I think I'm going no-till - Page 9

BigVanVader · April 3, 2016

Unfortunately I got Bermuda in my no till beds. I dug out a lot the other day but it will come back forever so I decided to use reflective plastic that is black on the bottom. Bermuda will grow through the woven material as will several aggressive weeds because air and light come through so plastic is usually the best option if you have aggressive weeds.

Worth1 · April 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Unfortunately I got Bermuda in my no till beds. I dug out a lot the other day but it will come back forever so I decided to use reflective plastic that is black on the bottom. Bermuda will grow through the woven material as will several aggressive weeds because air and light come through so plastic is usually the best option if you have aggressive weeds.

Noting but steel concrete and solid glass will keep nut grass from growing.
It came from somewhere and has infested one of my beds and has started in the other.
I have seen the stuff grow through the bottom of the above ground swimming pools and live in the water.
I think my neighbor hauled it in, in a load of cheap dirt.
Worth

BigVanVader · April 3, 2016

Solarizing can help a lot, as in it keeps it down for a couple of months, but I have came to the conclusion that Bermuda could survive a nuclear attack and would likely mutate somehow to be even more aggressive.

Cole_Robbie · April 3, 2016

I have a little bit of UV-resistant ground cloth in my high tunnel. I have to move it around every year, because the weeds seed sprout on top of it and grow through it.

Last year, it rained so much that the weeds in the shovels of dirt I used to hold down the plastic edges grew roots around the plastic and took off.

The only time I've ever seen Johnson Grass really die was when the water hydrant had a slow leak that flooded the ground for a long time. When completely underwater for months, those giant roots that look like crab legs will rot. It makes me want to flood the field and grow prawns for a summer or two.

Worth1 · April 3, 2016

Been more than once a rhizome from Jonson grass has made me jump through my skin thinking it was some sort of critter.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · April 17, 2016

The first row of plastic is down:
http://i.imgur.com/mOtVyu4.jpg

It's funny carving a garden out of all that grass without a tiller. It would have been a lot easier to spray everything with Roundup first. But I am trying to avoid that.

Laying 100' of plastic by hand is a good workout, especially since the shovels of dirt I use to bury the edges have to be carved out of the sod of horseweed roots. Tilled ground is much easier to shovel. I'm glad I only have to do this once a year.

BigVanVader · April 17, 2016

Amen! Luckily I have access to a bed edger, but still a lot of work.

bower · April 18, 2016

Reminds me of the potato beds I used to make with my dad.

Hard day's work with a sharp spade, but at the end of the day, potatoes weren't much work for the harvest.
You've got a really nice height on the bed and I bet the tomatoes will love the warm roots.

Those ridges behind, are these left over from last year's?
Keep building them up, by the time you're too old to shovel it'll all be at waist height.

Cole_Robbie · April 18, 2016

Thanks. The row is 100', and the closest 50' to the camera in that pic is the new part that I put down over the winter.

The grass that will die under the black plastic will make good worm food.

bower · April 18, 2016

Ah the 100 ft rows. I know them from the farm... and I can see you will be beat!! by the time you spade in two sides of a 100 ft row in the deep weeds.

If I ever have a farm, I want shorter rows! More of them is okay, but I need my fix of 'unit done' satisfaction before my personal exhaustion point.

Cole_Robbie · April 18, 2016

2 rows of plastic down, 1/2 row of Maglia Rosa in the ground: http://i.imgur.com/SFYuxSu.jpg

The grass under the black plastic was dead after one day in the sun.

Ricky Shaw · April 18, 2016

My back hurts looking at all that, but loving all the activity in Tomatoville.

Cole_Robbie · April 24, 2016

It's coming along: http://i.imgur.com/z1ovcQ4.jpg

The short row to the right got planted just now, all dwarfs.

Chopping out all the weeds before I lay the plastic is turning out to be a huge pain. I should have laid the drip line and plastic mulch months ago, but I didn't have the fence done, and I didn't want deer walking on it. By the time I have spaded out the weeds and mounded the ridges up again, it almost looks like I tilled.

Gerardo · April 24, 2016

That's one hell of a back workout. Nice. Saved a stash of Sugar's Magic and have been adding it as a final sprinkle ingredient. In combo with the alfalfa it makes a super smoothie.

Cole_Robbie · April 24, 2016

Thanks. Sugar just had a baby. I took this pic tonight: http://i.imgur.com/UYPmnrI.jpg

April 3, 2016	#121
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Unfortunately I got Bermuda in my no till beds. I dug out a lot the other day but it will come back forever so I decided to use reflective plastic that is black on the bottom. Bermuda will grow through the woven material as will several aggressive weeds because air and light come through so plastic is usually the best option if you have aggressive weeds.

April 3, 2016	#123
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Solarizing can help a lot, as in it keeps it down for a couple of months, but I have came to the conclusion that Bermuda could survive a nuclear attack and would likely mutate somehow to be even more aggressive.

April 3, 2016	#124
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I have a little bit of UV-resistant ground cloth in my high tunnel. I have to move it around every year, because the weeds seed sprout on top of it and grow through it. Last year, it rained so much that the weeds in the shovels of dirt I used to hold down the plastic edges grew roots around the plastic and took off. The only time I've ever seen Johnson Grass really die was when the water hydrant had a slow leak that flooded the ground for a long time. When completely underwater for months, those giant roots that look like crab legs will rot. It makes me want to flood the field and grow prawns for a summer or two.

April 3, 2016	#125
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Been more than once a rhizome from Jonson grass has made me jump through my skin thinking it was some sort of critter. Worth

April 17, 2016	#126
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	The first row of plastic is down: http://i.imgur.com/mOtVyu4.jpg It's funny carving a garden out of all that grass without a tiller. It would have been a lot easier to spray everything with Roundup first. But I am trying to avoid that. Laying 100' of plastic by hand is a good workout, especially since the shovels of dirt I use to bury the edges have to be carved out of the sod of horseweed roots. Tilled ground is much easier to shovel. I'm glad I only have to do this once a year.

April 17, 2016	#127
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Amen! Luckily I have access to a bed edger, but still a lot of work.

April 18, 2016	#128
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	Reminds me of the potato beds I used to make with my dad. Hard day's work with a sharp spade, but at the end of the day, potatoes weren't much work for the harvest. You've got a really nice height on the bed and I bet the tomatoes will love the warm roots. Those ridges behind, are these left over from last year's? Keep building them up, by the time you're too old to shovel it'll all be at waist height.

April 18, 2016	#129
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Thanks. The row is 100', and the closest 50' to the camera in that pic is the new part that I put down over the winter. The grass that will die under the black plastic will make good worm food.

April 18, 2016	#130
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	Ah the 100 ft rows. I know them from the farm... and I can see you will be beat!! by the time you spade in two sides of a 100 ft row in the deep weeds. If I ever have a farm, I want shorter rows! More of them is okay, but I need my fix of 'unit done' satisfaction before my personal exhaustion point.

April 18, 2016	#131
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	2 rows of plastic down, 1/2 row of Maglia Rosa in the ground: http://i.imgur.com/SFYuxSu.jpg The grass under the black plastic was dead after one day in the sun.

April 18, 2016	#132
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	My back hurts looking at all that, but loving all the activity in Tomatoville.

April 24, 2016	#133
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	It's coming along: http://i.imgur.com/z1ovcQ4.jpg The short row to the right got planted just now, all dwarfs. Chopping out all the weeds before I lay the plastic is turning out to be a huge pain. I should have laid the drip line and plastic mulch months ago, but I didn't have the fence done, and I didn't want deer walking on it. By the time I have spaded out the weeds and mounded the ridges up again, it almost looks like I tilled.

April 24, 2016	#134
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,594	That's one hell of a back workout. Nice. Saved a stash of Sugar's Magic and have been adding it as a final sprinkle ingredient. In combo with the alfalfa it makes a super smoothie.

April 24, 2016	#135
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Thanks. Sugar just had a baby. I took this pic tonight: http://i.imgur.com/UYPmnrI.jpg