Gardening Without Plastics
Yes, it can be done — but it takes creativity
I have developed a hate-hate relationship with plastics in the garden.
And as the size of the garden increases, it’s ever-so-common to see the use of plastic in the field increase as well.
Consider the case of black plastic row mulch, a staple on many farms and for good reason: it tends to be an effective way to suppress weeds on a large scale that doesn’t rely on chemicals.
And, on the one hand, these kinds of plastic mulches are super-convenient when you have the tractor attachment which allows you to lay them down rapidly over a large area.
But I’ve worked with them, and personally, I just don’t like them. In fact, I would just as soon eliminate all usage of plastics in the garden altogether. And that goes equally for the corn-plastic based biodegradable alternatives.
I just think they look — and feel — I don’t know… nasty.
Which is why I found this historical passage on the Wikipedia page about plasticulture (the method of growing vegetables using plastic mulches), so interesting:
The first use of plastic film in agriculture was to in an effort to make a cheaper version of a glasshouse. In 1948 Professor E.M. Emmert built the first plastic…
