crops but the ease of working is far
superior. If you want more crop, plant another bed not more rows in the same
bed. This keeps my weeding/seeding/transplanting set up simple and the crop
planning simple too.

This does not mean I do not have weeds but I live with whatever gets past
the weeding equipment. If I lose control of the weeds in a given crop, like
this year in the continual rain, I plow it down. This is far cheaper than
creating a labor intensive system [employees] that guarantees no weeds,
even for a CSA I am a very aggressive mechanical weeder and have a full set
of custom weeders I put together myself from available systems.
This consists of:
A Williams weeder [like a Lely ie sprung tines] with a mechanical Bezzirides
guidance system that runs on the edge of the bed. This is always on the back
of the K 245 and can also mount sweeps, side knives and ridgers.
Buddingh basket weeders [one and three row] .
A Bezzirides Torsion weeder, one row. This one is the key because I can use
it very early in the life of the crop and because I can do things with it I
could not even do by hand.
A Bezz'. Spring hoe, one row. A larger more vigorous version of the Torsion
weeder.
A Bezz spyder weeder, x 2, basically a notched disc. This weeds the
pathways, edges of the beds and ridges tatties.
A flame weeder.
I have hand equipment but I rarely use them.
Old timers will often point out how expensive this equipment package is but
it is a precision system that does away with most of the very expensive hand
labor involved in 'tightening up' an inexpensive weeder set up.
I would also add control over uniformity of emergence of direct seeded crops
and rapid rooting of transplant crops as critical to weeding success ie
early weeding. + quick change weeding set ups that don't need futzing with
to work.
I weed on a weekly basis after May 1. Usually it takes one morning to do the
whole place. Someone once asked me in the field "why are you cultivating
when there aren't any weeds?" ....... I replied "exactly, there are no
weeds because I am cultivating before I see any".
It all seems so easy when there's snow on the ground.
dave



Dave Inglis
www.mahaiweharvest.com
Berkshire County,
Massachusetts

Here are some of the factors I look at. Keep in mind that we have
> gone from 2 acre market garden to working on 8+ acres of crops for our
200+ CSA and
> markets. Two tools that I bought last year, both used, were and Allis
chalmers G and
> a Lely 7 1/2' foot tine weeder. I have used stale seedbedding,
flameweeding (pre-and
> post-emergence), plastic and organic mulches, covercropping, etc.
>
> 1.) Timing of tillage-i.e. till, plant 3 weeks later, etc.)
> 2.) timing of seeding/transplanting
> 3.) Seeding vs. transplanting
> 4.) Cover cropping vs. stale seedbed
> 5.) Seeding/irrigation (before and/or after seeding)
> 6.) Labor--time required for weeding vs. other duties
(trellising/picking/packing)
> 7.) Ease of weeding (white thread stage vs. 2-3 true leaf stage or later)
> 8.) Cost of tools and money to invest vs. money spent on labor.
>
> I guess it all depends on the amount of work to do and how much time
and money
> you have to spend. People I know that have a Allis G tractor like to use
it on 200' long
> rows or longer to lessen the amount of maneuvering. The better the
tooling, the more
> likely you will use especially if it makes a manual labor task quick and
painless. The
> tine weeder is a mindless and easy way of cultivating. It allows you to
drag the tines
> over the established crop quickly to "blind weed", that is disrupt barely
germinated
> weed seeds that you can't see, expose them to the sun and let them die.
This can be
> done before seeding/transplanting and after. It is a real time saver. I
farm two
> parcels, the second of which, was left in weeds by the landowner for 5
years. Yellow
> nutsedge is rampant, but through tillage and tine weeding we were able to
make a
> dent in some areas that looked like a lawn 1 month post tillage. I try to
make my
> cultivation "to do list" by
> thinking temporally, how will I tend this crop from start to finish.
Hope this helps.
> Tom Kumpf, Raleigh, NC
> Double T Farm






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