Hoop House Farming: Ground Cover

Views: 14161 | Last Update: 2009-05-01
Ground cover is good for laying on paths because it keeps ground moist and prevents cracking and other damage that can prevent 2 ground from being planted. Farm and care for plants correctly and safely with tips from an experienced farmer in this free... View Video Transcript

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Danny Botkin

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So, let's talk about maintaining the paths in the hoop house. These dirt paths are very prone to drying out. They are basically giving up moisture, giving up water all of the time. So, we've developed an interesting strategy to keep the paths covered. Many people will mulch their paths, but we go one step farther. We actually lime our paths with a little lime and then we come back and lay down a track of winter rye. This is a cover crop that is often used in the winter to keep the soil covered. We find that in the hoop house by laying down a track of winter rye we can grow an actual grassy path which loses far less water and is also producing valuable biomass. In other wards when this grows and you can see a little bit of it growing down there yonder; we're starting to get it established. This will actually be producing a valuable crop; the crop being compost. So, number one we keep our hoop house from drying out. Number two we're growing biomass; we're growing compost. Number three it's a pleasant grassy environment to walk around in. We don't find the winter rye that noxious or difficult if it gets out of hand we can just cut it or yank it out or even mow it in here. So, there's an interesting idea to keep your paths under good cover and to get some useful product out of it as well.