A Little Help Please

[LazySusanFarms]

We will be planting our first 350 pecan seedlings this fall and have a question for the group. The biggest challenge for the health of seedlings is the competition for moisture so most tree farmers keep the area surrounding each tree free of plant and grass material. We do not want to use any kind of herbicide to keep the 5' x 5' are around the tree free of grass.

Assuming that there will be no obstructions (tree stakes, etc), what would be the best mechanical approach to keeping the area grass free?

 

[Western]

Maybe a thick layer of mulch. The small trees I have seen here (pecans) have large mounds of dirt,maybe a foot tall them. I have seen laborers out with weed eaters working around the young trees. Sunday I saw an older pecan orchard with cows fenced in, common here.

 

[LazySusanFarms]

Maybe a thick layer of mulch. The small trees I have seen here (pecans) have large mounds of dirt,maybe a foot tall them. I have seen laborers out with weed eaters working around the young trees. Sunday I saw an older pecan orchard with cows fenced in, common here.

Once the trees get a little older, you can graze cattle in the field without too much harm from rubbing. When the trees are smaller, deer rub can be a big problem, especially here where deer are very plentiful.

 

[randy41]

landscape fabric may work. the ground has to be bare before laying it down.

 

[remington270]

Weed eating along with mulch will be your best bet. May I ask why no herbicides? I believe it will be much more expensive, time consuming, and harder work without them.

 

[handirifle]

Might be planning on getting them certified Organic. You can't use pesticides or herbicides anywhere near them. That's my guess.

 

[dusty3030]

Read up on flame cultivators and flaming weeds.
Fast and organic.
Might have to build your own, but that is what pops to my mind.

Worked good on cotton, cotton plants have a woody stem like a tree and makes me think this would be a good organic alternative in your orchard as well.

You don't have to hold the flame on the weed, just brushing over the green vegetation kills the weed.

 

[dusty3030]

Read up on flame cultivators and flaming weeds.
Fast and organic.
Might have to build your own, but that is what pops to my mind.

Worked good on cotton, cotton plants have a woody stem like a tree and makes me think this would be a good organic alternative in your orchard as well.

You don't have to hold the flame on the weed, just brushing over the green vegetation kills the weed.

Red Dragon Vineyard & Orchard Flamers

 

[remington270]

Looks dangerous!

 

[dusty3030]

Looks dangerous!

Nahh. Fire is cool.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WRi4symVxo]Beavis N Butthead - Light It First Then Spray - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Raider43]

You have your work cut out for you. Start out proper and clear the 5 foot area totally free of grass and weed roots. Use landscape fabric or news paper and then get hardwood mulch from any tree companies in the area which may have for free. Load on a 3 or 4 inch layer and you should be good for two or three years weed free. That will give the seedlings time to set their roots. Any weed or grass that does come up will be minor and easy to remove annually.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Just a bit dangerous to your pocketbook what with the price of propane today. We used the old flame cultivator on the farm back in the 60's when propane was about 15 cents a gallon with good results on grass in cotton, but they used a LOT of propane with the burners using 60 PSI gas pressure, they sucked a 200 gallon tank dry in 1/2 day or less and that was with a 2 row rig (2 burners per row). With propane about $2 a gallon or so now, probably not a good option unless nothing else will do.