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How to go plastic free from Rogue Bear Farms

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Hemp fields have become synonymous with miles of plastic mulch. The labor-saving ground cover keeps weeds at bay but creates massive waste piles tossed into landfills at the end of the season. While it is the industry go-to for a reason, there are others out there breaking the mold with big success.

We caught up with veteran Southern Oregon flower producer Jeramiah Leonard of Rogue Bear Farms for some insight on how to go plastic free and succeed from the end of one season and into the next.

We do the same thing every year.

Immediately following harvest we remove all of the irrigation and large stalks from the field. We then disk all of the rows into a nice flat field. We broadcast a mixture of legume seed, i.e. vetch, winter peas, clover, and rye. We typically use a larger percentage of the peas. We then wait for the rain. By April the cover crop is usually a foot tall and by May it's about 3-4' tall.

Wait as long as you can, then mow, disk, and make rows as quick as you can and closest to your plant date.

We use a flail mower to really macerate the crop. Then we disk it into the soil and make our rows right after. We then send out water for a day, maybe two, and then we plant. You want to keep this entire process as quick as possible because the cover crop has kept the weeds from growing all winter. Now that it's early summer the weeds will grow quickly. I imagine if we waited to plant in late June the entire process would be even more beneficial. Now with help from your weeding team your hemp will outpace the weed growth.

We have noticed that every year we have less and less weeds.

When we pull weeds we place them at the base of each hemp plant. This acts as mulch, keeping weeds down and moisture in the ground ( if they have gone to seed we remove them). I have some videos on our Instagram page from last year detailing this process.

Since I have never used plastic I cannot talk about water retention. If you talk to anyone that knows me they will tell you that I am a water miser.

I am sure that the plastic helps retain some water but I have never had a problem and I can promise you that our water usage is below average. Also I have been to so many farms that have plastic mulch and it is certainly not a one and done. Weeds know where the water is and they grow right over the mulch and up the plant to find the sun. Any decent farm knows that you still have to hand weed a little.

I am always trying to come up with new ideas to treat weeds.

My father has a Farmall tractor from the 1930s. Being the most popular small tractor from that era there are several cultivators that could also help with weeding. I am sure that the implement manufacturers will be coming out with something specific to hemp farming very soon. A high boy tractor with a cultivator would also help tremendously. I've also spoken with some vineyard owners about weed maintenance. My problem is time. I'm sure there is an easier way than hand weeding but for now it has worked for us. The reason that I am sharing this is because once the implements are available it should help to make plastic free farming a more practical option.

Visit Rogue Bear online at https://www.roguebearfarms.com/

Or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rogue_bear_farms/

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