While we’ve talked about the benefits of using quality organic products for your farm, you also have to make sure that you keep the weeds at bay in order to ensure that your farm will prosper. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that proper weed management can make or break your organic farm.
Now, weed management is trickier than it seems. This is why we’ve prepared a brief guide to help you out. If you want to know more about this, read on to learn more about how to create a weed management plan for your farm.
Know Your Weeds
Before you do anything about your weed problem, it’s important that you understand what weeds are present on your farm. The type of weeds that are present on your farm will dictate how you deal with them. Knowing the type of weeds is also crucial as it can help you avoid aggravating your weed problem. This is especially true for perennial weeds such as quackgrass. Cutting these weeds will only make your problem worse as each segment can grow into a new plant altogether. Be sure to identify the weeds on your farm so that you can devise a plan to effectively deal with them.
Design Your Crop Rotation to Suppress Weeds
It’s also important that you rotate the crops that you grow. Some weeds are better suited for specific crops. Rotating crops will prevent weeds from becoming adapted to your farm. This makes them infinitely easier to deal with, as having a diverse set of crops will prevent your farm from being overrun with weeds. A simple way to approach this is to plant crops that are easy to clean right after planting weed susceptible crops.
Group Crops Accordingly
Weed management can be a time-consuming chore. You can make this easier by grouping crops with similar management. This will save you a lot of time when it comes to adjusting equipment and will also allow you to block similar crops close to each other when in the field.
Have the Right Tools
Speaking of equipment, you’ll want to make sure that you’re well-equipped to handle weeds. Remember that some crops will require you to use mulch-type weed control, while others will utilize mechanical weed control equipment.
Create a Weed Control Calendar
Timing is everything when it comes to weeds. Attempting to get rid of weeds when they’re fully grown is an exercise in futility. When you’re trying to manage weeds, it’s vital that you are aware of the critical windows of opportunity. You need to get at the weeds while they’re still small. Luckily, these windows are aligned with your crops. There is a sweet spot during the period where the crops are freshly planted and relatively weed-free wherein you can literally nip the problem in the bud and get rid of the weeds.
Conclusion
Hopefully, the information that we’ve laid out in this article helps you effectively manage the weeds on your farm. Trust us when we say that all your hard work will not go to waste. While it may seem like a lot of work, weed management is something that you need to prioritize to ensure that your farm will prosper and thrive.
If you are looking for a reliable supplier of organic agricultural products to help you manage weeds, look no further than Organic AG Products. We are a certified supplier of all organic agriculture products, including fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and more. Check out our complete online store for your organic wholesale and retail needs!