Grey Duck Garlic
Sustainable Practices:
- Benefits of growing sustainably
- Control weeds the easy organic way
At Grey Duck Garlic farm we believe in farming in a sustainable fashion. We grow our garlic organically because it is better for the land.
One benefit of farming organically is a large ecosystem of wildlife, birds and insects
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As we weeded this spring, two small theatrical birds tried to district us with loud cries and dramatic death scenes (see picture above left). Kildeer use amateur theatrics to lead potential predators away from their shallow nests. Often they pretend to have a broken wing or throw themselves on their backs and let their wings flop in convincing convulsions.
Since we didn't want to step on the Kildeer nest we needed to find it. This is easier said than done since nests and eggs are very well camouflaged. To triangulate the nests position, we let the birds lead us in different directions. The direction they didn't lead us in was where the nest was located. Walking gingerly, Susan finally found the nest nestled in the garlic plot with four speckled eggs (picture above left).
Later that week we were lucky enough to be in the field weeding when the babies started hatching. As the chicks hatch the parent birds remove the old egg shells. See below for pictures of cute little chicks hatching.
Organic Weed Control the Grey Duck Garlic Way
Controlling weeds organically can be done the smart way or the hard way. Since we have done it both ways you can learn from our experience! Just to be fair we'll outline both methods.
Controlling Weeds the Hard Way
1) Plant garlic and 'forget' to mulch.
2) Do not bother to control small weeds because 'they are not too bad yet' and 'a little competition is good for the crop.'
3) Look out and see that weeds are towering over garlic ... use several words that your 4 year old immediately picks up on and starts using in front of grandma.
4) Either: weed until your hand bleeds, your back aches and your 4 year old forgets who you are and starts calling you, "that grumpy person who smells like garlic." OR do not weed because, after all, weeds are natural, and end up harvesting garlic bulbs the size of small grapes.
5) Either way, vow to never plant garlic again.
Controlling Weeds the Easy and Smart Way: Tips on how to minimize weeds without breaking your back:
1) Mulch your field. Mulch protects the plant in the winter and stifles weed growth in the spring.
2) Get on top of weeds early in the spring. Don’t wait until weeds are a foot high to start controlling them or you will be breaking your back all summer.
Right: Chris and Nate remove some stubborn Canada thistles from fallow field.
3) Rotate your garlic and use a cover crop to smother out weeds. If you have a bad weed problem, make sure to turn over your cover crop before the weeds bloom.
4) Don’t let patches of noxious weeds spread. Try extreme measures on really bad weed spots; like black plastic on top to kill weeds or extremely heavy mulch.
Here are long term sustainable methods to reduce weed growth over time:
1) Enlist your farm animals in the war against weeds. Our cows don’t roam in our garlic field but they do keep down weeds in their pasture which is next to the garlic plots. We have found that weeds don’t respect fence lines. Rhizomes and seeds readily cross over to our growing areas.
Left: Our Nubian goats chow down on a wagonload of weeds.
Unlike most goats, cows don’t naturally eat thistles and weeds unless they are taught to do so by a friendly rancher or their Mama. For a story about how to get cows to eat weeds see Women vs. Weeds. For tips on how to train your cows to eat Canada thistle see Training Your Cow to Eat Weeds. Weeds are a great nutrient source for your grass munching friends. Canada thistles are equal to young alfalfa in nutritional content.
2) Try to have zero tolerance for weeds going to seed. One Canada thistle can have over 1500 seeds and 90% of these seeds can germination within the next year. Even if weeds get away from you, remove the flower buds by cutting or mowing. Consider the time spent removing one seed head in the fall versus trying to dig up hundreds of new weed seedlings the next spring.
3) Control weeds on the edges of your growing areas; these weeds drift into your plot.
4) Plant non-invasive and native plants to displace and out-compete weeds. Weeds usually come in to fill a vacuum on disturbed soil.
5) As you control weeds, weed seeds in the soil will be slowly depleted. This will result in fewer weeds over time. I once talked to a farmer in his mid-80’s who had several hundred acres of wheat he had hand weeded for years. His wheat had no weeds in it at all. He told me he just had to walk the field edges to make sure weeds didn't sneak in from the neighbor's fields.
