North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Heron Breen <breen@fedcoseeds.com>]

Yes, many landscape/supply places carry this contraption, which is really a 
grill 
size gas dealy-whopper, a regulator, and the fun end, the flame wand. I have 
used 
it to pop weed seeds/sterilize raised beds for direct seeding and seedling 
transplant, general weeding around farm buildings and the edges of raised 
beds once 
planted. The other use that I think is unique and really what this idea was 
meant 
to do in the first place: Weeding potato rows throughout the season, as well 
as 
incidental pest control, and actually vice versa. The larger, original 
contraptions 
were front mounted dual tanked multi-burner, at least the ones I've seen, and 
you 
drive yo tracta down them rows with a good hum of torch going, as the older 
folks 
would say. The potato plant can withstand 20% foliage damage before root 
production 
is affected or slowed, so only the very top few leaves are sizzled and 
popped, 
cooking the buggies too as well as severely knocking back the weeds. Lots of 
folks 
used them to kill back the potato plants a few weeks before harvest too.  The 
type 
we're talking about straps to the back, wear a thick flannel as that tank can 
get 
cold even on the hottest day. Heavy too. I guess I just wanted to see if it 
could 
get where a sycthe or a mower couldn't. 
Del, have you tried one of the solid bladed jobbies? They seem awful 
effective at 
taking out large stuff. Does your Stihl allow interchange with a solid blade?
Also, third hand information, probably proving what a lot of you all do 
already, a 
friend of mine was speaking with one of the Cummins, I assume the son of the 
father 
and son duo at Cummins Nursery of Geneva NY, and was told about a observation 
made 
about rabbit and possibly smaller rodent winter protection. Seems they had 
tried 
painting with white latex ONLY as the rodent/rabbit protection in a recent 
winter. 
As a trial, I hope I am getting this right, some trees were left unpainted, 
next to 
an relatively equal number of painted trees. All of the unpainted were eaten, 
none 
of the painted. I guess their main problem was rabbits, which I do not have a 
problem with, but any easier solution to girdling I haven't heard. What 
methods do 
the rest of you use? What have you tried that has failed?
Heron Breen
Maine zone 4