…and now for something completely different…
At dawn
Canoe bow waves are quickly lost
on the shoreside
But go on out of sight
on the lake side.
-1986
The constant swish-swish of skis
On a day long ski.
The constant swish-swish of wiper blades
On a day long drive.
-1990
My dog, trotting barefoot
Steps on a garden slug
And thinks
Nothing of it.
-1999
Word spreads quickly
as I approach the pond.
All becomes quiet.
-1997
Hidden in the vines
a large warted cucumber
jumps out of reach.
A toad!
-1997
Delicate puffs
of marshmallow snow
carefully perched
on a branch,
await the trigger of my hat
to melt their way down my back.
-2010
Deep in the tomato jungle
Fruits of yellow, purple and red
Tell of their readiness
To go to market.
-2010
Sugarin' Chores
Snowflakes hurry through my flashlight beam,
As my boots knead new snow with spring mud,
On my nightly Hajj to keep the boil alive,
For as long as possible until the dawn,
To match the power of the flowing sap,
With my meager evaporator and will.
The prize at the finish line are jars of syrup
And Spring.
-2013
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Snakeroot
Organic Farm
Mulching With Organic
Materials
Rural Living Day
9:45-11am, Saturday March
31, 2012, Mount View High School
-
- Mulching imitates
nature. Most forest and grassland soils were created through
millenia of dead leaf materials falling to the ground as a mulch
year after year and slowly rotting into soil-forming humus. At
Snakeroot we annually apply organic mulches to about two acres of
crops. Where annuals are grown the mulches are annually incorporated
into the soil. In perennial plots, new layers are just added year
after year.
-
- As with any program of
weed control, it is important to know the strengths and weaknesses
of the weeds you are combating and adjust your mulching practices
and materials accordingly.
- But first, let's get
our terms straight: Mulch is any material applied to the
surface of the soil primarily for weed suppression and moisture
retention. Mulching means applying mulch. Shredding is
breaking course materials into finer ones. Compost is a soil
additive created by a controlled rotting process usually done in a
pile a small distance from where the crops are grown. Sometimes
compost is used as a mulch on the soil surface, but this is not its
best use. Often materials such as brush and twigs need to be
shredded before they can be effectively used as a mulch or added to
a compost pile for rotting.
-
- Mulches come in
many types. Many farmers and gardeners use mulches, and most of
them use plastic mulches because they are easily applied, relatively
inexpensive to purchase, and are quite effective at some mulching
functions. However, plastics are basically oil, and their one-season
use followed by removal and disposal in that mythical place called
“away” seems to me to be the antithesis of a good
organic farming practice. There have also been trials of
starch-based biodegradable plastic mulches, paper mulches, spray-on
reflective mulches, and spray-on slurry mulches.
-
- At Snakeroot, we
use only organic mulches, and no plastic mulches. Not
“organically grown” but rather organic, once alive
material. Our toolkit of mulches consists of whole leaves, shredded
leaves, pine needles, old hay, fresh cut hay, wood chips, sawdust,
cardboard and newspaper. Over the years we have found each is most
effective at a particular job, for a particular crop, or to combat a
particular weed. And we have adjusted our needs to be compatible
with the amounts of each that is available to us, and have learned
where we can make acceptable substitutions of one material for
another.
- Reasons to mulch
-
Mulching, like most
processes in biology, has multiple effects. We use organic mulches
to:
-
Suppress weeds by
shading the soil surface and smothering any already sprouted small
weeds. The soil surface is now dark and moist but sprouting weeds
run out of energy before they can emerge thru the mulch. Some weed
seeds cannot live more than a year or two without dieing, so those
we kill by keeping the soil mulched for two successive seasons in
some of our rotations.
- Retain soil
moisture by providing a barrier to soil moisture evaporation,
while allowing rain to penetrate (unlike plastic mulches). We only
have two five-gallon-a-minute wells with which to do all of our
vegetable washing for market and irrigation of the fields. This
means that by mid August we usually are close to running a water
deficit in the soil. We have found mulching reduces the stress from
lack of rainfall or irrigation because the soil stays quite moist
under the mulch. Years of incorporating mulches into the soil at
season's end has given us a high soil organic matter content, which
also helps the soil itself to act like a sponge.
-
Deepen the soil,
since without a mulch the top half inch of soil gets too dry to
allow root growth during the growing season. Without a mulch, you
are effectively mulching your soil with your top layer of soil.
- Add organic matter
at the end of the season. Annually disking in several inches of
mulch adds huge quantities of organic matter to the soil, adding
minerals from the mulch into the soil and invigorating microbial
life. This decomposition process actually begins before the mulch is
turned under, as you can see by trying to determine the exact
dividing line between soil and mulch at the end of the season.
Earthworms and microbes have turned this once clear demarcation into
a continuum.
- Crops we don't
mulch:
- Short season crops
like basil, radishes, carrots, dill, broccoli. It just isn't worth
the labor.
-
Spreading crops like
lettuce, cabbage, or napa, that would stay too wet and provide food
for slugs protected by the mulch.
-
- ANNUALS: total
74,000 sq. ft.
-
- Tomatoes: 20,000
sq. ft.
-
Whole leaves cover the
entire tomato plot. Leaves are applied in late June before
broadleaved weeds get too big and after the June sun has warmed the
soil in the beds where the tomatoes are planted. Leaves are tucked
around each tomato plant (about 3,000) just before the plant is
ready to fall over. The mulch suppresses weeds, retains soil
moisture, keeps the rain from splashing soil onto the plants or
fruit. The leaves do support small populations of mice and slugs,
which sometimes generate a slight damage. After frost, vines and
leaves are turned under with a disk harrow. There is such a mass of
organic matter that it requires several passes over a two week
period. Then we plant . . .
-
- Garlic: 17,000 sq.
ft.
-
Shredded leaves or pine
needles are spread 3-4 inches deep on top of the beds after garlic
is planted in October. These will not mat down during the winter as
whole leaves would, thus suppressing garlic emergence. Whole leaves
are used in aisles between beds to suppress weed growth; the fact
that these do mat down over the winter helps suppress weeds. Both
retain soil moisture and are left on the entire season. After garlic
harvest in early August, fall crops of broccoli, cabbage, and
lettuce are transplanted directly thru the remaining mulch. Since
broccoli harvest lasts late into the fall, the whole patch is disked
under in the spring. At that time the mulch is 18 months old and
decomposes quickly.
-
- Onions: 17,000 sq.
ft.
-
Onions are started in mid
February, then transplanted to the field in mid to late April.
Plants are allowed to grow several weeks until they are 6-8 inches
high. The beds are then mulched by hand with shredded leaves or leaf
mold (when we have it). Shredded leaves fit in between the delicate
onion plants more easily than any of the other materials we could
use, and they pack down well eliminating light from the soil
surface. Once the beds are mulched, we mulch the aisles with whole
leaves (if we have enough) or newly cut hay. Newly cut hay comes
from about three acres of fields around our gardens that we mow with
a string trimmer, getting several cuttings a year of young seedless
hay 6-12 inches long. Newly cut hay will shrink down to about half
thickness within two weeks, so it is put on rather thick to start
with.
-
- Kale, leeks,
celery, celeriac, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard: 10,000 sq.ft.
-
We group these crops
together because they are in the same spot all season long, are
upright in nature, and benefit from mulching. We usually have to hoe
and hand weed at least once until we have enough mulch generated to
use on them. For all these we use newly cut hay. Celery and celeriac
always get first crack at the mulch since they require a good moist
soil.
-
- Winter squash:
20,000 sq. ft.
-
Winter squashes get
planted in early June and each variety is mulched before it begins
to run with old hay and with hay cut by our flail mower. This delay
between planting and mulching allows time for the soil in the beds
to warm before applying the mulch. Plants in the beds are mulched
first, then we go back and mulch the aisles with more of the hay.
-
- PERENNIALS:
total 4,600 sq ft.
-
- Rhubarb: 2,500 sq.
ft.
-
Rhubarb loves moisture, so
as soon as rhubarb has emerged in the spring (wait until emergence
so you can tell where the plants are but before the perennial weeds
have grown) we mulch them with 1/4” of newspaper overlapped by
at least 6 inches. Wetting the newspaper first allows it to conform
better to ground irregularities, to bond at the overlaps, and to
keep from blowing away if the day is breezy. We tuck the newspaper
right up to the plants. Over the newspaper we apply leaves, hay or
wood chips to hold the paper in place. The weeds we are combating
are morning glory and witch grass. Some years we also apply a thin
layer of compost before the newspaper. In sections where the weeds
are especially vigorous, we may need to do this annually for two or
three years until the perennial weeds are knocked back enough not to
be a problem. After only one year, the newspaper is impossible to
find and thus no longer provides a barrier to weed emergence. Altho
rhubarb is a tremendous competitor in May and June, after July it
offers little competition to any weeds for the rest of the season.
-
- Grapes: 700 sq. ft.
and Blackberries: 500 sq. ft.
-
With both Grapes and
Blackberries we add a thin layer of compost, then newspapers or
cardboard, then hay or wood chips or pine needles on top. This
provides fertility for the season or two as well as weed suppression
and water retention. Part of the fertility is from the continually
rotting mulch that represents a slow release fertilizer. We usually
have to repeat this procedure about every two years, or annually in
those spots where the witch grass is extra vigorous.
-
- Perennials Herbs:
900 sq. ft.
-
We grow sage, thyme,
oregano, winter savory and tarragon together in their own garden,
which we annually mulch with new-cut hay. We mulch both the aisles
and between the plants in the row as we work our way down the
aisles. Only a few dandelions seem to survive this technique, at
least for the first five years.
-
- GREENHOUSES:
total 6100 sq. ft.
-
In our five greenhouses,
we grow crops in the ground, and that ground is mulched with new cut
hay, and sometimes shredded leaves. Our greenhouse cropping system
has cukes, cherry tomatoes and peppers growing during the summer
months. In the fall, the vines are added to the compost pile and the
mulch is removed and used at the edges outside the greenhouses for
grass suppression. Compost is then added to the beds and they are
planted to spinach, lettuce, spicy greens and beet greens for spring
harvest. During their harvest, we transplant peppers, cukes and
cherry tomatoes right into the beds of growing greens. Once the
greens harvest is completed, the beds are mulched, often without
removing the leftover greens crop, or pulling it to add to the
mulch.
-
- Where do we get
our mulching materials?
-
Old Hay: People who
bank their houses for the winter, local farmers who want to clear
old hay bales from a field or who have quantities of spoiled hay.
- New Cut Hay: Small,
irregular patches we mow with a Stihl string trimmer, hand rake into
piles for pickup with a hay fork. Large smooth fields we mow with a
flail mower, rake with a side delivery rake, hand pitch into a wagon
and haul to the crops.
-
Leaves and Pine
Needles: We have an arrangement with the Town of Pittsfield that
sends all residents with leaves and pine needles to us instead of to
the transfer station. We are open any daylight hour, seven days a
week, so the residents actually find it easier than going to the
dump, and many appreciate that we are recycling the product of their
hard work. The Town estimates we annually recycle around 55 tons of
materials and save the town's taxpayers thousands of dollars each
year in Transfer Station costs.
-
Shredded Leaves:
Some people in town gather their leaves with their bagging lawn
mower, and some lawn care companies will vacuum up leaves into an
enclosed trailer. Both methods nicely shred the leaves. The
commercial outfits are delighted they don't have to pay tipping fees
at the transfer station.
-
Wood Chips: Sometimes
residents grind a stump that was in their way. Some years a tree
trimming company is trimming brush from under and around the power
lines, and when their truck is full, they need to dump it. Whenever
we see them in town, we stop to remind them that we will take as
many loads as they will deliver to us. We also have a Finnish PATU
Model 40 pto driven brush chipper we occasionally use on our own
brush. We especially like making alder chips, since they easy to
chip and rot down so nicely, plus the alders re-grow for chipping
again every eight or ten years. We do not use chipped demolition
debris!
-
- Mulch
Application Notes
-
- Cost: We save
considerable money in not having to annually buy plastic mulches,
and we save labor by not having to annually apply, remove and
dispose of plastic mulches. However we do have to provide space to
store our bulky organic mulches and then to transport them to the
field, which generally means dozens of trips with tractor and wagon.
We then have to apply our mulches by hand, and as a result we have a
crew of three or four “mulch application specialists”
engaged in moving, harvesting hay, and applying mulches for at least
two months straight from mid-May to mid July and again in October,
so the labor costs are far higher than with plastic mulches.
However, the money is now going to local farm-working folks rather
than to global petrochemical companies. And that seems more like old
style organic to me.
-
- Placement: In
existing plantings, the mulch goes right up to the plant, being sure
to leave no “light holes” where a weed seedlings would
find encouragement. In beds of a crop that is to emerge thru the
mulch, the mulch should completely and evenly cover the bed, and
should be of a nature that the emerging crop can pierce easily, such
as shredded leaves or pine needles.
-
- Pine Needles:
Many folks are afraid to use pine needles as a mulch or in compost
because of the fear that they will create acidic conditions.
Occasionally a town resident will even apologetically ask us if we
take them. A few years back, the University of Connecticut at Storrs
conducted a five-year mulching experiment to see if pine needles did
indeed acidify the soil. They found that they did not, and that
their affect as a mulch was greatly beneficial. They do need to be
placed thicker than, say, shredded leaves, since they pack so
loosely and allow light through more easily. When incorporated into
the soil, they add organic matter, and adding organic matter results
in the production of huge and complex humic acid molecules which
tend to buffer any pH change that might have occurred.
- Applying the mulch:
Mulch is usually stored at each end of a field and perhaps along the
edge, then it is brought in for placement in bulb crates and/or a
wheel barrow. The single wheel of a wheelbarrow negotiates the
narrow aisles better than any two wheeled cart ever could. Since the
beds are usually too wide to mulch all from one side, two “mulch
placement specialists” move along each side of a bed,
meanwhile keeping each other company. In areas where plants won't be
damaged by rapid mulch placement, mulch can be dumped into piles
then spread around, or poured and shaken from a crate to just the
right depth.
-
- Miscellaneous Tips:
- Dry leaves need to be
applied thicker than wet leaves. They are also more prone to blowing
away in high winds.
-
Shredded leaves are denser
than whole leaves and do not create an impenetrable mat like whole
leaves do.
-
People are amazed when you
thank them for bringing you a “waste” product that to
you is valuable but to them is worthless.
-
Care must be taken if the
plants need to be moved to assure complete ground coverage. Peppers
are especially brittle.
-
Incorporation of mulches
into the soil is usually done in the fall to allow time for the
residue to rot enough so as not interfere with spring seeding.
-
Organic mulches keep the ground cooler—an advantage in the hot summer—but may result in slightly later emergence of perennials and garlic in the spring.
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