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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] no-till and cover crop strips
  • Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 12:36:30 -0400


On May 16, 2010, at 11:21 AM, Bill Shoemaker wrote:

Yes. We use a tank-mix of Strategy and Sandea pre-emergence. I think cultivation could be an option but the lead researcher has a different agenda. Perhaps a banded vinegar spray post-emergence could be used as well. Then there is the plastic mulch option. I'd like to try laying mulch strips in the fall, then broadcasting the rye seed between the mulch strips. But then you need the right equipment to roll the rye between the mulch strips.

Bill


Bill, are you using an herbicide to prevent weed growth in the mulch
mat?

-- Rivka;

I suspected that. When I tried this without herbicides, years ago, things looked lovely for about three weeks: then there was a huge surge of weeds in the rye strips (mine were actually rye and vetch mixed). The squash had started to run so I wasn't able to cultivate; the result was a disaster -- at least I had only tried this in part of the field.

What I do now (as I may have posted on this list before, not sure) is start out in that fashion; but disc in the rye and vetch strips (mowing first); generally discing twice, the first time shortly after the squash/pumpkins are planted, the second time, ideally, just before they start to run. After the second cultivation I seed clover over the field. Then I go away till harvest and let the squash, clover, and weeds fight it out. If the squash got a good start, it'll win the first round, as at the point where it's ready to run it has no competition and once it's running well it shades out most of what tries to come up. (Bush varieties will shade their immediate area; if growing mostly bush varieties, it might work to mow between the rows.) If there's a patch of bad weeds, and we have time, we may go in and spot weed by hand.

After harvest, mow the field; this will discourage fall weeds much more than it will the clover, and frost will discourage summer weeds but not the clover, and the clover should win the second round; though it won't get full growth till the following spring, so this works best if the next year is a clover cover crop year or at least a late planted crop.

If weather is dry, we irrigate the squash with drip tape until / unless we start running out of water. If it got a good start, and was deep irrigated at intervals rather than shallow irrigated frequently, it'll take quite a bit of drought later in the season.

I think Rodale has had some success rolling the cover crop strips and using neither herbicide nor tillage -- but as I understand it you need a) exactly the right type of roller b) exactly the right timing for rolling and c) a very good cover crop establishment with little or no light growth areas or weed growth mixed in. I think they do this prepared to cultivate the strips if everything didn't go exactly right.

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







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