Thread: No till organic
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Old 05-03-2021, 11:16 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
Snag Snag is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Mar 2011
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Default No till organic

On 3/5/2021 2:13 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 5 Mar 2021 13:39:46 -0600, Snag wrote:

On 3/5/2021 7:21 AM,
wrote:
On Thu, 4 Mar 2021 22:39:04 -0600, Snag wrote:

On 3/4/2021 9:45 PM, Frank Miles wrote:
What's the magic trick to dealing with weeds if you want to garden
'organically' _and_ are trying to go 'no-till' ? That is, without
spending all your time manually pulling them? And with limited
space I can't solarize without losing a year.

Thanks for any tips!
-F


The secret is MULCH . Cardboard or multiple layers of newspaper will
stop the weeds from reaching the sunlight . Heavy layers of straw will
do the same , plus will enrich and lighten your soil as it decomposes .
See if you can buy or borrow (your library may have it) a copy of the
Ruth Stout gardening book . Here's a link :
https://www.motherearthnews.com/orga...m-zmaz04fmzsel
You can also use a barrier fabric or plastic sheeting, but that
contributes nothing to your soil . You might also want to check out
non-chemical pest controls - bacillus thurigensis , diatomaceous earth
, and beneficial nematodes will all be a part of my arsenal this year .
FWIW , I use only heirloom varieties of seed and that makes
pest and weed control more work . But worth it IMO in the end for stuff
that breeds true and can be relied on to produce the same results year
after year . The only seeds I've bought this year was a package of
yellow squash , and only because my saved seed didn't germinate . It was
old ...


I first thought that the glue and ink and residual chemicals of
the paper-making paper-recycling process would render corrugated
cardboard " not suitably organic " but a google search seems
to prove me wrong ... ? Happy mulching !
John T.


I use cages made of concrete reinforcing wire (about 24"diameter and
5 feet tall) for my tomatoes . I lay of pieces of cardboard on the
ground around the plants stem before I place the cages . Viola (yeah
yeah) no weeds inside the cage to pull . I generally use either wheat or
rice straw between cages .



Watering ? ... doesn't the cardboard shed the water somewhat ?
John T.


It does a little . But the straw around it doesn't , and both help a
lot to prevent moisture loss from evaporation . The soil is usually
moist unless we're in a drought .
--
Snag
In 1775, the British demanded we give them our guns.
We shot them