I’ve tried using vinegar on a larger scale. It doesn’t work so well in bigger gardens.
And nobody is going to hoe acres and acres by hand!
This year I’m testing “living mulch”. Basically planting short, tightly-spaced plants around the taller crops, in the hopes that they’ll make it harder for the weeds to get through. With the corn, I’ll be using dwarf marigolds as the mulch crop, to see if they’ll also cut down on insect damage. I’ve heard of cabbage farms using marigolds to deter cabbage moths, so I’m hoping they’ll do something similar to corn earworms.
In some sections, the mulch crop is something useful in itself. There will be beets, basil, radishes, and other small-but-tasty plants in the mix. We’ll see how that works.
Sounds like a plan, Stan! I wanted to talk about Permaculture beds/gardening before we get too heavily into the growing season. I’ll ping you for your input that week. (This upcoming week or next; not sure yet.)
I was just talking home gardens. I have NO idea what you’d do on a larger scale - other than more bales of straw. ;)