Market Farming

["Shoemaker, William H" <wshoemak AT illinois.edu>]

We have a cub tractor with a cultivator rack. We run a couple of shoes underneath the edges, which loosens the mulch nicely. But we mow the crop down first, about a week before pulling mulch. That gets debris out of the way. There is a bit of an art pulling the stuff. I try to pull up on the edges an do it so that dirt and debris roll off to the side. You can pull up a hundred feet pretty quickly if you can keep the weight of soil and debris off of it. Leave it in piles, then when finished pulling, drive a truck through the field with a couple of people loading piles.

 

Penn State University has developed a system for converting plastic mulch into pellets which can be used for heat energy. I believe they have a natural gass furnace that can co-burn the pellets so the farmer can recover the heat value of the plastic while avoiding land fills. Still not as good a biodegrading, but better than the landfill approach. Do a search for PSU Center for Plasticulture. You can find more info there.

 

Bill

William H. Shoemaker,

Northern Illinois Viticulturist - IGGVA

Illinois Grape Growers and Vinters Association

wshoemak AT illinois.edu

---

From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of Richard Moyer [ramoyer AT gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2012 12:52 PM
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [Market-farming] Advice requested---plastic removal

Tomorrow we have a work day with some friends, primarily to remove plastic from raised beds.  Thousands of feet.  

They do it by hand, which is why it's such a chore. But we have the labor of 15-16 people.

Anyone know/used a poor man's technique to remove thin plastic more easily?  Have seen the machines for this, but they are pricey.

Can one run cultivator shanks underneath it?

Potato plow just under each buried edge?

Any other common farm implements or hand tools that make the job easier?

Thanks,

Richard Moyer

SW VA, husking seed corn