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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Earthway seeder fix, flame weeding, favas

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  • From: Pam Twin Oaks <pam AT twinoaks.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Earthway seeder fix, flame weeding, favas
  • Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2010 16:58:06 -0400

I'm behind hand on email, so here goes on several topics:

Jay, Earthway fix:

Earthway seeders have one main problem: they don’t do well with round seeds. Eliot Coleman has a fix for this problem in The New Organic Grower. A different one, involving a 3” PVC pipe cap, a long bolt and a wing-nut is to be found online at  http://wannafarm.com/category/tools/ posted by Chris. The end cap is sawn down, removing about an inch. A hole is drilled in the center to take a ¼” bolt. The bolt holding the seed plate assembly is removed from the seeder, and replaced with a longer, 2 ¼” one, from the outside to the inside and through the endcap. A wingnut secures the bolt. Adjust the tightness of the nut just enough to allow the plate to still spin freely. To change plates, remove the nut, endcap and then the plate. The function of the endcap is to hold the plate more tightly against the seeder and prevent seeds getting behind the plate. The website includes photos.

Allan, flaming carrot beds:

I walk at a strolling pace, waving the wand a couple of inches above the soil, diagonally across the 4' wide bed. It takes about 10 minutes to cover one 90' bed. No, it's not "Scorched Earth" just "Boiled Greens". See ATTRA's publication. The goal is just to burst the cell walls of the weeds, so a quick pass of the flamer does it. The weeds turn a darker shade of green after being flamed, then keel over and die. We don't seem to have those spiders that block propane jets, like you have....

All readers, fava beans:

Richard Moyer pointed out to me that I incorrectly identified the serious problem some folk have with fava beans as an allergy, when in fact it is an inherited sensitivity, a genetic trait. Please spread the real info and not the mistake I repeated.

Pam, Twin Oaks Community, Louisa, VA



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