Market Farming

[Cameron Pedersen <campedersen AT gmail.com>]

I like the idea of growing our own mulch.

Along those lines, I had another idea. At PASA this year they were displaying a BCS with a roller/ crimper attachment. If someone had a BCS they could lay their plastic in the fall and sow rye in the pathways. Then in the Spring roll the rye down with the BCS!

On Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 9:05 AM, Richard Stewart <rstewart AT zoomtown.com> wrote:

We use wood chips with 2 layers of cardboard in our herb beds.  THis seems to be the single best weed control.  We then occasionally spray with a 20% vinegar solution something we will be scaling up a bit on our rows of grapes as a growth inhibitor for other plants in the rows.  I would not use wood chips in an area I would be planting in over the next year.  We have also begun experimenting using buckwheat hulls and and all the stems and pods from our 2 acres black bean harvest.

If you do not need to move in the rows the best thing is a cover crop.  I would go as far to suggest building your raised beds in fall with a winter rye or using buckwheat.

You could also have an acre or two to plant in a tall rye. Wait till it matures, but cut before it develops a seed head and round bale.  Use the round bale and role it between the rows.  You'll need to redesign the spacing to accommodate but I would think this would work quite well.

I just got back from the OEFFA Conference and attended all the organic grain production seminars and there is very cool stuff being done with cover crops and understanding how YOU changing your soil biology and mineral content seriously effects the type of weeds you get.

Richard Stewart

Carriage House Farm

North Bend, Ohio

An Ohio Century Farm Est. 1855

(513) 967-1106

http://www.carriagehousefarmllc.com

rstewart AT zoomtown.com

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