Clay Bottom Farm

Gardening without Plastic. Clover living mulch. Here’s a mid-season update.

This is New Zealand white clover.

I’ve mowed a few times to keep it short.

So far, it’s not competing for nutrients with the tomatoes.

I’ve stopped irrigating it now that it’s established.

Gardening without Plastic. In an effort to reduce plastic, we’ve been using burlap to replace poly ground covers like landscaping fabric, for crops like this Thai Basil. Here’s my experience:

The best burlap for ground cover is heavyweight 10 oz, untreated. Look for it a your local landscape center to save shipping. Burlapsupply.com is an option.

It’s tough to cut. Use a sharp utility or, better yet, a commercial fabric sheers. I use Fiskars Amplify Razor’s Edge

Burlap is heavy. I only staple it at the corners and every 20’, using sod staples.

For me, it stops 95% of the w**ds, but thin w**ds like grasses can slip through. Pulling up on the fabric dislodges them. But if you have an uber w**dy patch, burlap might not be your best solution.

I compost mine at season’s end, which is great feeling compared to trashing plastic.

Here are scenes from Lean Farm Start-up 2026, our 8th annual 2-day new farmer training on the 20th anniversary of Clay Bottom Farm.

I’m always at ease in a room full of small farmers. It was great to see you all.

This is a hands-on IRL event where participants try out my favorite tools and learn lean techniques for operating a profitable micro farm.

Tool in the first clip is Terrateck’s torsion w**der. Tines separate as they reach the base of each plant for super close w**ding. Also showed the eOx, wheel w**ders, Sumi soakers, Paperpot, lots more.

We talked shop about living mulches—clover and cereal rye—under tomatoes, seen at the end.

If you’re interested in attending a future event, and receiving lots of discount codes for tools and supplies, sign up in the website.

Understory cropping! Here are scenes from the tomato greenhouse today. The tomatoes will grow tall, casting a nice shade for the short crops.

Understory crops are onions, radishes, lettuce, beets, Bak Choi, basil, turnips, cilantro, spinach.

I water tomatoes with drip tape.

I use sumi soakers to water the understory crops.

I typically seed or transplant understory crops on the same day that I plant the tomatoes.