Planning for a Stale Seedbed

What it is:

The stale seedbed technique is an old method to enhance weed control in seeded crops. It was developed by farmers years ago, even before herbicides were available. This technique works best for later seeded crops, but may be adapted to many systems.

How to begin:

A stale seedbed is created by tilling the soil early, which encourages the weeds to germinate. In most springs, this means tilling the soil by late April, with a good weed flush by mid-May. After the weed cover is established, the emerged weeds are killed without disturbing the soil. This is accomplished by using herbicides like Roundup, Gramoxone or Ignite, or by using non-chemical means like propane flamers, or by mowing very close to the ground. The key is not to disturb the soil, so that fresh weed seeds remain buried. The crop is then seeded or planted with minimal soil disturbance. In many cases, growers find that weeds only sprout in the small area disturbed around the seed or the transplant.

Who should use it:

Many vegetable growers have been using a version of stale seedbeds for some time, especially for seeded crops. Vine crop growers are likely the largest users of the stale seedbed, and onions, carrots, beans, peas, turnips and lettuce can be established quite well in a stale seedbed. As well, transplant growers can also use a stale seedbed with small changes to their transplanters. It was interesting that, in our cover crop demonstrations across Ontario, using newer cover crops like marigolds, pearl millet and sorghum for nematode control, our best stands of cover crops were achieved with a stale seedbed system.

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