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Pat W suggested I get this movie, and I already have it!! So
what are we waiting for???
Following is the review of this movie. I would like to use
it to kick off a farmers’ round table discussion. Perhaps we could host a
couple of sites. Farmers, if you are interested in seeing this dvd with other
farmers and have a chance to discuss ideas and practices please let me know
some possible venues and times that work for you. The two dvds are a total of
82 minutes.
So let’s start discussing possible locations and times
that work for you. Here is the review from New Farm
November
9, 2006: You know you're a farm geek when a DVD on
cultivation equipment has you on the edge of your seat.
But
that's exactly what happened to a friend and I recently when we popped
"Weed 'Em and Reap" into the player. In fact (I stand convicted), we
watched it twice straight through.
A two-DVD
set released late in 2005 by Oregon State University, "Weed 'Em and
Reap" showcases cultivation tools (part 1, 36 minutes) and reduced tillage
strategies (part 2, 49 minutes) suitable for non-chemical vegetable production.
And as one farm geek to another, I can tell you it's absolutely
terrific—clear, informative and to the point from start to finish.
The seed
for the project was planted back in 2002, when OSU horticulture professor Alex
Stone attended a Northwest Farmer to Farmer Exchange gathering focused on
cultivation equipment. Someone in the group observed that video would be a
better way to communicate ideas about new tools, since it was often difficult
to understand the implements' action from verbal descriptions or even still
photos. To the benefit of organic vegetable producers everywhere, Stone picked
up the camera and ran with it, figuratively speaking. Videographer Michael
Bendixen, who joined the team sometime later, does an outstanding job with all
the field interviews, close-ups, slow-motion shots and other illustrative
effects.
While
most of the farmers featured in the video are in Oregon, Washington, North
Carolina and Virginia, the tools and strategies they describe should be of use
to growers throughout North America and even beyond. Some of the tools require
substantial investment and would only be practicable on medium- to large-scale
farms, but many are simpler and relatively inexpensive. Each segment is
followed by a resources screen listing contact information for manufacturers
and suppliers.
Innovative cultivation tools
The first
DVD in the set is divided into four sections: in-row cultivation, blind
cultivation, mulches and flamers. For in-row cultivation, we hear from Jeff
Falen of Persephone Farm in Lebanon, Oregon, about a cultivation method for
young transplanted squash plants using sweeps and Bezzerides spring hoes
mounted on an Allis-Chalmers G. The key here is to plant the transplants into
furrows running the length of the field (these are field-planted squash, not on
raised beds), which can then be filled in by the cultivator to bury weed
seedlings close to the plants.
Rob
Heater of Stahlbush Island Farms in Corvallis, Oregon, describes a farm-built
"retractable blade cultivator" which makes it possible to run hoe
blades right down the crop row that are lifted up at intervals over the plants
with the help of a pneumatic cylinder. Another tool for the same type of result
is the Reigi weeder, made by Canada-based Univerco. Essentially a hand-operated
Weed Badger, the Reigi is a lightweight frame mounted on the back of the
tractor with a pair of PTO-driven spinning weeder disks. An operator sitting on
the back of the implement maneuvers the disk in and out around the crop plants
by means of two levers.
In the
segment on blind cultivation, Mark Wheeler of Pacific Botanicals in Grants
Pass, Oregon, describes his use of the Lely tine weeder for cultivating both
annuals and perennials three to four days after a rain, when weeds are small. A
few tips: move fast, and cultivate in the afternoon when crop plants are more
flexible and less likely to break under the tines.
Two more
unusual tools for blind cultivation are a hayrake and the wiggle weeder. These
both act perpendicularly to the rows, the hayrake in a continuous belt action
and the wiggle weeder in a rapid back-and-forth motion. Both are good for
cultivating weeds at the white-root stage in crops that are well-rooted and can
stand up to some impact from the tines.
Flaming
technology has come a long way since the homemade tractor- and backpack-mounted
models of 10 years ago. Improvements have focused on three areas: capturing and
concentrating the heat on the target area of soil, reducing propane
consumption, and improving operator convenience, such as by lowering the noise
level of the burners and offering automatic ignition.
The video
features both farmer-built and commercial shielded flamers, as well as some new
European models that use ceramic plates to provide infrared heat as opposed to
an open flame, reducing fuel consumption by up to 80 percent. As in all the
tool segments, a wealth of practical detail is included, from groundspeed to
weather conditions to operating costs.
Reduced tillage strategies
The
second DVD in the "Weed 'Em and Reap" set should make excellent
viewing for anyone concerned about the heavy reliance on tillage that
characterizes some organic farms. The star of this episode is Ron Morse,
professor emeritus at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, who (as
many readers of New Farm will already know) has been working to perfect low- or
no-chemical reduced-tillage vegetable cropping systems for the better part of a
long career.
Together
with Mark Schonbeck of the Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Morse
describes a variety of high-residue, no-till vegetable cropping systems based
on the use of mixed-species cover crops to provide nitrogen for fertility and
biomass for weed suppression. "If you get enough tonnage—2 to 3 tons
per acre is kind of a minimum—you can suppress weeds," Morse says.
That doesn't mean there will be no weeds, but you'll get suppression long
enough to allow the crop canopy to close without significant weed competition.
Morse's
favorite cover crop combinations include foxtail millet and forage soybeans for
fall brassicas; rye and hairy vetch for tomatoes, peppers, or pumpkins; and
crimson clover and barley for mid-summer crops like squashes. Schonbeck has
been experimenting with cold-sensitive covers, like black oats and purple
vetch, that winterkill in preparation for planting early spring crops like
onions or early broccoli.
Fear not,
there are tools on this DVD, too. Ken Fager and Robert Walters at the Center
for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, North Carolina, describe the
roller/crimper they've been working with (somewhat similar to The Rodale
Institute's cover
crop roller), while Morse describes in detail the "sub-surface
tiller-transplanter" he's developed over the years for transplanting
vegetable starts through the thick residues left by the cover crops. Morse's
team has also discovered that an Alamo flail-mower can be used to flail, roll,
or flail and roll non-viney cover crops like the cereal grains and some legumes.
"Living mulch"
The final
section of the second DVD focuses on the "living mulch" system
developed by Montana farmer Helen Atthowe. Inspired by the writings of Masanobu
Fukuoka, Atthowe has been growing tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and broccoli in the
high, dry area around Stevensville, Montana, for the past 11 years. Her system
prioritizes minimal labor inputs, low tillage and generous organic matter
inputs using widely spaced rows, overhead irrigation and regularly mowed cover
crops.
One of
Atthowe's labor-saving innovations is to grow clovers in situ for green-matter
addition to her compost. In the spring, the compost is applied to last year's
mowed alleyways, which will then become this year's plastic-mulched raised
beds. Atthowe believes that the high organic matter levels and careful nutrient
cycling that characterize her system help her crop plants resist disease while
flowering earlier and producing top-quality fruit. The mowed covers provide
lots of habitat for beneficial insects, while the broccoli plants, allowed to
flower post-harvest, provide additional forage.
It's
simply not possible for me to summarize in words all the fascinating insights
and tips bundled into these two DVDs. It's like attending a dozen top-notch
field days without having to stand out in the hot sun—with the added
luxury of being able to rewind if you want to see something a second time. My
recommendation is, put "Weed 'Em and Reap" on your holiday wish-list,
suggest that your local organic growers' group add it to their lending library,
or both. Your weeds might regret it, but you certainly won't. [log in to unmask]">
Vicki Morrone
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
Michigan State University
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
http://safs.msu.edu/
http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
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