Natural garden

[Ahmed]

Plant biology, I know a lot, yet I remain a poor gardener, but I take care of myself as much as possible, at least I try because it is important in many respects. I do not claim to replace Did, just that of offering a space for discussion to all practices without exclusion, as long as we remain in modes that respect the living.

I open this thread with a thought on weeding carrots in the juvenile stage...
For several years I have been producing carrots with highly variable results. I understand better now some of my failures. A problem that has long limited me in my carrot ambitions is the weeding on the line just at the start of the emergence of young carrots. I tried the cover with potting soil sterilized by composting: it's a good system, but my stock of potting soil is no longer sterile... There is also the fax sowing technique, but its principle seems rather delicate to me to apply. This year, I said to myself that I was going to practice the burn on the line just before the emergence. What gave me this idea was the discovery in my bazaar of a very simple gas thermal weeder (with cartridge); There was a time when this contraption was sold for cleaning driveways and paving joints, a use for which it was remarkably ineffective, which is why it can be easily obtained at garage sales... The reality being that the shock can only really destroy weeds at the seedling stage and that's where I saw the advantage of a light tool, for quick passage over the row. Before yesterday, first application, rather encouraging. The next morning I observe the results and note that some seedlings have been spared due to a clumsy application: I go back over the places concerned and this morning, everything is toast. All this for very little time and gas (on this last point, carrot fanatics or, more seriously, semi-pros can plug the machine into a small portable and rechargeable bottle), whereas it is otherwise tedious and very tedious work when done by hand. I am attaching a photo, not necessarily very clear: it is taken facing the row; on the left and on the right we see the young weeds and we note their absence on the line (in the middle); you can see a few carrot plants that appeared this morning (luckily, this operation was a sudden inspiration on my part, because I was starting to worry about the turn of events).

IMG0097A.jpg (432.71 KB) Viewed times 2728

[Obamot]

Just my two cents of contribution: having at the time a plot with a little too many “white grubs” for my taste (those attacking the roots of course), and before having understood which ones were harmless : I used a method of "sterilizing the earth" on the surface, which was worth what it was worth (assuming it sterilized anything ) it was to put an iron tray in the sun with one to two cm of soil at a time, and to wait until it was completely dry, and therefore very dry, and once "thus solarized", to put it in an empty soil bag and stored in a dry place...

The other side of the coin (as those who regenerate green clay know) is that at the first rain, the soil thus "treated" becomes very fertile again, because the "aerated" structure in depth offers young shoots a favorable ground to develop their roots and anchor themselves (even retain humidity and evacuate excess water).

I had therefore naively, by trial and error, obtained a certain success like that, with more or less success over time, and if I had spent a gas lamp before adding soil treated on the surface (making the shadow desired health which would stop hatching and growth), then put a light mulch* allowing the desired shoots to pass and being added to the “sterile” soil treated, perhaps only the duration of the “no adventitious land” would then have lasted longer, the time necessary?

I then changed the method by arranging 2 rows of boards inclined in a “V” on either side of the seedlings (but on a slight slope), thus arranging myself so that when the rain (or watering) would come , the water would stream on both sides of the axis of the seedlings, and by cheating in this way, almost no seed could fly and come and play spoilsport near the frail shoots.

* with something other than straw containing seeds...

[Ahmed]

Normally, it would have been useless to carry out a heat treatment before spreading your sterilized soil: the covered seedlings would have been destroyed by covering...
The beds are a good idea, but a little laborious for my taste: to be reserved for small areas... I practice in a substantially similar way by systematically sowing in furrows; it contributes to the good alignment of the seeds (at least for the largest ones), marks the furrows before emergence and it then allows a light hilling (in this case simple leveling) or anticipates a real hilling and therefore carries out weeding by covering. The other advantage, as you note, is to direct the water, possibly the rain (if it is strong enough), but above all to channel the water from the watering can.
The "secret" of the success of carrots and other small seeds with slow germination, such as parsley, is to cover little, because their energy reserve is weak and they would be unable to cross 3 cm of ground (a friend has just missed its seedlings as a result), but at the "same time" (sic), they must not dry out while on the surface they are directly exposed to the sun. This therefore requires regular watering or, for small areas, covering with boards or other in order to maintain the humidity; in the latter case, carefully monitor the emergence, otherwise weeding effect guaranteed!

[Obamot]

Yes, a not very big vegetable garden! It was precisely a slightly different “strategy” for parsley, indeed...! The boards in question, quite thin, had been recovered from a “Futon” bed base thrown away. In this case not in a “v” shape but placed on an old damp sheet overhanging the seedling, both cutting off the sun's rays and preserving the humidity before the fragile shoots emerge. Also preventing birds from feasting on it before its time...

These are exciting experiences like these, of nature observation, almost more fun than the harvest itself, there is always a bit of suspense! And when we can afford it when the vegetable garden is a “hobby” certainly very useful for health, develops understanding of the world and humanity, and remains a leisure and even a luxury, as long as it does not directly provide for small family survival! But we get caught up in the game, we always want to do a little more. We give...etc.

It also confronts us with our limits with humility, for example I have never succeeded with peppers, literally being devoured before they have even been able to develop enough to be worth picking them...
A little more luck with basil or eggplant, but not always

[Ahmed]

As far as parsley is concerned, it's a long and quite capricious seed to germinate: one year I tried it 3 times before succeeding. At the end, I turned a piece of gutter over my seeding line and sealed the ends with soil: impeccable result! Without doing anything, the seeds from these plants even, much later, invaded my strawberry beds, so nature is fantastic.
Tonight, 7 mm of rain, it's a record at the moment and it's really welcome...
At this time, it is the end of the first flowering of strawberries, but the lack of water, despite watering, means that the fruits are currently small on average. I will have the opportunity to come back to this rather special culture and the strategies that can be developed...

[izentrop]

The blows of the weeding torch, blah.

I work my boards in winter before the start of vegetation. A shot of "biogrif 5 teeth" every 40 cm, then with a fang I break the clods and extract a maximum of roots (nettles, bindweed...)... no oil.
Compost and shredded wood from my prunings have improved the soil that was originally very clayey.

I give a quicker blow before planting and sowing and it gets dirty again. Winter rains seem to penetrate the soil better. The soil remains moist in depth, better than in the unploughed places.
I do not sow carrots, given their price on the market and I have the opportunity to glean some, on the other hand for 2 years I was missing my parsnip seedlings...

I also make a furrow in a soil loosened in depth but not super refined.
This year I packed in the furrow before sowing quite hard...
Cover the seeds with a thin layer of refined soil, then tamp down again with the edge of the foot.
Copious watering so that it remains moist in depth and the miracle, superb emergence.
The secret is intimate contact with the earth.
I also have to improve my pre-sowing in the indoor nursery, a lot of losses from seed rot. Some seeds are very sensitive to it.
This year I am proud of my raspberries, currently harvesting between 500 gr and 1 kg per day...

The rest of the land is left as wild as possible except for cleared paths...

Without arriving at this result, which must require a lot of work

[Ahmed]

Izy, you write:

The blow of the weeding torch, blah.

However, it is a technique commonly used by professionals... Moreover, the preliminary preparation that you mention (and which is surprisingly similar to mine!* ) does not concern the spontaneous regrowth of weed seeds which is faster than that of carrots...
Further, you write:

The secret is intimate contact with the earth.

There, I am in despair to be entirely of your opinion! Tamp the soil well in the furrow before sowing small seeds (I tinkered with a furrow-bottom press wheel especially for this purpose) and classic filling with a rake after covering (very thin, always in the case small seeds with low energy reserves**).

* I would put a photo of my tools which are basic, but "customized" in order to make it more efficient.
** We fall back into thermodynamics!

[Janic]

better and more effective than the grelinette: the croc!
this one, used in soil scratching only, allows a progressive crumbling of the superficial layer (if it has been left to occur, without making clods/
So on hard ground: pass the croc without forcing it deeply, cover with mulching grass, start again the next day or the following days, the croc will descend by itself each time a little deeper without having to crumble. As stated this aerates the soil without upsetting the layers of progressive decomposition of mulch covers. Ideal for long, non-forked carrots and easy weeding!

[sicetaitsimple]

The blows of the weeding torch, blah.
......
I do not sow carrots, given their price on the market and I have the opportunity to glean some,

If you don't sow carrots, the thermal weed killer isn't very useful to you!
But I confirm that it is a solution used by professionals, I have not practiced it but I have seen it on videos of Jean-Martin Fortier.

[Ahmed]

It could still be useful to him if he sows parsley, although the lengths are not comparable for family use...