Black plastic planting in grass field no till

[Bobberman]

Last year I had access to a farm field and was allowed to plant a section of a 1/2 acre ! Well now its time to figure some new tactics! I bought 4 -10 by 25 - 4 mill black plastic rolls! I cut the weeds and grass down to a lawn type setting! How to anchor the plastic to stretch it out so I can dig the holes! To make it easy I thought I would roll the 25 feet out and cut a emicircle in the folds of the plastic. I made them about 8 inches in diameter about every 18 nches and cut into two of the folds. The came out nice and were all the same distance apart and in lin! Tha was the easy way to cut the holes! I needed something to make the plasic tight till I dug the dirt from the holes! I bought me a pack of 100 -3-1/4 inch golf tees for $3 and to stop them from slipping through the plastic I bought metal washers and they worked great. I placed them two foot appart and pressed them into the grounf through the edges of the plastic but doubled the edge to make it stronger as I stretched the plastic. The plastic was stretched out perfect!
+++ My next step was to dig the holes but a regular shoved was too wide. I bought a 45 degree angled pinted blade 6 inch wide shovel at the tractor supply and it worked great giving me a hole about 7inches and 10 inches deep! I am now ready to plant my tomatoes and peppers and seeds!
+++ I get a 1/2 yard shoved of mushroom manure with a 1/2 yard of strained top soil on top of it in my pick up for $23 and head back to the farm. I also have a 20 gallon barrel of water with some weak fertilizr mixed in! I will use Osmocote this coming year!
+++ I dig all the holes with two scoops of dirt with the special shoves one scoop oposite from the other and have a wedged hole angling down to about 10 inches deep and the grass rooted soil I get from the holes is put on the perimiter of the plasic to hold it down better! It works great and reinforces the temporary golf tee holders! I think there was about 40 holes in the 10 by 25 area! I could have made them a little closer but it worked fine! No animals bothered the plants because of the plastic I guess! I put the plants in the holes and covered them with the mushroom and top soil and watered them! I did half of the holes with just the soil mix and planted seeds zuccs and sunflowers. All the plants turned out great with only small amounts of weeds in the holes. I planted 4 sections of 10 by 25 and will do it again this year with only a few changes! I put this in inlate summer like july and still had a nice crop!What I like about gardening is there is no rule of thumb for planting just let you imagination do the planting!

[DoubleDogFarm]

Maybe this year cut an X in the plastic instead of 8" opening. May have less weeds around the plants.

My only other thought is plastic adds nothing to the soil.


Eric

[rootsy]

The quickest and easiest way, plus a real back saver, especially if you laid all that plastic by hand already and you are now dog tired... is to use a propane torch to burn the openings vs cutting them... The torch makes a nice round hole in the plastic...

One big issue with plastic is water to the root zone... those small holes don't allow for nearly enough water to the plant, especially during hot stressful mid summer times when the plant is bearing fruit. An area covered in plastic nearly creates a desert under it... Strips of plastic are better but it really helps to have a drip or soaker hose beneath the plastic strip.

Once your plants are up and growing a dash of trifluralin in the hole with a bit of water will keep the weeds at bay around your seedling.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Effects on Aquatic Organisms
Trifluralin is toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms. However, its strong adsorption to soil and the usual practice of incorporating trifluralin into the soil at the time of application may prevent exposure of fish to this herbicide. Run-off from fields should be avoided. Contamination of open waters during mixing and loading operations by rinseate from the cleaning of application equipment or by accidental spills should be avoided (2). Trifluralin is toxic to Daphnia, a small freshwater crustacean (Hdbk. Acute Tox. Chem. Fish and Aqua. Invert. 1986).
Effects on Other Animals (Nontarget species)
At exposure levels well above permissible application rates (100 ppm), trifluralin has been shown to be toxic to earthworms. However, permitted application rates will result in soil residues of approximately 1 ppm trifluralin, a level that had no adverse effects on earthworms. (10, Proc. NZ. Weed Pest. Control Conf. 35th: 328. 1982). In general, trifluralin is not very toxic to higher animals (except fish) (8 ). Birds are very resistant to trifluralin (4, 8 ). It is non-toxic to bees (3, 8 ).

more here.
https://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/pyrethrins-ziram/trifluralin-ext.html

[applestar]

I've always wondered what people DO with those plastic mulches after the plants are harvested. I imagine it's much easier to unroll the thing than to roll them back up with all the soil and debris.

If you leave them on the ground, no doubt they would disintegrate into tiny bits that get tilled into the soil or blow around, breaking down and leaching their chemical components, injested by animals and birds, getting washed into the waterways to affect the aquatic life, etc. Also, I don't suppose they're recyclable, so does that huge mass now go in the landfill or to the incinerator?

Have you seen the biodegradable ones made from corn? -- probably GMO corn though....

[DoubleDogFarm]

Have you seen the biodegradable ones made from corn? -- probably GMO corn though....

Just imagine losing your farm, from the use of a GMO roll of mulch.


Eric

[Bobberman]

I've always wondered what people DO with those plastic mulches after the plants are harvested. I imagine it's much easier to unroll the thing than to roll them back up with all the soil and debris.

If you leave them on the ground, no doubt they would disintegrate into tiny bits that get tilled into the soil or blow around, breaking down and leaching their chemical components, injested by animals and birds, getting washed into the waterways to affect the aquatic life, etc. Also, I don't suppose they're recyclable, so does that huge mass now go in the landfill or to the incinerator?

Have you seen the biodegradable ones made from corn? -- probably GMO corn though....

+++ I usually use black plastic for two years but the clear seems to only last a year. I discard it after I use it and never let it in the garden! I guess the light going through the clear makes it loose structure ! I also punch small holes in the plastic to get more water under the plastic! I put the plastic down when the grond is wet and the plastic holds in the moisture for a long tme1 you will start to see more products made from organic materials even some plastics!

[DoubleDogFarm]

We've been using vegetable cellulose bags for about a year now. Our customers appreciate that our salad and stir fry mix come in biodegradable bags.

Eric

[garden5]

Apps, why wouldn't the plastic be recyclable ?

I know of someone that covers his whole garden in plastic and plants through holes in it. Also, I've heard that it will increase yields in squash and sweet potatoes.

However, I just think that, although it's a little more work, hay, straw, and grass mulches do almost as good a job of weed-prevention and are so much better for the soil.

[gixxerific]

Apps, why wouldn't the plastic be recyclable ?

I know of someone that covers his whole garden in plastic and plants through holes in it. Also, I've heard that it will increase yields in squash and sweet potatoes.

However, I just think that, although it's a little more work, hay, straw, and grass mulches do almost as good a job of weed-prevention and are so much better for the soil.

Most plastic sheeting as I know it is not recyclable though it is reusable. I could be wrong. As far as plastic for sweet potatoes I have yet to see a problem from NOT using plastic.

[garden5]

I guess I'm just of the mind-set that if it's plastic...it's recyclable.

Gix, it sounds like you had a good sweet potato season this year.

[applestar]

In my municipality, only plastic that can be put out on the curve are #2 bottles and jars -- milk, soda, peanut butter, etc. Tubs and trays are excluded even if they're #2.

No plastic bags, though most grocery stores have grocery and veg bag recycling -- not #4 (I think) zip bags. As of this new year, they've added paper cartons which we're supposed to put in with glass and plastic rather than paper for "easier sorting." No aluminum foil trays. Certainly not plastic sheeting.

At the local Whole Foods' eating area, they have sorted recycling bins including ones for aluminum and plastic trays. I don't know if that means they DO recycle them or they just want them separated out.