The many little hammers philosophy is, in our opinion, one of the most important philosophies for organic and regenerative agriculture. The philosophy describes how to maximize ecological control of weeds and is more a change of how we think about weed control than any one strategy.
The many little hammers philosophy is simple: instead of one or a few large effect techniques to increase crop yield, many smaller effect techniques can be used to achieve similar results.
In agriculture, our biggest hammer is chemical weed control. Herbicide use has allowed us to feed billions of people and has allowed growers and associated workers to reap economic benefits. An overreliance on herbicides has also resulted in polluted ecosystems and watersheds, deterioration of soil quality (especially when coupled with monocropping), and the proliferation of herbicide resistant weeds. Further, there are few herbicides that are labeled for use in Cannabis, meaning their application is both illegal and potentially harmful to consumers.
Weed ecology and many little hammers
We recommend checking out our weed ecology post! It is a primer on how weed ecology can be exploited to maximize management decisions.
Basics of ecological agriculture weed control: Reduce weed density, Delay emergence/reduce competition window, reduce additions to seedbank.
Our goal is to keep weed pressure below a threshold where weed pressure affects economic return. Our business is minimization, not eradication!
Small effect hammers that can contribute to effective weed control can include crop rotations, intercropping, the use of cover crops, no-till management, and more.
Crop rotations and cover crops allow for constant ground coverage. This can inhibit both weed germination and growth, through competition for light, water, and nutrients. No-till management can prevent the emergence of weeds whose seeds are buried in the seedbank. By not turning the ground the buried seeds never receive the light cues for germination. Increasing ground cover can also provide more habitat for insects and small mammals that forage on seeds. Weed seed predation is an effective weed control technique that reduces weed pressure in the subsequent year. Constant predation, year after year, can greatly reduce the presence of weeds.
Delaying planting date until after the first flush of weeds can be an effective strategy to reduce early-season competition between crops and weeds. By delaying planting, you can help reduce the amount of competition faced early in the lifecycle of your crops. If possible, a cultivation pass shortly after crop germination can also help reduce early-season weed pressure.
The timing of fertilizer application can also be an important tactic to reduce yield-loss related to weed competition. Delaying fertilization can help to reduce early-season weed pressure. Weeds grow quickly and require lots of nutrients to power this growth. By keeping soil fertility low until after crop germination, you can reduce the growth of weeds until the crops are large enough to outcompete them. Other early season tactics can include side dressing, the use of green mulches or roller-crimped cover crops with a high C:N ratio, applying fertilizer or irrigation equipment below the root zone of most weeds, or solarization. One or a combination of these tactics can be used, with best results likely with more diverse control techniques.
