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Point Reyes

I am wondering if it would make sense to till the remains of my plant back into my patch. I realize this increases risk of disease next year, but I also don't have enough space to rotate my patch, so I want to return as many nutrients as possible to the soil.

Are there any best practices on this?

10/13/2022 10:24:30 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

We always clear all plant matter from the patch before prepping for next year and planting the cover crop. Best practices seem to be the same consensus with majority of growers I know.

10/13/2022 10:30:36 AM

Grittyville, WA

I wonder if you could innoculate the plant material with good microbes before tilling it in, if that would help. But I wont claim to have a foolproof method, its confusing to know what (if anything) a person is promoting in the patch as far as brewing up compost tea or something it seems like there are far more ways to get it wrong than to get it right.

So just an idea.

10/13/2022 11:44:59 AM

Mission Viejo, CA

Chris, I personally want to get 100% of the plant out of the patch. If you have any un-diagnosed pathogens, you will be tilling them in and incubating them over the winter.

Best practices for growers wanting to add nutrients include planting a cover crop where climate permits. Mighty Mustard is a popular choice.

10/13/2022 12:12:19 PM

50 Acres

I always take everything to the landfill dump and start fresh each year. Jim

10/13/2022 1:14:03 PM

Wisconsin

Ive been tilling them in since 2019, i did remove one plant in 21 mid season as i wasnt sure what was wrong with it at the time, i do not grow back to back years though

10/13/2022 9:56:30 PM

Kutztown, PA

I took 3 of 4 out this year but in general remove them all. Even so there's no way you'll get all of the roots out so if the plants diseased I doubt taking the vines out much matters. On the other hand if the leaves have a lot of powdery mildew of them or something of that nature you certainly want to get those spores out of the patch to control that as much as possible. Something to consider is how much organic matter you already have in the soil. I was told by the lab the sweet spot is about 5%. My fall test indicates mine is at 18% right now. That will decrease over the winter somewhat as it's processed by bacteria, but for that reason, I'm clearing everything off the surface of the patch and doing a chisel till to get some oxygen in the soil so the aerobic bacteria can do there work. I guess that was a long answer to a short question but organic matter matters:)

10/14/2022 8:55:49 AM

Plymouth, MN

I remove everything I can from the patch.

10/14/2022 12:13:32 PM

Grittyville, WA

@Garwolf I think the age of the organics is what matters? There would be nothing wrong with growing in the right type of peat moss because its very old and inert, even though its 100% organic?? My best year came in at 19% organic matter. But that 19% wasnt fresh stuff it was mostly composted for a few years. The fresh organics comes with a few issues which arent helpful, ones which I wont go into, thats its own discussion!

10/14/2022 12:53:30 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

I have no idea where Point Reyes is, but we get infested with Vine Borers here and at least 2 cycles. Even with a systemic, a few grubs get by, and I still find them in plants through October.

That being said, I remove and get rid of so I don't bury unwanted pests and disease into the plot for next year. I don't rotate either.

10/14/2022 1:42:52 PM

Kutztown, PA

Gritty, I'm not sure If I follow. My thinkin presumes the lab is correct and 5% is the sweet spot. I guess that concentration is the amount of OM the lab thinks is necessary to provide the required nutrients during the season when broken down by microbes. I'm really thinking of green matter like weeds etc. that I don't want to incorporate in the soil. Inert materials would be fine. If that was all there was to it then I might think "the more the merrier" but my soil hold a lot of moisture so If I add more OM then it wont drain as well. Where am I going wrong? Also, what's the best long gourd seed out there? Thinking of giving that a try too next season.

10/14/2022 1:48:51 PM

Kutztown, PA

OM is an interesting topic.

10/14/2022 3:12:29 PM

Grittyville, WA

Its my understanding that the test for organic matter wont distinguish between inert OM and biologically active OM. Disease, pests, cation exchange, soil acidity, and nutrient availability wont all be the same with every type of OM. 5% woodchips would act different in the soil than 5% biochar, for example...?

This could be an interesting discussion, I hope someone will pick it up in a new thread or I guess we can just get off topic here... idk.

10/14/2022 3:32:05 PM