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Re: Solarization (was Root Knot Nematodes)

>OK, this is a new one on me. What does it mean to solarize soil, and how
>do you do it? It sounds sort of like baking it in a big solar oven.
>
>Melissa
>
>************************************************************************You
rid the garden of all vegetation, Till or turn the earth. Apply any soil
amendments needed for the next garden such as manure and or fertilizer.
Then you soak the soil--water conducts heat better than air.
Lastly, you cover soil with 4-6-mil thick clear plastic sheets.  Secure on
all edges and seams with rocks or other weights to make the covering as
airtight as possible.  Let the sun bake this covered ground for 4 to 6
weeks.  Soil temps will reach around 125 degrees plus in late July, because
the sun is at it's highest and hottest in the northern hemisphere.  I
solarize all of July and the first 2 weeks of August.  This process kills
many soil-borne pathogens.  Good things like earthworms go deeper into the
soil, and good fungi migrate. They will return and reproduce after the heat
abates. The U. of Florida has done lots of testing of this process and has
proven time and time again it really works.  I know, I've done it for three
years, and it has killed my persistant early blight.
Doreen Howard
Zone 9b, 50 miles south of Houston, TX

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