Tarping is a very effective means of weed control on organic farms and can save time weeding in the fields later in the growing season. A silage tarp proves to be a great tool to prepare seed beds, facilitate the breakdown of leftover crop residue or cover crops and keep weeds at bay.
Hannah Breckbill and Emily Fagan operate Humble Hands Harvest, a worker-owned co-operative farm in Decorah, IA. In this video, Hannah discusses how they got started with tarping on their no-till vegetable farm, how they anchor tarps, timing, challenges, and numerous benefits of tarping to support the health and productivity of their farm.
Hannah and Emily also participated in a PFI research trial "Tarping for No-Till Cover Crop Termination." View the research report here: practicalfarmers.org/research...
For more information, check out "Tarping: Perspectives on a System for Soil Quality, Weed Control and More on Vegetable Farms," a PFI-hosted webinar with Hannah Breckbill and Ryan Maher of Cornell University's Small Farms Program: • Tarping: Perspectives ...
Music by Keith Yoder: www.keithyodermusic.com/