[HN Gopher] Flame-Throwing Tractors Kill Weeds [video]
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       Flame-Throwing Tractors Kill Weeds [video]
        
       Author : 1970-01-01
       Score  : 26 points
       Date   : 2023-04-30 15:51 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
        
       | SirLJ wrote:
       | There are also small shaped like walk-in sticks working with
       | small propane bottles and they are perfect for driveways,
       | walkways stone patios, etc...
        
       | gnicholas wrote:
       | Interesting to hear that this is used for organic crops, in lieu
       | of chemical pesticides. I wonder if people who eat organic food
       | would be less likely to do so if they knew that fields were being
       | flame-throwed multiple times a season in order to avoid using
       | pesticides.
       | 
       | It's a complex question, since it involves personal safety,
       | environmental harm, and fossil fuel combustion.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | acquacow wrote:
       | I do this to my garden yearly before planting. Works very well.
        
       | atourgates wrote:
       | I've had pretty disappointing results with flame-weeding.
       | 
       | I live in a rural area in the Western US with some acreage, and
       | try to avoid the use of herbicides as much as possible when I'm
       | controlling weeds and invasives on our property.
       | 
       | Flame weeding is far and away the most fun and satisfying way to
       | deal with weeds, but it doesn't seem to do much for me beyond
       | perhaps briefly annoying them.
       | 
       | I've tried both near complete obliteration, and damaging the weed
       | somewhat lightly under the theory that it'll expend its energy
       | trying to "repair" itself, and die out more effectively in the
       | long term.
       | 
       | Neither seems to work well with the thistles and other plants I'm
       | fighting. I've even seen some thistles come back particularly
       | strong after a fire. My theory is that seeds from competing
       | plants are burned, but thistles underground network of rhizomes
       | are unaffected, and take advantage of the lack of competition.
       | 
       | I recognize that fire is a natural and important part of the
       | landscape and ecology of the West, but when it comes to crisping
       | weeds, it seems to have limited use in my experience.
        
       | jessriedel wrote:
       | > The temperature can range between 500,000 to 1.2 million BTUs
       | 
       | Oy...
        
         | dgacmu wrote:
         | Thank you. I was just yelling about that part. Science literacy
         | is so lacking.
        
       | paulkrush wrote:
       | I have seen better versions. The incoming air should be preheated
       | with the exhaust. The exhaust should be barely warm. The weed can
       | be part of the fuel. OH, and of course in the future it will be
       | solar powered and run on the blockchain!
        
         | paulkrush wrote:
         | Better: https://www.physicalweeding.com/flameweeding/index.html
         | Microwave: https://www.futurity.org/microwaves-weeds-2177112-2/
        
         | paulkrush wrote:
         | I forgot about chicken trackers:
         | https://www.google.com/search?q=chicken+tractor
        
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       (page generated 2023-05-01 23:01 UTC)