Thanks for the input.
Many years ago I passed a filed where they were preparing it for some kind of crop.
They had a huge tractor like device that had a massive, I guess flame thrower is the best way to put it, on it. The flames were directed downward and as the soil was tilled, the burners passed over it, and obviously cooked everything living in the soil. It would clearly take care of weed seeds and overwintering pests.
I know in England in Aug the farmers burn their fields over. I saw that as we drove through the countryside on a visit there.
Very happy for any insight I can provide. Farming is such a diverse topic. So many crops and methods. My experiences have mostly been in grain and hay production and livestock throughout my life. Its been 35 years since we’ve had any row crops like beans and corn.
We like to burn our fields when we can because it helps the soil in many ways. As far as the machine you speak of it sounds like it might work well. I have never seen anything like it in our area however. I hope to tour the English countryside someday and see those wonderful fields. I have a friend that chops silage over there I want to visit.
We do raise a large garden every year. Its about a 1/4 acre as well as a few raised beds. We supplement our four families with that food as well as give a lot of it to friends and neighbors. Mostly just tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, melons, cantaloupe, potatoes, onions, okra and green beans. I do a few peppers and tomatillos as well.