Source:
Weed 'Em and Reap Part 1: Tools for Non-Chemical Weed Management in Vegetable Cropping Systems [DVD]. A. Stone. 2006. Oregon State University Dept. of Horticulture. Corvallis, Oregon. Available at: http://www.weedemandreap.org (verified 17 Dec 2008).
Featuring
Ray DeVries, Ralph's Greenhouse. Mt. Vernon, WA.
Audio Text
What we’ve got here is our weed burner. Weed burners simply work that if the weeds are little enough and the flame is hot enough, the weeds go away. This is something that we built. You buy the parts as a kit. You’ve got a propane tank, you’ve got a frame that holds up your burners, and you’ve got a shield to cover your burners. With no shield, too much of the heat goes up in the air. We’ve got a shield down here, burners down there. These burners can be adjusted in and out, up and down to go wherever you need them to go.
A lot of times it’s a stale bed and you plant or you burn before the plants come up. It’s all a matter of timing things. There are some crops that can handle the heat and you can burn the things after the plants are already up. Corn works like that, leeks work like that. It’ll set your plants back a bit, but you can get rid of the weeds. So we only burn whole fields if the field gets away from us and the two choices are burning or disking it under.