Last night, as we walked through the Big Tunnel, checking out the tomato blossoms and talking about whether to start the CSA in the first week of June, or wait a week, I absentmindedly plucked weeds from the lettuce.
Exiting the tunnel, I looked down at the weeds clenched in my fist. A single fistful of weeds. That’s it. A full row of lettuce, and thanks to the landscape fabric, only a measly clump of very determined grass and Lady’s Thumb managed to squeeze around some of the lettuces.
We’ve learned lessons about being careful with when and where we put fabric down (early spring in a tunnel is risky because of voles). But when fabric is successfully put to use, it’s life changing when it comes to weeds.
This is my third season dealing with a chest problem that’s most definitely irritated by vigorous weeding by hand or with a hoe. (I’ll write a post about this eventually.) To casually pluck a few weeds in less than a minute feels like a miracle.
In this next photo, you can just see another lettuce row - with no landscape fabric - on the far right side of the tunnel. This lettuce was weeded at least three times, and is still on the verge of going out of control. Tending the lettuce by hand on this farm requires hand weeding and hoeing. The hand weeding is necessary to pluck out stubborn grasses by their roots. While the best rule to follow is to hoe before you even see baby weeds, this gets very difficult with two people (especially when one of us has a full-time job off farm).
Today, I’ll likely hand weed that lettuce row on the far right again. But knowing that I only have two lettuce rows right now to hand weed with no landscape fabric is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
As you can see, we’re also putting grass clippings and straw to use this year around long-haul crops like tomatoes and peppers. The very fact that we now have time and energy to rake up grass clippings says a lot about how things are always improving around here. (Hopefully getting a sweeper for the clippings soon.)
As for the life of the landscape fabric, it isn’t like single-season plastic. Fabric can last for decades if used properly.
The grass clippings, straw, and fabric all take a little more time and effort when you transplant, but escaping the physical, mental - and financial - toll of weeds is beyond worth it.
~ Stella
