Plastic mulch layer

[ed12345]

Anyone ever use this?

And any issues getting it through amazon

 

[Joe(OH)]

I have a pull type one. I cant imagine pulling one by hand, but maybe it would work?

 

[ed12345]

Looking to mount this behind a rototiller

 

[Ray,IN]

Just what we need, more plastic disintegrating into the soil N water.

 

[M-MAN]

They use it in some good sized fields near me when they plant tomatoes or peppers. Put it down several weeks before planting. Harvest, take up the stakes and twine, mow it down and then take up the plastic.

 

[BobnUt]

Just what we need, more plastic disintegrating into the soil N water.

Guess what ... they actually make Biodegradable mulch

I tried one behind the tractor for a couple years , picking it up was disaster
and yes, then it went to the landfill. decided it wasn't for me

 

[ed12345]

Just what we need, more plastic disintegrating into the soil N water.

Wow! can't believe this site degraded into environmental activism

 

[GChief]

Yeah because more palstics are a good thing

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Anyone ever use this?

And any issues getting it through amazon

Yes, I have posted about plastic gardening many times.
I use a plastic from amazon that is black on one side and white on the other side.
The plastic I use was perfected in Terre Haute in the 60s and 70s so it not new.
I went to college with a chemistry major who helped protect it.
Georgia and Alabama truck farmers use it all the time.
I worked on an old Ford tractor that had an attachment on 3 Pt to install plastic.
I love it. Keeps when weeds down.
I can use fresh horse poo and not worry about the weeds.
We have the best garden ever and the plastic holds the moisture too.
I use the red plow to make a grove in the dirt to put the plastic in and then we kick the dirt on
the edge of the plastic to keep the wind from blowing it away
We remove the plastic at the end of the year.
My boss is happy too. We get a lot of tomatoes using fewer plants.
I highly recommend it

From a previous post this spring.
https://forums.yesterdaystractors.c...h-holes-in-the-plastic.1778309/#post-11651498

 

[will-max dairy]

Anyone ever use this?

And any issues getting it through amazon

My recommendation there is... if you use it, get good plastic that will hold together until you pull it up for disposal...and please... actually pull it up and dispose of it.

My last understanding of "biodegradable" was that the plastic just flaked into microplastic... which would accumulate year over year, even though the particles may become too small to see. Maybe they have actually made a truly degradable film; but I have yet to see it.

I don't use plastic myself, because we have literally a thousand bales of mulch hay at our disposal.

But if I didn't... I would weigh the ramifications of laying plastic and pulling it up for disposal... vs the time, money, fuel and/or herbicides used for tillage and suppressing weeds... and sometimes plastic wins. If you pull it up and dispose of it, then you can always change course next year, or the year after, if another solution presents itself. Right now, I'm considering these new hand tillers that you can buy that run off of your Dewalt or Kobalt battery...

 

[GChief]

microplastic

Microplastics Everywhere

The tiny particles are even in our bodies. What might this mean for our health?

magazine.hms.harvard.edu

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Wow! can't believe this site degraded into environmental activism

AI Summary

To understand how long it takes for plastic to degrade into microplastics, consider the following points:

1. Initial Breakdown: Larger plastic items can take hundreds of years to break down.
2. Environmental Factors: Sunlight, heat, and moisture accelerate the degradation process.
3. Microplastics Formation: Over time, plastics fragment into microplastics, typically within 20 to 500 years.
4. Type of Plastic: Different plastics degrade at varying rates; for example, polyethylene can take longer than polystyrene.
5. Biodegradable Plastics: Some biodegradable plastics may break down faster but still contribute to microplastics.
6. Pollution Impact: Microplastics can persist in the environment indefinitely, affecting ecosystems and wildlife.

 

[GChief]

How long it takes does not matter, there is no version of this that is good

 

[BobnUt]

My recommendation there is... if you use it, get good plastic that will hold together until you pull it up for disposal...and please... actually pull it up and dispose of it.

My last understanding of "biodegradable" was that the plastic just flaked into microplastic... which would accumulate year over year, even though the particles may become too small to see. Maybe they have actually made a truly degradable film; but I have yet to see it.

I don't use plastic myself, because we have literally a thousand bales of mulch hay at our disposal.

But if I didn't... I would weigh the ramifications of laying plastic and pulling it up for disposal... vs the time, money, fuel and/or herbicides used for tillage and suppressing weeds... and sometimes plastic wins. If you pull it up and dispose of it, then you can always change course next year, or the year after, if another solution presents itself. Right now, I'm considering these new hand tillers that you can buy that run off of your Dewalt or Kobalt battery...

Well, THIS is what I was referring to

 

[GChief]

View attachment 123807
Well, THIS is what I was referring to

I would like to see their research on the "no micro plastics". Seems like marketing speak, could be wrong.

 

[will-max dairy]

View attachment 123807
Well, THIS is what I was referring to

Both skeptical and hopeful at the same time...

 

[will-max dairy]

Looking to mount this behind a rototiller

To your actual question... as in, can you pull this behind a rototiller?

That depends on so many factors that are unique to your situation, and what you mean by "rototiller"... as in just a rototiller... or a rototiller behind some form of tractor.



Personally, for a regular rototiller (no tractor involved), even within my own gardens, there are varying levels of what it could pull.

On hard clay, I could pull a haywagon with a rototiller. Same ground after two inches of rain? I couldn't pull a sitting hen off of a nest.

On the hugelkulture beds that are at least a foot deep with composted manure? I have to push the tiller. It won't even pull itself.



On the other hand... the 7' tiller that goes behind the 75HP four wheel drive tractor... has no problems under any of those circumstances. GeoTH's system of haying plastic behind a "tiller" is similar... just on a smaller scale with a smaller tractor and tiller.

 

[ss55]

Anyone ever use this?

And any issues getting it through amazon

Maybe there is a business opportunity there: sandwich the plastic mulch between two layers of cloth to contain the plastic until it can be picked up at the end of the season. Select a cloth that lasts as long or longer than the plastic.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

My plastic surgery says micro plastic is wrecking his business. Micro plastic does wonders for removing wrinkles

 

[Ray,IN]

Wow! can't believe this site degraded into environmental activism

The environment is integral with working the land. Example! Every farmer who leaves natural drainage waterways in a field un-tilled, is an environmental steward of the land.