Organic question for Hobby etc.

[sumdumguy]

Would you say thistles are the worst threat to an organic farm? Seems to me that Canada Thistle patches just spread out forever. How do you manage them?

[farmaholic]

I can't speak for the organic guys but before we started continuous cropping summerfallow kind of held things in check, kind of had to starve them out. Keep them trying to grow and use dead rods. Until glyphosate became cost effective it was patch treatments and summerfallow for us. Banvel products in crop then the clopyralid savior came along. I realize that isnt an organic response.

Does a 4-5 year alfalfa crop get rid of them?

[hobbyfrmr]

Originally I was using less tillage. Then came a thistle fiasco on second crop barley. The neighbours were aghast and rightfully so. There as a good crop there but nobody looked at that and rightfully so. I went looking to do better. Now I till according to the moon phase, use spikes not shovels, and rod weeder follows about 4 days after. It's pretty kooky and weird but I seem to have thistles in check......for now.
My hired helper is 65 and he started with me on the year of the thistle fiasco. He was extremely skeptical about the success of organic farming. Now, he makes me aware of the calendar/full moon!
I'm not saying it's right, I don't know that. Everything wants to live and propogate whether we till or spray. So thistles are in check, now it's wild oats and wild mustard that make problems.
The fields are never as picture perfect as the neighbors and there are definite failures on this farm! I care about my blance sheet and providing for my family. Same as everyone.