Tony - That's a nice system you have in mind. It is practical, it integrates, and it links the fundamental practices of Steiner, Albrecht, and Reams.... along with your own farm-ready insight.
One of your ideas is worth repeating. Let the weeds come up, then put them back down under the weed mat. Worms like to feed on decaying organic matter, they stir the soil, and they excrete their castings, soil-binding glues, and growth-promoting enzymes, nutrients, and bioactive substances. Weeds function like a cover crop. The roots and leaves provide living biomass; the rhizosphere and phyllosphere serve as a brief home for microorganisms, the weeds further the cycle of life, and then they decompose and release their plant-available nutrients and provide food and shelter for soil microorganisms. Yet, you create a clean and weed-free bed to raise your vegetables, flowers, and herbs. One of the remarkable aspects of the weed barrier method, is the realization that you are spending time "enjoying" the garden..... walking around, smelling fragrant flowers, observing Nature, hand-picking a few bugs, harvesting and tending to your plants.... instead of dealing with weeds, weeds, and more weeds on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Once you plant your transplants into the weed barrier, you more or less just "walk away." The BD preps have their work and their influence. How do I find out the details on Steve Storch's recipe for sequential spraying? There is a grower who used the weed barrier method in market farming with permanent raised beds, tractors, spading equipment, composting, BD preps, and the works. It seems to me worth repeating, it serves as an example of the weed barrier in action. Paul Sansone, a biodynamic flower grower in Oregon, used the DeWitt Pro-5 Weed Barrier on 5-15 acres of raised bed production. His farm has been featured in "Growing for Market" and one of the greenhouse trade magazines, like "Greenhouse Grower." As I recall from the "Growing for Market" article: *Permanent raised beds *Tractor straddles the bed *Cover crop established in the fall *Mow and incorporate cover crop in spring *Tractor with fertilizer buggy straddles bed and lays down compost + organic fertilizer blend *Drip irrigation tape set out on bed *DeWitt Pro-5 Weed Barrier laid down and tucked in *Weed barrier has pre-burned holes for 6" and 12" transplant spacings, other spacings as neeed *Hand transplant and water in *Turn on drip irrigation *Watch plants grow, tend to plants, irrigate plants -------------------------------------------------- *But no fuss over weeds, mechanical cultivation, wheel hoes, or hand hoeing -------------------------------------------------- I'm not sure how the BD preps were integrated into the Sansone system, but you get the idea from the summary above how the sequence works. OrganicBoquet.com is Paul Sansone's web page OrganicBoquet.com http://www.organicbouquet.com/sansone.shtml Of particular interest is the sub-section on biodynamics Secular Biodynamics - Agriculture Beyond the Organic By Paul Sansone http://www.organicbouquet.com/biodynamics.shtml And further within... The Seven Essential Elements of the Biodynamic Method By Paul Sansone http://www.organicbouquet.com/biodynamics4.shtml Interestingly, Paul Sansone and Susan Vosburg have this website, Here & Now Garden Here & Now Garden http://www.hereandnowgarden.com/ Especially see Grower's Corner: Grower's Corner http://www.hereandnowgarden.com/growerscorner.html It has useful notes on BD practices for fungus and botrytis control, fertilization, soil and cover crops, tillage. . "Perennial plants should be top dressed each spring with 1/4" - 1/2" of ripened Biodynamic compost." "An organic plant food is banded into the bed under where the cut flower plants will be planted when the bed is being shaped or it is worked into each planting hole for the plants as they are being planted. This balanced plant food is 4 parts seed meal, 1 part rock phosphate, 1/2 part kelp, and 1 part greensand." The Green Beam website is the online gateway for Branch-Smith Publishing. Branch-Smith publishes Greenhouse Manager-Pro (GM-Pro), as well as Nursery Manager-Pro (NM-Pro) and related trade magazines. The following online article features Paul Sansone. The Dynamics of Biodynamic Growing: Lean how Here & Now Garden Uses Sustainable Agriculture to Produce Fresh Cut Flowers http://www.greenbeam.com/features/tour062899.stm Now, I switch to the work of the late Dan Wofford who influenced me in relation to weed barrier production methods. It is a long story to relay all the integrated approaches we took in our various plantings: weed barrier, hydrogels, organic fertilizers, composts, mycorrhizae, special plug trays, Booth tube plugs, Chapin bucket irrigation kits (gravity-flow) in remote sites, etc. Allow me to post the library where Dan Wofford's work resides. HydroSource @ Castle International Resources http://www.hydrosource.com/ Library on Sunbelt-HydroSource | Dan Wofford articles http://www.hydrosource.com/serv01.htm Table of Contents | Castle International Resources http://www.hydrosource.com/toc.htm Especially note the Booth tubes and 384-cell trays in action, and how they integrate with weed barrier planting methods for super low-maintenance weed control. Regards, Steve Diver Rambler Flowers LTD wrote: > > Tony - > > > > Nice integration of BD preps with a mulching technique > > to achieve vegetation control, worm action, soil biology.... > > and a clean bed to transplant into..... also getting the > > muck and magic benefits of the BD preps.... all at the > > same time. > > > > Steve Diver > > Thanks Steve the worm activity is amazing. > I have been thinking of developing this further as i have a particularly > dirty block that i want to plant into in about 18 months. > After a soil test I am going to sheet compost with grasses, sawdust, lime , > animal manure , Steve Storchs sequential spray programme using Glens > Potentised preps and what ever organic fertilisers i need to balance the > soil according to Albrecht and Reams ie 60-70% Calcium, 12%Magesium 3-5% > Potash, 1-2% sodium aiming to achieve a CEC level of 25% and a pH of > between 6-7, and then cover with weed mat until worms have done their > magic.I will follow with a quick green crop and repeat as above missing out > the soil test this will take 12 months to next autumn. Before it becomes > too wet final raised beds will be set up . Aftera further check of nutrient > levels, the beds will be mulched with compost and covered with weed mat, > every 6-8 weeks weed mat will be removed for 10 days to encourage weed seed > germination weed mat is then replaced until spring planting > I will also be monitering brix pH and erg levels and making any > adjustments as i see fit. > The aim is have well balanced soil that is pest, disease and weed free for a > crop of gentians that will be planted for 5-6 years. > Thanks Steve for your inspirational reply it triggered off the above idea > siutable for intensive cropping . The area covered will be 50 by 7 metres > and will be planted with 2000 plants. I will also do a similar area next > door with out the weed mat to compare results .
