What We're Working On» Hannah Spangler, FarmWeek

For some Illinois farmers, plasticulture is becoming the secret to a successful planting season.

“The biggest thing for us is warming up the soil and preventing weeds and that influenced us to go that direction,” said Carl Smits, owner of Smits Farm, during the Cook County Nutrient Stewardship Field Day hosted there Aug. 14.

Plasticulture refers to the use of plastic materials in agricultural production, including plastic mulch, landscape fabric, row covers, high tunnels and greenhouses. These tools can help increase yields and control weeds. Smits implements the practice on his family’s vegetable, herb and flower farm in Chicago Heights.

One of the key problems Smits was facing on his farm was weed pressure, as he was growing a crop using limited herbicides. He figured he could hand weed everything or prevent the weeds all together, and that’s how he started using plastic.