Hey Folks:

Instead of a post this week, I am creating a new activity for the Curious Food Page.  It should be up in a few minutes, and updated somewhat over the course of the summer.

The old curious food page has been pasted below, for those of you who are taking part in the "grow your own potatoes" project.


Grow Your Own Seed Potatoes

Hey Folks:

I may have a few extra seed potatoes this spring. If I do (I should know by late May), you may wish to consider the following project. Especially good for those of you who have children who are interested in growing some relatively easy crops. Some of our interns did this last year at their homes.  This offer is open only to subscription customers and interns. First request, first serve.


What you need:

One planter per seed potato. 10-12 inch diameter, 10-12 inch depth (or more). Needs a couple of drainage holes. Planters could be any receptacle (ceramic, wood, or plastic pot planter, bucket, or anything else that drains…apparently they can also be grown in plastic bags though I have no experience with this). If your planters are smaller than 12”, then the tubers will be smaller.

Sunny location (south facing porch is ideal).

Potting Soil. This may take a bit of care to source. Ideally you want a potting soil that is

-Certified Organic (There will be a certification stamp that specifically says “certified organic” or “certife biologique”). Your next best choice is a potting soil that is “natural”, though what the producer/manufacturer claims is natural is anyone’s guess…

-The packaging should indicate that it is compost enriched. If you cannot find enriched soil, I can bring a few scoops of compost to you. If you have access to your own compost, it should be well rotted, without anything recognizable in it – it will look similar to soil.

If you are really pressed for potting soil, or only need enough to fill a planter or two, I may be able to work something out with you.

Preparation:

Clean your planters with a mild soap solution, and rinse them well.

Fill the planters ¾ full with soil. If you are adding compost, mix it well with the soil to disperse it evenly. You need to leave about 4 inches between the soil surface and the rim of the planter. Set aside enough potting soil to add a couple more inches later.

Sowing:

Scoop out a hole large enough for the seed potato, and push the potato in so that it may be covered by about 2-3 inches of soil. Cover it over, and press the soil gently around it to ensure there are no air pockets. Giving some water at this time should help remove air pockets as well.

Watering:

Keep the soil moist but not soaking. If it dries out a little, that is ok. Watering too much might stress the plant. If the soil appears dry, press your finger into the soil. There may be enough moisture just below the surface.

If your planter has a drain basin, fill this with water and let the moisture wick up through the soil. Otherwise, water the soil around the edges of the planter, so that the potato remains covered. If watering exposes the potato, simply cover it over.

Growing:

The plant should emerge in about 2-3 weeks. Continue to water periodically. Three to four weeks after the plant emerges, top up the soil another two inches. The tubers need to remain covered so that they do not “green”.

Harvesting:

Potatoes should be ready for harvest about two months after planting. The leaves and stems will begin to die back. This is the sign that the tubers are ready.

Pull the entire plant out (You will need a place where spilling a bit of soil is ok). Make sure that all the tubers came out with the plant – check the soil in the bucket for more.

You can expect between two and four pounds of potato per plant.

Things to remember:

If you use tobacco products, be sure to clean your hands before handling the seed, planter, plant, watering can, or soil. Tobacco mosaic virus can infect the potato plant.

If the leaves yellow a little bit, you are either providing too much or too little water.

White flies. Mix a 40:1 solution of water and mild dish detergent and spray the leaves. Spray underside of leaves as well. Repeat two or three times over the course of a week.

The Colorado Potato Beetle is a yellow and black striped beetle. The larvae are red and black. Pick and squash both of these. You may find their yellow eggs on the underside of the leaves, these you can wipe off with your thumb.

I will know by late May if I have extra seed potatoes. Let me know in advance if you are interested.

This offer is open only to subscription customers and interns. First request, first serve.

Colorado Potato Beatlemania

One of our customers wanted to know how I managed the Colorado Potato Beatle.

First, I want to emphasize an important point about “pest” management at Whitsend.  I prefer to maintain a plant positive approach as opposed to a pest negative approach. 

Healthy crops will have more resistance to insects than unhealthy ones.  Plant immune systems deploy an array of phytochemicals that help ward off or slow the progress of bugs.  

Plants not yet infected detect these chemicals, which then stimulates the immune system of unaffected plants.  As well, there has been recent research indicating that plants “communicate” insect attacks to each other via mycelium networks between each other’s roots.  (I looked for the article on BBC Nature, but cannot find the link – Ed.)

This Beatle and the European Leek Moth are the insects that have the most potential to reduce crop yield at Whitsend.  They are also the most time consuming to manage.  My goals for insect management are: to reduce the amount of time I spend managing insects, to reduce the number of stresses on the plant so it is more resistant, to reduce the spread of the insect during the growing season, and to reduce the population that winters over.  Managing the Colorado Potato Beatle requires a multi-faceted approach.

Potato variety:  This season, I have five varieties of Potato - the early Onaway and Red Norland varieties, mid-season Dakota Pearl, and late-season Red Chieftain and Agrea potatoes.  I kept at least one bed of each variety near each other to monitor how the different varietie react to different bed preparation methods, soil amendments and stresses such as the Colorado beatle.

The early potatoes definitely had the highest Potato Beatle populations.  This may have been due to the life cycle of the beatle, whose initial population peak coincides with the start of the potato season.  However, I observed that the Dakota Pearl and Red Chieftain had minimal beatle damage, despite being located next to the most affected plants.

Row Covers:  I have used row covers to keep beatles off the crop.  The row covers  are placed on the bed when the potatoes are planted, and held in place with smooth stones (some growers prefer to bury the edges of the covers with loose soil, but I think this makes uncovering the beds too time consuming).  I have had mixed results using row covers.  They seem to be most effective during the early stages of potato plant growth than later.  As well, row covers reduce sunlight by about 15% (or more if they are not kept clean).  This stresses the plant and forces it to put more effort into leaf growth (less growth for the tubers).

I usually leave one plant uncovered, for two reasons.  First, the “canary” lets me know when the beatles have arrived for the season – they take up residence on the most available plant.  Second, I know that the plant responds to these first beatles with its phytochemicals, which in turn are detected by the other plants. 

Inevitably, some beatles manage to get under the covers.  In some instances, the beatle population remains low and a “pick and squash” sweep of the beds keeps the insect population down.  However, this is quite time consuming, and sometimes I cannot check a bed for several days.  Sometimes a bed that is beatle free during one check has infested plants during the next check.

This growing season, I removed the row covers on the beds that the beatles had managed to establish themselves.  Without the covers in the way, it was less time consuming to do the pick and squash sweeps.  Within days, I observed an increase in the numbers of Assassin Beatles, Shield Bugs, Ladybirds and Spiders.  Counting was not necessary, as the change was surprisingly dramatic.  I even saw my first Praying Mantis on the farm here.  As the predator population always follows the prey population, it seems to me that having the covers on will delay the predators getting into the beds in time to provide their own control of the beatles.

On a hunch, I started taking the covers off after the plants were established, leaving them exposed.  (These were the Dakota Pearls and Red Chieftains immediately next to the infested Red Norland).  These beds hosted a small population of beatles that was easy enough to manage with pick and squash sweeps.  However, I observed that the egg, larvae and adult populations on both varieties did not rebound at the same rate – the beatles on the Norland and Onaway potatoes seemed to rebound quickly, whereas the beatles on the Cheiftain and Dakota Pearl potatoes levelled off and then declined.  By the time I was harvesting the Norlands, the Dakota Pearls were virtually beatle free.

Seasonal Timing:  I planted my second round of Chieftains and the first Agrea potatoes without using the row covers.  These plants were about 20 feet away from the last succession of the Dakota Pearls, but I detected no beatles, larvae or eggs.  This was mid July when these plants became established.  I suspect that the beatle population was reaching its inevitable “trough” at this time.  Last year, we had one additional “peak” in population toward the end of summer.  I am currently looking into the seasonal life cycle of the beatle to see if, by timing my plantings strategically, I can avoid the period of summer when the beatles are most numerous.  

Looking back on my first year (when I saw only one beatle all year) my records indicate that my first planting was in mid June, with the potatoes emerging ten to fourteen days after (i.e. late June early July).  So timing can be a factor in the relationship between the beatle and the crop.

Crop Separation:  This was an unintentional find.  Due to space limitations, one of my first two plantings of Dakota Pearl wound up being at the opposite end of the growing field.  Despite having its row cover blown off by wind on a couple of occasions, it remained beatle free from sowing to harvest.  Having established themselves in an area where the potatoes were most concentrated, the beatles had no reason to travel to the more distant bed.

Straw mulch:  Some have reported success (including Elliot Coleman, “The New Organic Grower”) by using a thick mulch of straw around the base of the plant.  Add the mulch as the plant grows, keeping just the foliage crown uncovered.  I think this interferes with the beatle’s life cycle, as it progresses from its larval stage on the plant to its pupal stage underground, and then back to its adult stage back on the plant.  This technique is not suitable for us, as the straw mulch became a haven for mice, which destroyed a considerable amount of my potato yield last year.

Insecticides:  The Colorado Potato Beatle feeds off plants in the Nightshade Family.  These plants contain a wide array of glycoalkaloids, which are potentially toxic.  The beatles have evolved an internal chemistry that resists toxins.  In fifty years of using or experimenting with insecticides as a means of control, the Colorado Potato Beatle has been able to develop a resistance to fifty-two insecticides.  Resistance to DDT was reported as early as the early fifties.  Some populations had evolved this resistance within a single year.

Using so called “Organic Pesticides”, such as Pyrethins, has had similar results (note that no pesticides discriminate between a potato beatle and an assassin bug or mantis). 

Besides, this is a pest negative approach.  An hour of time spent fighting beatles means one less hour in which the plant itself can be tended (the plant positive approach).  One hour of tending the crop not only reduces the effect of the beatles; it also improves plant health and ultimately, its total food yield – which is the point of growing crops in the first place.

Summary:  The way you manage your potato beatle population will be determined primarily by your unique growing situation. 

Keep records of your potato crop, including its yield, its place in your crop rotation system, and which methods you use from one year to the next to protect them from infestations.  This knowledge will allow you to develop your best strategy for growing a healthy crop with the least amount of effort.

Consider using less machinery.  Frequent surface cultivating with an ergonomic co-linear hoe is more effective for your plant health, weed control, water retention, and top-dress incorporation than a once-per-season machine tilling.  I also find it more meditative,  gentler on the arms, and a good way to "warm-down" at the end of a long day of more strenuous tasks.  A healthy farmer makes for a more healthy farm.  You tend to see more of your soil and plants when you are focused on a small hoe than when trying to manoeuvre  a large piece of machinery.

Most importantly, look at your growing area as a whole unit.  There may be stresses on the plant, such as poor drainage or low water holding capacity in the soil, low quality compost or an imbalance between various macro and micro nutrients.   There may be nightshades that harbor beatles (or their eggs) in the spring, before the potato crops have emerged. 

You may also find that your field includes beneficial insects, birds, frogs, toads, shrews, skunks, and other insect and larvae predators.  Look for ways to encourage them. 

Recall earlier that I mentioned finding my first Mantis on the farm among plants that had beetles on them.  Since then, I have seen two more Praying Mantids at different stages of growth (therefore, could not have been the same individual).  Knowing that Mantids will consume a wide variety of insects, I could argue that my Colorado Potato Beatle population is not a pest.  The beatles, too are food for your garden inhabitants and for your farm.

Always use the plant positive approach – you are a plant grower, not a pest controller.

Sources:  BBC Nature, various university extension service websites, and CFIA and OMAFRA info pages.  I have also drawn on my own crop records, conversations with Henry Ellenberger of Ellenberger Organic Farm, and my internship at Elm Tree Biodynamic Farm.

Hey Everyone…

Before I get into this post on watering the crops, I would like to mention something I discovered.

It has come to my attention (in mid meal) that the garlic shoots are a bit too old for genuine "garlic shoot" status.  The stem is a little too tough.  Don't bother trying to cook it, add it to your compost.

And now for this weeks post...

As I have said before, the weather does its thing and I adjust my activities accordingly. With more heat, I water the crops (and myself) more.

Here is an example of the weather "doing it's thing".  Dry at Whitsend, pouring two kilometers away.

The drought of two seasons ago was two weeks longer in our immediate area than the rest of Ottawa.  According to a local, the driest his family farm had recorded since 1928.

Watering the crops.

Delivering water directly to the crops has some advantages.  I can control where the water goes.  Most crops prefer to keep their leaves dry.  



Various parts of the plant will become infected with mold and cause the plant to grow poorly or die.  Lettuce and Escarole are two of the few plants that I am aware of that respond positively to having their leaves soaked on a regular basis.  Some plants are very sensitive to water exposure.  

Nightshades blight and Onion blasting are two well known mold conditions.  As well, Squash stems can rot, killing an entire plant, by having too much water around their base.

By watering by hand, I can direct the water to the soil around the plant where the roots can take in the water.  As well, I can keep water away from parts of the bed where there are no crops (such as in between tomato or squash plants) to further control weeds.

Watering by hand can be very time consuming.  Pouring water onto the very warm soil, in the direct sun, will cause much of the water to evaporate.  I have to go slow to allow the water to sink in.

Too much time is spent filling the watering cans with the hose.  A couple of years ago, I had a large cistern that was topped up with well water on a regular basis.  The watering cans could be filled up almost instantly, simply by plunging the empty cans into the full cistern. 

The cistern provided the best water for the crops.  After a couple of days, the water contained a soup of micro organisms, algae, and nutrient rich sludge.  This could be further enriched with an addition of some compost.  

Some growers create a compost tea by adding certain plants to large water containers, and letting the water soak up the nutrients from the plants as they decompose.  Stinging Nettle, or Sows Thistle, is one of the best plants to use for this technique.  It stinks, but the crops don’t mind at all.

Sadly, I found that the cistern bottom rusted out last year.  A few small holes would not have mattered much (the sludge would have stopped it up), but it has become a sieve and now contains leftover lumber.

Aside - The above photo was taken in our first year - the place I am pictured standing is now the rock garden.  The mass of foliage at the side of the barn is now the prep station.  The cistern (at least part of it) is visible to the left.

On the freshly seeded beds, I use row covers pinned flat to the bed surface to hold the moisture on the ground (I also do this when there is heavy rain in the forecast, to keep the seeds from washing away).  

For crops that are more established, the row covers are suspended by metal hoops.  The drawback is that the plants receive a little less sunlight.

On beds with little weed pressure, I use some straw mulch to slow evaporation.  

Too much straw will become a haven for mice.

Some of my beds have an irrigation tape that releases a steady stream of water droplets.  This is fairly effective as well, though the tapes tend to get in the way when doing work in or around the beds.   As well, the tape tends to deliver water somewhat unevenly.   The well pump has to run continuously to deliver the water at a steady pressure, which is a draw on the electricity bill. 

I have heard from an experienced farmer that thirty minutes of steady, gentle rain will deliver the same amount of water to the soil than a week’s worth of watering with a high tech irrigation system.

The pigs also require a steady supply of water.  Without it, they can either quickly overheat, or begin to suffer from salt poisoning (too much sodium in the blood stream).

As well, they use the water to make mud wallows, which they use to cool off and coat their skin.  Encrusted mud helps keep off the flies and ticks and provides protection from the sun.

I’m no different.  I keep my hat soaked to draw heat away from my head, and the jug of tea is rarely far away.

Your beans are in flower...

Happy pigs play.

Radish salsa

It’s June and Whitsend radishes and garlic shoots are here!  Everyone seems to be enjoying the Cherry Belle radishes we planted this year.  Try this salsa – it has a very pretty pink and green colour scheme.  Adapted from The Organic Cook’s Bible by Jeff Cox.

Quick update June 26:

Thanks for your response regarding our requests, etc.  It helps take some of the guesswork and memory work out of the workload.

It often happens that some crops force a change in the menu - as I started harvesting the Cress, I realised that their was more than enough for everyone.  As Cress is a once a season crop (does well only in the spring in this territory), I thought it best to give everyone some of it.  Let me know what you think of it...if we are lucky, we may get some more in two weeks.

Looks like the turnips and and Zuchini are getting ready - maybe some next week.  Lots of crops look like they are coming in earlier than expected.  One grower I was taking to said the fluctuations between hot and cool were "confusing the plants".

I wish that Zuchini ((3 weeks early?)  would get a little more confused and slow down.

Even some tomatoes are starting to flower, this could be bad news or great.  We'll have to wait and see...

Hey Folks:

Time for a quick post before some much needed RnR.

This is turning out to be a challenging season.  Computer issues (hopefully resolved), a difficult nursery (lost most of our bulb onions for a variety of reasons to it - I tried three times), one intern (three positions were advertised for), and early pigs (they were to have shown up in the mid season planting lull between early and mid July).  Even the priorities have had to be prioritized.

It is times like this that my back ground in other careers keeps me managing.  Competitive distance running (physical endurance and mental stamina), front line health care (working miracles in impossible situations), community radio and festivals (the show must go on), and playing in an independent rock and roll band in a small town where the scene numbers 3 1/2 musicians and as many appreciative fans (It's not going to happen if I don't make it happen).  All of the above, like farming, are not for the faint at heart.

I'll focus on the successes, read between the lines for the failures.

Peas and Beans:

The Peas are loving this cool-ish weather.  I am learning that 2-3 beds of picking are my limit for a harvest.  Many growers consider these crops a loss leader, due to the fact that picking time by most of us is not quick enough to make the value of the crop.  $4.00 a Lb for beans, and slightly more for peas), is about what the market will bear.  Professional pickers are difficult to come by (they are paid by the pound, and are accustomed to 40 degree heat), and machine picked beans are varieties that can withstand rough treatment - if they have any flavor, I haven't noticed.


Our snow peas, a variety called Norli, are not the greatest tasting variety either.  They are the only snow pea variety available as certified organic seed that I can find, and they are dependable and trouble free.  We do the snap peas later in the fall.



The first variety of beans that we should experience this season are called Provider.  (Should be on your table in about three weeks).  It has two characteristics that I require for our early beans.  First, they germinate in relatively cold soil, unlike most beans.  Second, most bush beans will produce for two or three weeks and then finish.  Provider continues to set beans as long as they are being picked.  However, they do shut down when the temperature gets too hot for them.  They do not taste quite as good as our french bean Maxibel, or our favorite, Slenderette.

Our greens have had mixed results so far.  Generally, the cool weather has been good for them.  However, 48 hours in the life of a 40 day Spinach is a long time.  Two or three days of 28 degree plus weather can be too much, particularly when they are germinating or just sprouting.



Aside from some poorly timed heat-waves, most of the greens are doing well.  The Kale and Chard look phenomenal, the lettuces are small (nursery issues again) but healthy, and the Cress has stood up to the heat with some of our shaded tunnels.  The mustard greens have suffered somewhat, I suspect that the bed they are in requires more compost.  They are following a root crop (last year's beets), and as beets are heavy feeders, this may also be the reason why our first round has not fared quite as well as expected.  Not to worry, they are still in good enough shape for this week and hopefully the next two.  One note, they have been bitten up a bit by the Flea Beetles.  Not much can be done about this except watering the heck out of these plants.  The damage only affects appearance.  There is some evidence that produce that has experienced insect damage is higher in building blocks for the immune system.





One other note on the leaves.  Our New Zealand Spinach is settling into its first bed and getting ready to climb onto the trellis.  We have another three heat tolerant leaves on the way for later in the summer - Red Callaloo, Gold Purslane, and Purple Orach.




The roots are looking good - potatoes, carrots, turnips and beets.  But they are growing SO SLOW!  Only the turnips look like they are approaching harvest.  More radishes on they way.


By chance, I made a preemptive strike on the Potato Beatles.  I was checking the plants progress under the row covers, and just happened to notice a cluster of yellow eggs on the underside of one of the pants leaves.  How DO they get under my row covers?  They even skipped the "canary" plants that I leave uncovered.  So, I checked every single plant and disposed of a dozen adults and hundreds of eggs.  There's more on the way I'm sure...

Mibuna (left) and Tokyo Bekana

Asian Greens (Pac Choi and Tatsoi) are also on the way.  Last year was our first attempt at these crops.  I made the mistake of waiting for them to size up, but later learned that they are at their best when small.  So, we planted 10 times as much in the nursery, transplanted them much closer together, and will start harvesting them three weeks after transplant.  Quite a turnaround time.  These crops are taking up a lot of space, but well worth the effort.  The biggest challenge for delivering these crops is their fragility.  Some growers let them wilt before packaging so that they are more flexible.  I can't bring myself to do this, though if broken Chois are in your deliveries, let me know and I will give it a try.

Tip - most vegetables that are a bit wilted can be brought back by a few hours of being immersed in water.



The Garlic is doing great.  The scapes are in various stages of forming.  My one worry is how early some of the crop is maturing - I hope this does not mean that the bulbs are not sizing up to expectation.  We may be pulling some of these bulbs by early July, which means they will be delivered by late July (after curing for two weeks in the rafters of the barn).  You may notice that the garlic shoots have slightly different colors on the bulb and lowest portion of the stalk.  This hints at some of the variation you can expect...




Green Onions are coming along slowly after a dismal start.  I was in a bit of a panic 4 weeks ago when it seemed that the nursery was going to do every round of seeding in.  I seem to have started to catch up.  Green Onions are fairly easy, but they are very susceptible to drying out due to their shallow roots.  I've been using a light straw mulch around the base of the plants to alleviate this somewhat.  This poses another challenge - how to cultivate with the hoe with all that straw around?  Even at the best of times, weeding by hand takes too much time.  And being shallow rooted, green onions simply can't compete for water with other crops.

The Tomatoes are slow but coming along according to plan, I am eager to try the earliest of these - the Lime Green Cherry tomatoes.  We tried a Cherry Tomato a couple of years back.  It was called "Matina" and advertised as easy to grow, juicy and sweet.  Well, it was easy (didn't crack, resistant to hornworms, uniform appearance).  All of my customers whom I spoke with about them seemed to agree that they were watery and bland.  So I am hoping that the Lime Green Cherry's from Sunshine Farm in BC (advertised as tart flavored - whatever that means) are a big improvement.  Our other Toms, Moskvich, Great White, and Sorrento are also doing well, but we could only about 6 Sorrento plants out of the nursery, and something with buck teeth got two of the Moskvich.  I made a temporary improvement to the fence where it had been breached (animal tracking is another essential skill for harried growers).  It looks ugly but it works until a permanent solution can be found.

We have successfully transplanted six Asian Eggplant seedlings.  An improvement over last year.  I originally intended to do four plants each, but assuming that we may loose a couple, I made room for two more.  I hope the trellis stands up to this crop.  Each plant has the potential to produce 20 fruits.  The only worry is that this crop is very susceptible to Potato Beetles.  As they are trellised, I can't cover them with row covers.

We were able to find more space this season for extra Cucumber plants by trellising these as well.  Another experiment that could easily end in tears (and a lot of extra work).  Angela and I drove the stakes in a foot just to be sure.

The acorn squash is already flowering.  That damn squirrel better stay well in the hedgerow (or in the Zuchini plants).  I love animals, but as any grower will know, animals - even the two legged ones - can be quite fierce when defending food territory.  And I (unlike squirrels) have opposable thumbs and a fore brain. Squash flowers make a tasty side dish when stir fried.  Less refined creatures will eat them raw.  Please excuse my rodent fury.

Winter Squashes mulched with straw

The other winter squash, Delicata Honeyboat, should be the one to wait for.  Those of you who tried it last year will know why I have concentrated on this one this season.

Well, it's much too late to continue.  I have an early day tomorrow (another 21 day work-week in store), and I still want to catch a film tonight.

I'll speak more about our long season produce in our next post, and our vegetables with a beating heart as well.  By then, the camera battery should be re-charged, and I can get the picks I shot today up on the site.

See you soon,

Bob

"Will plow for Oats..."

Oppopeos and Nicotania