Thanks to Doug Thomas of Crown Nursery, I'm able to see how the plants are changing as the weather cools up at MacDoel. This is a picture of Monterey close to the field of my original post.
Biodegradable plastic mulches (BDMs) are a promising alternative to polyethylene mulch. The concept is simple. Rather than pulling used plastic mulch from a field and stockpiling or disposing it in a landfill, BDMs are designed to be tilled in at the end of the production cycle.
I've been entertaining a fair number of calls from worried growers, farm managers and others in regards to the warmer than normal temperatures this year at the strawberry plant nurseries up in Northern California.
Biodegradable mulches are a promising alternative to traditional polyethene plastic mulches that reduce plastic waste generation and provide opportunities to reduce the costs of mulch removal and disposal.
Central Coast growers and support staff should be looking to clear their calendars this coming October 8 for a Zoom call sponsored by the California Strawberry Commission and featuring plant pathologists Peter Henry and Akif Eskalen, myself and plant breeder Steve Knapp.
