Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Quack grass remedies?

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Rob Wallbridge" <rob AT songberry.ca>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Quack grass remedies?
  • Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 12:19:38 -0400

Quackgrass is one of my biggest challenges, too. A few suggestions:

- DO NOT till it or disc it -- it just cuts up the runners and allows it to
multiply
- pulling the runners up with a cultivator is more effective, especially in
dry weather, and best in the fall when the rhizomes can be frozen;
cultivation needs to be repeated as often as possible, every time you see
green: you need to dry, freeze, or starve the rhizomes
- I had a particularly bad field last year, and grew buckwheat on most of
it, and pumpkins on the rest; in the fall, the pumpkins had done just as
good a job as the buckwheat at smothering the quackgrass
- I've found quackgrass can find its way through most mulches, even 1 mil
black plastic - a really heavy, dense mat of straw or hay may keep it down
- in the long-term, raising calcium levels in the soil can help address
problems with grassy weeds

Hope this helps,
Rob


Rob Wallbridge
Songberry Organic Farm
24 Sixth Line, Bristol, QC J0X 1G0
rob AT songberry.ca
www.songberry.ca
facebook: "Songberry Organic Farm"
twitter: @songberryfarm


-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Wiediger,
Alison
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 9:08 AM
To: 'Market Farming'
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Quack grass remedies?

While solarization is really effective on disease organisms and weed seeds,
we have not seen it effective on Johnson Grass, that horrible Bermuda -
whoever developed that stuff should be shot!, or nut sedge. Perennials are
tough to get rid of.

Alison Wiediger, Au Naturel Farm

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Richard
Robinson
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 7:49 AM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Quack grass remedies?

On 5/3/2011 at 8:47:46 AM, Thomas P Hurtgen wrote:
> I've never tried solarization -- might it work? Tom
>
> Thomas P Hurtgen
> hurtgenmeadows AT gmail.com

I don't think it would penetrate deep enough--you'd need killing heat at
least 4" down,
and probably deeper.



Richard Robinson
www.nasw.org/users/rrobinson/
Hopestill Farm
www.hopestill.com




_______________________________________________
Market-farming mailing list
Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming

Market Farming List Archives may be found here:
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/market-farming/
Unsubscribe from the list here (you will need to login in with your email
address and password):
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/market-farming





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page