Fruition’s Biotella

Remarkably made of corn, we’ve used biotella as simple, biodegradable and impressively effective weed control for years. Easy to use, it’s black color also warms soil faster in spring and generates more heat for plants all summer. As a result of this increased heat, many fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers and melon have increased abundance and flavor. To use, prepare your seedbed as you typically do, laying your biotella down in a long row. Shovel both edges with enough soil to hold your biotella down, creating a flat and taught bed ready to plant into. When you’re ready to plant, simply poke your finger through your biotella at your desired spacing. We mostly transplant into biotella though we’ve had success direct seeding beans, peas, squash and cucumbers. The benefit of transplanting into biotella is that your plants leap out of the ground, immediately out-competing any weed seeds ready to germinate. If you direct sow, plan on weeding once to ensure the only plant growing in your hole is in fact the plant you want. Either way, weeding is exceptionally simple. It is ideal to use drip irrigation underneath as water does not travel through biotella, but you can water into the hole that you make for your plant and keep a close eye on your plants’ water needs. Biotella maintains moisture in dry seasons and keeps excess moisture away from roots in wet seasons.