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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Pumpkins, Weeds and Shade

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Roots Farm & Karen Sutherland <rootsfarm AT cwdom.dm>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Pumpkins, Weeds and Shade
  • Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:22:56 -0400

 The only parsley that has (so far) survived our drought is deep in weeds.  Weeded parsley long ago turned white and plants died.

Best wishes to all,

Karen

Roots Farm
Organic Produce
Fruits, Roots, Vegetables & Herbs
CockraneDOMINICA
767-449-3038

On Mar 19, 2010, at 11:55 AM, Road's End Farm wrote:


On Mar 19, 2010, at 10:59 AM, Carol Moss wrote:

I realize the thought of weeds in the pumpkin patch offend our sense  
of cultivating pumpkins but I thought more about it. I have grown  
okra in rows next to pumpkins many times. They appreciate the shade  
here in Texas. I notice the pumpkin vines tend to grow over to the  
okra and produce pumpkins in the shade beneath the okra plants. So  
the pumpkins like weeds comment does make sense in that context.


This is an area in which I would really like to see more research  
done. We have long since moved on from "insects are bad! kill them all  
off!" to "some insects are beneficial, some neutral, and even of the  
pests certain levels of infestation are easily tolerated by certain  
crops at specific growth stages". I wonder if a similar attitude isn't  
a better way to approach weeds.

The weeds that will come up in a specific field, after all, are the  
plants that can easily make use of the resources available under those  
specific conditions. It's certainly true that weeds compete with crop  
plants for light, water, and nutrients; and it's certainly true that  
too much weed pressure at the wrong time can destroy a crop. However,  
it's also true that weeds can often access nutrients that are  
unavailable to the crop plant and move them into a more available  
form; can often reach deep ground water that the crop can't get at;  
can punch through compaction layers; can protect the soil from  
erosion. They can also provide habitat for beneficial insects and  
other organisms; some of them may discourage the growth of pest  
organisms -- including, in some cases, the growth of more noxious weeds.

Maybe we should try considering weeds more in the way in which we  
consider cover crops: what species are useful in a given crop at a  
given time of year? what species are actually doing harm, and do they  
do harm at all points in the farm cycle, or at some points but not  
others?

We have taken lovely garlic crops out of very weedy fields. As long as  
the weeds are controlled early in the season, it doesn't seem to  
matter if they grow up before harvest.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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