u/RentInside7527

I'm prepping a new quarter acre block for production and I've been battling Canada thistle. My plan had been to so oats and field pea cover crop until it in but the thistle keeps coming back so quickly I think it will outcompete a cover crop at this rate. I'm leaning towards tarping sections off and trying to exhaust some of the thistle through occultation. Online I've seen 8, 12 even 14 mil silage tarp and it's expensive. I saw it recommended to just buy it from your local Farm Store to save from the shipping cost. My local farm store has silage Tarpon sizes I'd like and much more affordable however it is 5 mil.

Does anyone have experience with occultation using silage tarps this thin? I get that it probably won't last as long, but is this thickness still workable without being too precious with it? Thanks in advance for any feedback you might have

I listen to a lot of small farming and gardening podcasts and there are some "big" names in local compost and soil that I hear about repeatedly, that arent anywhere close to us.

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The east coast has Vermont Compost Company.

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The midwest has Tilth Soil.

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Do we have any local companies enthusiastic about quality compost and soil mixes for small farms and serious gardeners?

I recently acquired a paper pot transplanter, trays, and a few boxes of the paper chains from a small farm that went under. Former farmers left it behind so I dont have a means to ask them about it. I decided to try it out this season on some alliums and have come to realize there is going to be a learning curve.

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The first issue arose trying to fill trays with my seed starting mix that contained coarse perlite. I ran into issues with filling the cells sufficiently to maintain their shape without the stretcher in place. On the first couple trays, once I removed the stretcher frame, the cells compressed to the point that the holes in the quick click seeder did not align. I ended up getting fine perlite and mixing a new batch of seed starting mix (Elliot Colman's soil block recipe), and it worked better, but I still feel like I could fill them more so they maintain their shape better.

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The next issue was the seeder. I had allium seeds shoot all over the place, end up between the plexiglass plates, etc. I took it all apart, cleaned it, and assume I just need to tighten the screws down better to reduce the tolerances between moving parts, but I would love any tips or tricks folks have come up with along the way.

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Then were the issues I ran into with actual transplanting. I have soils with significant amounts of clay, and quickly realized the importance of good tilth on the soil surface. When it was chunky, it didnt work very well, so I ran the tiller over the beds and that helped, but didnt solve every issue. With the individual bulbing onions, it seemed like some of the water soluable glue thats supposed to release as you transplant (mainly at the top of the cells) wasnt releasing. Instead, when the transplanter was pulled, they tore, and the tension on the cells already in the ground pulled them to the surface, leaving them planted to shallow. I found myself teasing apart several rows of cells, dragging the transplanter until I saw tension, then repeating.

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The other issue I had was that the onions would drop out of the bottom of the cells, presumable from not being filled sufficiently.

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Fortunately the bunching onions came apart and planted great. They were the saving grace that gave me hope for the system and really demonstrated how easy it could be, should everything go well.

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Lastly, im looking for tips on irrigation. I laid drip tape down the rows right after planting, but it seems like theyre drying out. Im wondering if this system works better with overhead irrigation, at least long enough for the roots to penetrate the soil beneath the cells. Im considering setting up wobblers at least long enough to get them set up. Is this something anyone has run into?

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I know this is a long post. Thanks for any tips.

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Tl;dr: im looking for:

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- tips on filling cells full, so they dont shrink and fail to align with quick click seeder

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- tips on the quik click seeder and keeping seeds from getting stuck between panels or getting launched everywhere

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- tips on transplanting when the cells dont want to seperate

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- do you need to overhead irrigate after transplanting to keep get plants established before drip tape?