Re: Will solarization kill bamboo?

On Mon, 05 May 2008 15:21:12 +0100, Mary Fisher wrote:

> "General Schvantzkopf" <schvantzkopf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:MYWdndd-mqlIcYPVnZ2dnUVZ_u-dnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> On Mon, 05 May 2008 11:09:08 +0100, Mary Fisher wrote:
>>
>>> "General Schvantzkopf" <schvantzkopf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>> news:7vadneWBFJUGgIPVnZ2dnUVZ_q_inZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>> My old garden (14'x60') has two problems, on the left side where I've
>>>> been growing green vegetables I have a terrible bamboo problem. On
>>>> the right side where I've been growing tomatoes I have a wilt
>>>> problem. I have a new garden (15'x20') this year so I'm planning on
>>>> letting at least part of my old garden lay fallow.  I'm going to
>>>> solarize the tomato side to kill the wilt pathogens. I've been using
>>>> roundup on the bamboo but it's never been able to eliminate it. I was
>>>> wondering if solarization would kill bamboo? It's supposed to be
>>>> pretty effective against weeds as well as pathogens so it might work.
>>>> On the other hand the bamboo might just punch it's way through the
>>>> plastic.
>>>>
>>>> One more question about solarization in general, does it work in New
>>>> England? The papers I see on the web are from UC Davis. Ma is a lot
>>>> cooler than Ca. For solarization to work it needs to get the soil
>>>> temperature pretty high, will it get high enough here?
>>>
>>> What's solarization?
>>>
>>> Mary
>>
>> Solarization is done by covering the garden with clear plastic for the
>> entire summer. The plastic acts as a greenhouse so it raises the
>> temperature of the soil to > 110F.
> 
> Thank you. It would also keep the soil dry though, which isn't good for
> most plants.
> 
> Mary

It's not supposed to be good for the plants that are there, it's supposed 
to kill them. Solarization is a means of sterilizing the soil, the idea 
is to cook the fungi, weeds and other undesirable pests out of the soil. 
It takes the whole summer so you can't use that piece of garden again 
until the next year. I have enough garden space so that I can afford to 
let some land lay fallow and I'm keen to give solarization a try assuming 
it can work in my area. It's apparently a very effective technique in the 
hot parts of the country, but it's not clear that it will work here in 
Massachusetts which is why I'm asking if anyone has used it in a New 
England like climate.