"We are a 3-acre farm, currently with livestock, fruits and vegetables during season. We sell at local markets and are gradually expanding. We have been farming this land for 5 years. We rotate the vegetables each season and have used buckwheat as cover crop. Our soil is clay, but the gardens have been amended with manures and straw. The soil is rich and friable. Current weed control consists of hands and a torch as well as cover cropping. The perennials are killers and we pull, cut and torch them."

The Erickson Farm is an integrated vegetable/livestock farm

Production approach: Natural (chemical free)
Rotations: Vegetables
Cover crops: Buckwheat
IPM used: None
Tillage: Garden tiller, disk for larger areas
Soil amendment program: Manure, compost, micro-nutrients as needed
Soil tests: Click HERE.

Field was visited 5/11/09. Despite a wet Spring, soils were were in good condition. A thick patch of Canada thistle was observed occupying a growing area just west of the house. Nancy has been trying to grow strawberries in this area, but the thistle has now made it impossible. Nancy will use 2009 to treat the area and hopefully clear the thistle so strawberries can be re-established in 2010. The following plan was developed with Nancy:

1. Till area multiple times. The garden tiller will be used 2-3x before planting sudangrass.

2. Plant sudangrass. Seed will be located and sudangrass will be planted in early June at a recommended rate of 55 lbs/acres in area tilled.

3. Mow and graze (goats maybe) sudangrass at 4-6', just as thistles are starting to flower. Sudan should be at least 4' tall.

4. Sudan will be mowed or grazed again. A second mowing will prevent any thistle from flowering and help build up a thick layer of biomass to smother thistle.

5. Sudan will be tilled under in Fall or following Spring.

Second visit to the Erickson farm was conducted August 18, 2009. Eric reported the thistle patch was roto-tilled three times and planted to sudangrass on June 1, 2009. At the time of the second visit, sudangrass was 6'+ tall and thick. Thistle was observed growing in the standing sudangrass. Thistle growing in the sudangrass was flowering and had been for some time. Eric mowed the sudangrass with a bushhog the afternoon of my visit.

Follow up contact will be made next Spring to determine measure of thistle sprouting in the treated area.

A brix reading was taken on a single stalk of sudangrass taken from the treated area. Brix reading was 4.8.