Quote:
Originally Posted by dice
That Black Walnut tree could skew your results (juglone).
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I know. That's why I mentioned it. If I can make it work under the worst possible conditions including an allelopath, then there really is no excuse for others in good prime ground not to make it work. But the plot I will plant will be large enough that there should be only a corner near enough the tree to be effected. So I will be able to tell hopefully one more possible environmental effect.
Remember what I said, "So even if my experiment is a complete flop, I still may turn it into a model of what NOT to do to raise tomatoes."
I know some of you guys may think I am crazy. But it isn't as crazy as you might think. When I worked for Calahan seeds in the early 1980's we commonly did test plots on soil over sprayed with herbicides etc.... or purposely planted too closely.... or inoculated with disease....or any number of known bad things .....on purpose. This is how you find out how resilient it is.
I am 50. I already know that no till and mulching works in good conditions. I have done it over 35 years. But a big farmer doesn't always have the option of babying his plants along like we do in gardens. He needs something fast and cheap that works even in horrible conditions and if conditions are good works even better. He also needs it scalable to any size field.
So I will try it under these terrible conditions. I will even keep track with notes on labor materials etc... And we will see if it really is scalable. But like I said. Anyone who wants to try it with me in a better situation is welcome. Or you can wait for the results.