Since I began this thread, I thought I'd add some stuff that I chose NOT to initially.
1) According to an Environmental Science Professor who taught 3 classes that I took about a decade ago
(a) Use correct insecticides/herbicides sparingly
(b) Use manure/compost in the Fall to fertilize for Spring planting
( I got my "A's", still have my notes, and this Professor wanted everybody to give up chemical fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides, if possible, even then. )
2) Nobody has used any chemicals on my 5 acres since we bought the property in 1999.
3) MY fertilizer comes from my three horses and (right now) 6 chickens.
I know about weed seeds staying in the soil for even decades. I have heard someone say recently that weeds have the purpose of filling in where the soil has been exposed to keep it from blowing away. I agree. I don't hate weeds, just want to control them.
I have burdock growing along my fence lines. Here is what the fences look like:
(Buster Brown was trying to take the halter off of Sweet Cup&Cakes)
THIS is where I want to kill all vegetation for one year, bc it is SOOOOOO time consuming to cover or chop or cut, and the burdock has increased over the years. It is a 2 year crop. The first year you get leaves, and no seeds until year #2. If I can break that cycle, I'll greatly reduce the number of burdock.
Burdock leaves are medicinal and my horses do eat them, but they don't like them enough to clean up the mass quantity. A horse will eat everything else around a soybean in his grain bowl and leave the one thing that he/she doesn't like. Thanks, ponies!!
I already cut it down and burn it, especially this winter, but you can't help miss some of the seeds.
