| SATURDAY May 22th | |
Mary will be at the Matthews Community Farmer's Market from 7:15 to 12:00
We will not be at the Charlotte Regional Farmer's Market this week.
PLANT SALE
All
VEGETABLE PLANTS
SUPPLIES
(Pre-order /pick up only)
Organic Potting Soil for Seeding and Container Planting
Black Castings
Lady bugs at work on Windcrest Farm flat leaf Italian Parsely |
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| Greetings! | |
 By the time you see our smiley, sleepy face on Saturday morning, we have put in two days work just preparing to bring the products we grow to market. First, there's a tour of the greenhouses, hoop houses and fields to see what plants and produce will be prime for market. Then there's the newsletter - sometimes creative, sometimes not. Next it's putting together trays and baskets and labels and grooming and arranging and watering. Finally, there is the decision about what can fit in the truck and what must stay behind. I have driven to market on some Saturdays with plant trays on the dashboard and in my lap because I could not bear to leave something behind or we get a last minute customer request.It is very satisfying to see the truck full of beautiful plants and even more satisfying to see it come home empty. Whether it is plants or produce or flowers, a farmer's market vendor who brings you locally grown, fresh products is always working to grow, select, pick, pack and deliver the best to you on that market day. That's why growers are taking a nap on Saturday afternoon. |
| WEEDS - Why?? | |
What are weeds? Dependant on your perspective, they may simply be "a plant out of place" (Dr. Beal). Or in some cases they may be "plants that are competitive, persistent, and pernicious that interfere with human activities and as a result are undesirable" (Ross and Lembi). Or we can view weeds as "plants whose virtues have not yet been discovered" (Unknown). For me it depends on where the weed is growing, how big it is and how tired I am. At Windcrest Farm we use all the usual organic methods for dealing with weeds - mowing, pulling, hoeing, tilling, mulching, and ignoring. It is good to remember that weeds, just like our vegetable and ornamental plants, are plants that thrive on certain soil conditions. By identifying weeds and knowing their ideal growing conditions, they can give us an idea of our soil's condition and provide us an opportunity to stack the cards in our favor.
There are three books on my current reading list that are helping me understand the "why" of weeds and giving me long-term soil strategies for coping with undesirable plants:
- "Hands-on Agronomy - Understanding Soil Fertility & Fertilizer Use" by Neal Kinsey
- "Weeds - Control Without Poisons" by Charles Walters
- "Weeds and Why They Grow" by Jay L. McCaman
I am still very much a student in this area, but the common theme through these three books is that the mineral balance of the soil must be correct for healthy soil and calcium is the most common missing element when weeds are an issue and desirable plant growth is poor. We know that good soil structure is 25% air, 25% water, and 50% minerals and humus. When the mineral balance is off, we will not get the results we want in the garden and weeds will flourish to fill the gap.
The type of weeds that grow in your garden can add information to your yearly soil test results and help fine tune your re-mineralization and fertilization program. In "Weeds and Why They Grow", Mr. McCaman provides a very handy chart that lists the ideal soil condition for growing over 800 weeds. For virtually every one, the calcium requirement is either low or very low. By adding calcium, I am making the soil less hospitable to weeds.
When the only tool you have to deal with weeds is to "look on the bright side", consider these weed benefits:
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Taps and stores nutrients for later use by crops when they decompose
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Indicates soil condition
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Useful addition for compost and mulch
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Provides nutrients to grazing animals
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Food source - chickweed, young dandelion leaves, nettle.
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Protects the soil surface from erosion
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Can add biomass and nutrients to the soil
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Breaks up hard pans and opens the soil to assist drainage
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Attracts beneficial insects
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