Re: Other considertions on Flaming

[Soilculturebiody]

Here are some of my observations and other comments on flaming:

The flame engineering pull behind flamers are finicky machines. The Suburban Propane dealer in Sonoma County has not sold a unit in 2 years. I bought 3 of them (with my clients) 3 years ago and there no been many sales since. As the dealer in So. Co. said "you need to have someone who likes to tinker with propane equipment to make these work right." There are mechanical issues with their operation that need maintenance on a regular basis.

I gave a flame weeding field day, 2000, at which there was no flame weeder present due to the company being unable to get the thing to work before the workshop! Sounds like not much has changed. However, there are units working in So. Co. and I assume that it can be done...with mechanical skills.

With a good quality cover crop in the tractor row (middles) then reentry after rain is less likely to be damaging. We typically use one side (every other row) as the driving row, and have cultivated a wear resistant cover crop and residues to resist compaction.

Light vehicles, ATV, are most often used for flaming. Tire pressure should be checked to aid non compaction concerns.

In that the best, and only, time to flame weeds is when they are very small...and by the nature of flaming, there is no residues left. Not only has there been limited or little root foraging to create channels, little deposition of carbon from a small plant and lack of residues...this leaves the soil under the vines bare and lacking carbon.

Hey, is flaming weeds paramount to ashing!? Naw, just kidding. ?

Anything that removes the plant from under vines/trees reduces the health of the soil in that area. Persistent use of a flame weeder, herbicides or mechanical tillage results in poor soil structure and resultant soil compaction. I have investigated old vineyards that have never used a herbicide in which the soil under the vines is as hard or harder than the "tire tracks" in the tractor row. We dug pits and examined how deep the compaction was under the vines....2-3 feet, with few fine roots, small pores spaces and poor structure. Earthworms were not present under the vines but were isolated in the "strip" of soil in between the vine row and the tire track area, that was not compacted.

Loss of the plant(s) from under vines/trees also creates the loss of beneficial insect habitat, and the loss of a physical "bridge" which acts to enable beneficial insects to gain access to the vines/trees. A bare strip of soil under the vines discourages spiders, others to get over to the vine from the cover crops in the tractor row. Take some time and watch them...its clear that more insects access the vines if there is cover under them.

Removal of plants from under vines/trees might be considered as a (occasional) part of a weed management rotation including cover crops. I see a tendency to think of the flame weeder as an ultimate tool....without consideration of the plants role in soil health. Often times the "under the vine/tree" soil space can represent 33-75% of the total soil surface area. Having that much of the soil surface bare, on a consistent basis, results in soil compaction.

I know...we need all the help we can get managing weeds. It is a day to day learning process. I just know where I have under the vine cover crops...I dont have weeds.

How about a rotation over 3 years (with site specific timing) like this...also does not have to be the same in each row. We have some routines with every other row...some with every 3-4 row, that allows for more on site learning.
Hoe plow
Flame
Vinegar
Cover crop
Mow under vines
Mow centers and blow under vines
Weed badger
Hoe plow

Bob