Post by ohiorganic on Apr 7, 2007 6:33:12 GMT -5
Because my farm is organic (but no longer certified) and there are just two of us doing most of the work (we do occassionally get help) we long ago figured out that mulching is very very necessary and that plastic mulch is more effective and less labor intensive than natural mulches such as straw (not to mention, the cert. organic straw we use too often has thistle seed in it which is majorly counter productive to our weed control).
for years we used IRT and other plastic mulches and they were effective at keeping weeds under control but they had some big problems. The biggest was they did not allow air and water to get to the soil and thus caused some problems with the soil, basically making the soil gladed (i.e. aneobic).
This kind of plastic also did not stand up to the weedwhacker we use to keep the growth in the aisleways short. if one was not extremely careful with the machine there would be a 20' long rip in the plastic which would allow weeds to take over
the other big issue we had with this was disposal. Plastic is plastic and this kind of mulch could be used at most 2 seasons and generally it was so tore up after one season it had to be landfilled. We did come up with some creative ways to reuse it such as using old pieces for a haunted woods we used to do with a bunch of friends for halloween. And some was used to plug holes in sheds, barns and a chicken coop. but still almost all of it eventually was landfilled.
Now we use landscape fabric which is plastic but it is woven so air and water reach the soil and it last 10+ years so it is cheaper to use in the long run and far less will be landfilled.
One thing about any plastic mulch is you have to use some sort of irrigation under it. We use drip tapes.
for years we used IRT and other plastic mulches and they were effective at keeping weeds under control but they had some big problems. The biggest was they did not allow air and water to get to the soil and thus caused some problems with the soil, basically making the soil gladed (i.e. aneobic).
This kind of plastic also did not stand up to the weedwhacker we use to keep the growth in the aisleways short. if one was not extremely careful with the machine there would be a 20' long rip in the plastic which would allow weeds to take over
the other big issue we had with this was disposal. Plastic is plastic and this kind of mulch could be used at most 2 seasons and generally it was so tore up after one season it had to be landfilled. We did come up with some creative ways to reuse it such as using old pieces for a haunted woods we used to do with a bunch of friends for halloween. And some was used to plug holes in sheds, barns and a chicken coop. but still almost all of it eventually was landfilled.
Now we use landscape fabric which is plastic but it is woven so air and water reach the soil and it last 10+ years so it is cheaper to use in the long run and far less will be landfilled.
One thing about any plastic mulch is you have to use some sort of irrigation under it. We use drip tapes.
