lake Michigan shore line/Mason county | I have read a few books on the concept of weed control using steel without chemicals. It is said that EVERY acre of farm ground is full of weed seeds that just need the right conditions to germinate. So if we have weed free fields from using chemicals for many years the weed seeds are still there waiting for their chance to grow. NEVER is a field clean from seeds, just controlled. OK, I get that, but my question is how did the weed pressure get so bad today? When I was growing up my Granddad had beef cattle and raised corn to fill a silo and ear pick. He NEVER sprayed. I grew up riding a Farmall H cultivating. Did he have weeds? Yes he did, but not real bad and always had enough corn for his needs. When I was old enough to have a voice "1980" I demanded we use Attrazine like all our neighbors did. Today I cant raise corn without chemicals there. I have tried. The weeds do much better than the corn that never even produces much. So what is different? I have a hobby of watching old dealer films of different farm equipment brands. Sometimes you can see an old tractor in a field of beans or corn, as far as you can see in the rows, no weeds. Some are BIG fields. Did they hand clean these fields before filming, or was the weed pressure that much less? If it was less, what did we do to make the pressure increase and how can we make it let up? Has anything
changed with weeds, or are things pretty much the same as always? |
thoughts on weed control without chemicals??
