Source:
Weed 'Em and Reap Part 1: Tools for Non-Chemical Weed Management in Vegetable Cropping Systems [DVD]. A. Stone. 2006. Oregon State University Dept. of Horticulture. Corvallis, Oregon. Available at: http://www.weedemandreap.org (verified 17 Dec 2008).
This is a Weed 'Em and Reap Part 1 video clip.
Watch video clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c47QxFIVIq4
Featuring
Jeff Falen, Persephone Farm. Lebanon, OR.
Audio Text
This garlic field is an example of weed control without any kind of machinery at all, using a straw mulch. This was planted late last October and immediately after we planted it, we took several big round bales of ryegrass straw, and rolled them out on the field and spread it around a little bit so that there was about six to seven inches of loose straw on top. The garlic comes right up through the straw about a month or six weeks later. For the most part, it stays pretty clear over the winter. There are some weeds that have moved in, but this field, at least in this area was not hand-weeded at all. We’ve found this to be a really effective control. Before we started doing this, we just had bare ground over the winter with our garlic. It was too wet to cultivate. We had to just weed it all by hand. It was just an absolute nightmare and we didn’t get very good garlic yields out of it. This has totally changed our garlic cropping system, so we’ve found it to be a pretty effective method.
