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Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Going to be tilling under a lot of manure and before I do that I want to be sure I am prepared.

I see that most people pull up the vines and dispose of them in trash or burn or ... I assume this is to prevent disease in the future? If so, should we also be pulling/burning/etc. the weeds that have grown? Based on several diaries it seems that as the season wains, so does are weed pulling such that the weeds have grown quite a bit at the end of the season. The weather is still warm enough so should I Round-Up them before tilling? Thanks

10/23/2006 9:14:39 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

If they're hard to control vineu perennial weeds then "yes", Roundup first. Most weeds though can be tilled under & forgotten.

Rarely do weeds harbor the same diseases but diseased vines should be removed depending on the disease.

Example:

Fusarium will spread from ANY shread of leaf or vine left behind....so burning would be desirable since any raking or ripping action will leave behind some infected residues.

Powdery Mildew - doesn't matter at all. The spores cannot live without a live host. Since fresh new inoculum is always in the jet stream, no amount of sanitation is required. Your spores could never reinfect you unless they landed in some other hemisphere for the winter & then made the journey home again. LOL

10/23/2006 11:08:49 PM

Lexington, Ky

Unless your vines are nearly dried, they will give you and your tiller a headache. They don't cut up very well and will wrap around your tines. I've also had the same trouble with tall weeds. I remove vines, mow, then till...so much easier.

Jamie

10/24/2006 9:38:03 AM

Long Island,New York

Steve...when we pull the vines we leave 50% of the plant in the ground in the form of roots....does removing every shred of a leaf really make any difference? By the time we pull the vines half or more of the original leaves are toast and half decomposed...fusarium and all. I don't believe that it makes too much difference if you don't get the shreds....pull the vines out of the patch ok....but if its there its there.............G

10/24/2006 7:35:35 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

No Glenn...removing the vines of diseased plants is a wasted effort. I'm thinking that the best bet would be to pile dry hay in the patch & burn it. Fusarium is only supposed to live in the upper couple inches of soil. So getting it hot enough - long enough - should not only turn the old vijnes to ash but also kill the pathogens & return the nutrients back to the soil. Kills weed seeds too.

Trouble is...I can see the police, fire trucks , News reporters, lawyers & court orders now...sigh

10/25/2006 12:08:35 AM