ditch burning

[marnee]

I feel silly asking this, but do we need to burn our ditch? Everyone else is, hubby swears it's no big deal and that we don't have to (of course, he hasn't been out to look at it...), and I'm confused.

How do I know if burning is needed or not?

[Catalpa]

No, ditch burning isn't really necessary. I would only burn my ditch if it had become home to some of the invasive species of plants that we get here in the Great Lakes.

Burning your ditch may harm nesting birds, like the red-winged blackbird, and if it's a deep or narrow ditch, it could also cause erosion.

Most folks burn their ditches just to keep the weeds down and make things look nice. I've actually burned my fence row a couple of times just to knock down the thick weeds and let my berry canes and roses breathe. You'll also see farmers burning the sides of drains to keep the weeds from seeding and getting into the crops.

If you don't have a deep ditch, one that runs with water all the time, or that is tied into a stream or lake, you could probably burn it without causing problems. But it's not really needful. If you choose to do it, make sure conditions are right - there's been a few fires lately caused by trash or ditch fires getting out of control when it's dry and windy. Only burn when there's rain forecast and the wind isn't strong, or if your ditch is bordered by a road and land that isn't dry or covered with crop residue.

[Anon001]

Catalpa had a good answer. Here we burn pastures and ditches. If we don't the cedars take over and can take over a 100 acres, solid, in less than 10 years. So, yes, we burn out of necessity. Not only does it keep weeds at bay and keep weeds from spreading into the pasture and the hay ground, but it keeps brush and trees from growing in an expensive fence line. I am having to replace the perimeter fences... 2 miles of fence. It will run me over $20,000 for the dozing and the fence. In addition to that, the county has spent almost $18,000 dozing the 1mile of fence on the right of way. They worked on it for almost 2 weeks. I can't afford to do that very often. lol. So, you're danged right I'm gonna keep the fence lines sprayed and the ditches sprayed and burned. It depends on your on situation.

Good luck,
Paul

[flatwater]

Actually it is a good fire protection later on when people start dumping their pipe tobacco out on a dry windy day, and or ciggs

[tufhelp]

I emailed my brother about ditch burning - he lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico and has a small pecan operation and irrigates with Rio Grande River water through an ancient ditch system dating way back to the 1600-1700's called acequias.

There is a New Mexico Acequia Commission, and it is comprised of a group of local acequia members appointed by the Governor to advise the state on matters affecting the acequia and ditch associations throughout New Mexico.

His Email:

From my prospective as a very small farm operator, ditch burning is a simple and less costly way to deal with the necessary act of ditch clearing. Clearing is needed because the plant growth slows down the irrigation water and causes bank overflow and erosion. As a matter of fact, if we don’t clear the ditches the water system providers will not allow us to use the ditches until they are cleared. I say cleared because they could be burned or chopped down and haled away to a land fill or a recycling center. Burning is quick and easy. It usually takes only a day or two for all the farmers and others to burn the ditches. The impact on air quality is small and is only for a few days a year. Not a big problem. On the other hand clearing ditches requires usually the use of machines to do the cutting and vehicles to do the haling and machines to do the chipping for recycling. It seems to me that the net pollution produced by of removal is more objectionable than burning, but it is more tolerated by the community.