permaculture

[Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>]

At 10:52 AM 8/17/00 -0500, you wrote:

> Talking
> Bindweed:
>
>      I m a farmer in the Texas panhandle and most
> dryland has 
>
> bindweed here. It seems to be a loosing battle, but it s 
>
> somewhat possible to live with it. Here are the approaches:
>
> 6.)              
> Change your way of
> thinking; bindweed is not the problem, farmers are. 

I agree, the friend says: At least it has flowers...

I heard of a BD approach, that sounded this way:
3 consecutive years of pumpkins will smother the bindweed. Well, here we
also have the ferocious squash bug that will destroy all the
pumpkins.         But once we
move in our new house, that is choked by the bindweed from 3 sides, even
some is growing up the drain inside  the house, I will try a lot of
biomass and pumpkins.  

> In exasperaton, I ve tried to figure what
> niche bindweed was filling. To me it seems,
>
> that being deep-rooted, it is breaking the hard pan, bringing up
> nutrients, as well
>
> as keeping the ground from blowing as a result of clean farming or heavy
> grazing.
>
> So, by my thinking, if we stopped making hard pan, possibly deep ripped,
> return 
>
> tilth, (like green manure Austrian Winter Peas), and leave cover on the
> ground, we
>
> might help Mother Nature, the same way bindweed does.


I think this approach may also help with the thistle - to plant deep
rooted plants that will break the soil. The bindweed, though has a
different kind of root, not the tap, but more runner type. It seems to be
intimidated by a good stand of red clover - still grows, but more modest
looking, and less brutal.
 a