Whitsend Market Garden

Hey Everyone:

Finally, some time to write. 

Anyone who’s visited the farm knows how much I enjoy describing all of the tasks that need to be done, the reasons for doing them, and how I learned the various tasks from my mentors, research, and trial and error.  So it is not without regret that I have not had enough time this season to write more often. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, and to many of you during our first meeting, I also believe it is important (and maybe fun) to learn about your food as it goes through its various life stages from the ordering of the seed to arriving on your plate.  You appreciate your meal more, and have a better understanding of what a farmer has to do to fill that plate.

I’ll start with some very good news.

When I was an intern, Tom impressed upon us the value of being consistent in our methods.  There are many variables to consider as potential impacts upon produce yields.  By reducing these variables, it is easier to pinpoint why a crop has performed well.  He noted at the time that it is often easier to infer why a crop had done poorly. 

Last year, I planted ten beds of kidney beans: eight light red variety and two dark red variety.  Each snack basket took ¾ of a Lb, and each picnic basket 1 Lb. 

This season I sowed ten beds of light red and two and a half beds of romano beans to reserve for dry bean harvest. 

The romano’s seemed to do ok, but one bed of harvested plants were shucked by the chipmunks.  I left the remaining romano’s in the field to dry on the plant.  




This can be done  too much rain can cause the plants to mould.  In the end, we had a fairly dry September, but there were still losses.  Some pods began to break before the entire bed was ready, and so some beans were lost to the field. 

Today, I finished weighting and packaging the light red kidneys.  The result is ¾ Lb per snack basket and 1 ½ Lb per picnic basket, from a total of seven beds.  Almost a fifty per cent  increase in yield.    

I have gone through all of the possibilities, and can find no explanation as to why the increase was so great. 

Last year’s notes indicate:

-First time growing light red kidney variety, a replacement for light pink which was discontinued as organic seed by our suppliers.

-Less than 5 per cent plants lost to white mold – down from previous seasons owing to keeping better air circulation around plants late in the year as the temperature cools. 

-Four beds planted in the new field, where the soil fertility is weaker. 

-Plant yield fairly uniform throughout the various growing fields, plants with seven or more pods reserved for seed.

-Overall satisfied with per plant yield but need to plant more for same number of customers next season. 

So I spend some time wondering the following:

Was all that rain at the start of the season a factor?  Beans don’t do well if their leaves are wet.

Could the saved seeds (which were chosen from the plants that did best in our soil and growing conditions) have had that big an impact on the overall yield?  Only two and a half beds were planted with last year’s saved seed.  I realize now I should have measured the quantity from these beds separate from the rest. 

My compost and amendment regime has not changed, though the four beds in the new field will have had improved fertility after a second year of amending.

I just don’t know why...

The only decision now is to whether I should reserve some seed from this year.  I selected plants this season based upon number of large pods per plant, and the overall appearance of health. 

As I shucked these for storage, I noticed very quickly that there was considerable variation in the bean color, suggesting that the romano’s might have crossed with the kidneys despite being given as much distance separation as I can in our small field. 

These beans that have crossed might not provide a light red kidney; they could take on any number of characteristics from the romanos, including needing more time to mature or cook. 

I have already purchased a considerable amount of kidney beans for next year, but I know I am still short about four pounds. 

Farming is about thinking, calculating, and inferring. 

And planning for next year...next post to follow shortly...