Soil Steamer Helps Grower Control Weeds, Pathogens

Soil Steamer Helps Grower Control Weeds Pathogens CROPS Weed Control After struggling to control a soil fungus called sclerotinia that was attacking some of his most profitable crops Curtis Millsap of Millsap Farms in Springfield Mo applied for a SARE grant to obtain a soil steamer to treat the problem Sustainable Agriculture Research & Eduction; https://www sare org/Grants Curtis grows organic garden produce for his CSA which limits methods that can be used to treat diseases and pests After trying some high cost products to deter the black node-like fungus that was killing 50 to 70 percent of his lettuce plantings alone he went looking for other methods and heard about soil steamers European producers have used steam treatments to kill soil pathogens and weeds for many years but the idea is relatively new in the U S Curtis located a mid-1970’s soil steamer in Vermont and was awarded a SARE grant to purchase the machine The used soil steamer cost $4 000 a brand new soil steamer can cost $20 000 or more Curtis invested an additional $1 500 in repairs and parts and another $1 000 into hoses and tarps To use the soil steamer the unit is parked next to the growing beds A diesel burner boils water then pushes steam at 15 psi into a 2-in dia 50-ft hose which is used to direct steam into a planting bed A steam “soaker hose” further distributes the steam into the entirety of the bed The bed must be tarped and sealed to hold in the steam “You need a pretty decent seal ” Curtis says He uses 6-mil Plastic buried along the edges or sealed with sandbags As the steamer heats up the tarp will puff up and a cloud of steam is seen above the bed Curtis treats the top 2 in of soil to 180 degrees It takes about 2 hrs to steam-treat a 3-ft by 100-ft bed – about the same amount of time it takes to set up the system Curtis says Each treament takes between 5 to 10 gal of diesel fuel He noted that the method gives almost complete weed and pathogen control He is very pleased with how the soil steamer solved his immediate problem but is not sure what the long term effects on soil health might be To date Millsap Farms has steam-treated 27 000 square feet of their covered growing space since aquring the soil steamer in the summer of 2019 and Curtis hopes to move to selective steaming every 2 to 3 years now that the problematic soil fungus is under control Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Millsap Farm 6593 N Emu Lane Springfield Mo 65803 ph 417-839-0847 www millsapfarms wordpress com; Millsap Farm on Facebook and Instagram

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