Comments on: Pumpkin update http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/ Daily photo-journal of organic market gardening: growing local food with two acres and some tools...! Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:51:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Mike (tfb) http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1217 Mike (tfb) Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:14:58 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1217 chris: Weeding around here is always, it seems, "intensive weeding"... Your speculation that "a little pigweed won't hurt" I would find kinda funny, if it weren't so alarming. :) You simply don't want to let pigweed get established, which means, going to seed and that seed distributed in your soil through at some point tilling in. Really, some things you don't want to learn the hard way if you can avoid it. I know what you mean about "weeds" sometimes seeming...benign. Often, I weed and find the soil nice and moist, being shaded and all, but the thing is, weeds <i>always</i> get away from you if you look away for a minute at the wrong time... Steve: This year, I'm going to try more a more organized approach to cover cropping, particularly 'cause I'm not going to use any more on-farm manure due to...pigweed seed. The plan so far is oats in August and probably winter rye in September, as sections are harvested and cleared for the season. I'm still working it out. Legumes (clover, etc) will be worked in there, but I'm for now going on the "build organic matter to bind nutrients" rather than trying to add things... So, it's not no-till or any sort of permaculture. We'll see how the plan develops! chris: Weeding around here is always, it seems, “intensive weeding”… Your speculation that “a little pigweed won’t hurt” I would find kinda funny, if it weren’t so alarming. :) You simply don’t want to let pigweed get established, which means, going to seed and that seed distributed in your soil through at some point tilling in. Really, some things you don’t want to learn the hard way if you can avoid it. I know what you mean about “weeds” sometimes seeming…benign. Often, I weed and find the soil nice and moist, being shaded and all, but the thing is, weeds always get away from you if you look away for a minute at the wrong time…

Steve: This year, I’m going to try more a more organized approach to cover cropping, particularly ’cause I’m not going to use any more on-farm manure due to…pigweed seed. The plan so far is oats in August and probably winter rye in September, as sections are harvested and cleared for the season. I’m still working it out. Legumes (clover, etc) will be worked in there, but I’m for now going on the “build organic matter to bind nutrients” rather than trying to add things… So, it’s not no-till or any sort of permaculture. We’ll see how the plan develops!

]]> By: Amanda Olsen http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1178 Amanda Olsen Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:19:16 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1178 There is nothing better than a field of pumpkins! It does seem a little early for the back-to-school/harvest countdown, but then again, this summer has flown by... There is nothing better than a field of pumpkins! It does seem a little early for the back-to-school/harvest countdown, but then again, this summer has flown by…

]]> By: Steve Mudge http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1158 Steve Mudge Thu, 26 Jul 2007 21:45:29 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1158 I was reading an article on no-till agriculture yesterday...was wondering if you put a winter cover crop in at the end of the season for mulching. I've tried imagining doing no-till in my nano-garden but then I don't have anyway of tilling in the compost that we make endless amounts of. Maybe no-till is a technique best left to large scale crops like wheat and canola. I was reading an article on no-till agriculture yesterday…was wondering if you put a winter cover crop in at the end of the season for mulching. I’ve tried imagining doing no-till in my nano-garden but then I don’t have anyway of tilling in the compost that we make endless amounts of. Maybe no-till is a technique best left to large scale crops like wheat and canola.

]]> By: chris http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1157 chris Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:18:43 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/07/23/pumpkin-update/#comment-1157 how intensively do you weed? i figure a little pigweed won't hurt (maybe even help esp since my soil heavy clay). in fact i have some areas in weed cover crops. how intensively do you weed? i figure a little pigweed won’t hurt (maybe even help esp since my soil heavy clay). in fact i have some areas in weed cover crops.

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