The Red Baron Project year three

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by JJJessee

I'm still not sure I have a good picture.

8 sf x 500 tomatoes = 4000 sf ~ 1/10 of an acre
As an example, I would have laid out as 10 -100' rows with 50 tomatoes per row, the row 4' centers

So you had 2'x 300' rows, covered in mulch, with tomatoes down the center?

Or better, what was your spacing between tomato plants and between rows?

You will have a better picture this year, I promise.

Originally Posted by JJJessee

Have effective was your paper and chips at weed control?

Weed control isn't an issue. In my system I have defined "weeds" as nothing more than beneficial companion plants. It is a POV thing. But to answer your question, suppression of the sod for long enough to grow a crop was excellent. Good enough to be a non issue completely.

Originally Posted by JJJessee

Ultimately, if I understand organic reasoning, low yield will almost always trace back to poor soil health if the crop is matched to the climate and season of course.
But poor yield can manifest in a variety of ways, disease, pest, lack of water, lack of nutrients, or all the above. How did it manifest for this crop?

Exactly. Poor soil. Now the challenge will be to document how fast working with biomimicry in this method will take to restore soil health and all those ecological services provided by healthy soil......like drought resistance, nutrient cycling, pest control etc.... As I stated, my consultants have given me help with this documentation. So this year I hope to do better.