WEEK I - May 12 -14

WEEK I

May 12

Farm Management Practices

Fungus Gnat in indoor seedlings

At the beginning of April, the seedlings growing in trays in the lab developed a significant fungus gnat problem. Little flies could be observed hovering over the seedlings. As a consequence most seedlings developed wilt like symptoms, as if not been watered. This is a very common problem in indoor garden settings were moist levels and warm temperature predominate. In order to keep populations under control, we used a bio control approach that involved the application of Hypoaspis miles over the trays. Hypoaspis are generalist soil predatory mites, capable of controlling Fungus Gnat larvae, thrips pupae, pathogenic nematodes, Spring Tails, Strawberry Root Weevil, Varroa Miles, and Cactus Root Weevil, and it is currently being tested for its potential ability to control the Black Vine Root Weevil.

Days later, the number of flies seem to have decreased..

Hypoaspis Miles: Biological Control of Varroa Miles and other Agrological Uses

Being a bee-lover, I found this very educational and interesting video about the Hypoaspis Miles and its agricultural applications.

https://vimeo.com/63418711

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Revisiting the Compost Trials Set Up in the East Terraces

A compost experimental triel was set up in April in the East terraces to assess the effectiveness of adding compost material to untreated sandy soil, as well as comparing the quality of compost of two different local companies: Net Zero and Harvest Power.

The terraces where divided into 12 different plots, each measuring 10 feet wide by 3 feet in depth.

Each plot was seeded with three varieties of leafy greens from West Coast Seeds: lettuce Drunkend Lady, spinach Bloomdale Savoy, and swiss chard Pink Flamingo. 

By May 12 we recorded the following germination rates:

North East Terrace

Swiss Chard	17	5
Spinach	7	20
Lettuce	2	12

Swiss Chard	11	3	4	15
Spinach	4	13	10	5
Lettuce	5	0	1	3

South East Terrace

Swiss Chard	33	65	84	53
Spinach	14	15	4	14
Lettuce	9	11	7	3

Lettuce	2	5
Spinach	0	8
Swiss Chard	54	30

There seems to be a difference germination success across all the experimental plots with the control plot having the lowest success. The Harvest Power plots displayed earlier emergence, maybe due to the fact that we laid the compost first and the rain leached away the salt in these plots, where as Net Zero was laid at a later date, close to seeding time. In the other hand, there seems to be a higher nitrogen content in Net Zero compost which is causing the swiss chard and the spinach to look greener than the plants growing in the Harvest Power and Control plots. 

May 14

Comparing Tilling Methods: Walk Behind Tractor versus Double Digging 

We unloaded the second load of compost donated by Harvest Power and used the walk behind tractor to till the compost into the sandy soil. We used two different approaches to till the soil: double digging and shallow tilling with the root-tiller hooked up to the walk behind tractor.

While the walk behind tractor tilled the surfaced top layer, the double digging went deeper since it involves the loosening of two layers of soil, and the loosening of deeper layers of soil where clay aggregates impede the effective drainage of water and might interfere with root growth. In the long run, the double digging is more effective at creating soil pockets that last for a few years, improving drainage and aeration.

Farm Management Practices

Richmond Terraces Field Notes

Weed Management in Terraces

The west terraces developed a weed problem with purslane (Portulaca oleracea) (Fig. 10). Although purslane is considered to be a weed, it has been eaten as a leafy green for centuries by North American First Nations, the Greeks, and all throughout the Middle East and Asia. Because Purslane contains more omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant, and serves as an excellent low cover crop, we are going to allow purslane grow between rows but we will weed it out of the rows where young seedling are trying to establish to prevent their competition for light, water and nutrients. We used the square top hoe to weed between the seedlings (Fig. 11) as well as hand weeding where seedlings were to close from each other.

Fig. 10 Purslane

Fig 11. Treu Temper Square Top Hoe (Do it Best Hardware Store. n.d. Web. https://www.doitbest.com/products/true-temper-onion-hoe)

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Row Cover Fabric in West Terraces

We placed row cover fabric over the carrot beds to screen out agricultural pest such as carrot rust fly. The cover will also keep heat in and serve as protection against dehydration by wind (Fig. 12). 

Fig 12. Agricultural row cover fabric in carrot beds

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Jang Seeder versus Earth Way Seeder

Fig 13. Earth Way Seeder

FIg 14. Jang Seeder

One of the most widely used and use fool tools for row crop planting in small scale farming settings are the "walk-behind" seeders (Fig 13,14). Walk-behind seeders are precision machines that open the soil to a specific depth and deposits and covers the seeds to a specific spacing. They usually have a wheel in front that drives the seed-metering cylinder or plate mechanism. Usually, the plates are different sizes and they serve for the seeding of different crops, based on seed size.

We tried two different and very popular models in our terraces in order to compare their effectiveness: the Earthway seeder (Fig 13) and the Jang seeder (Fig.14) . 

The Easrtheway can be purchased anywhere from $40 to $110, it comes with 6 plates:

"Standard Seed plates included with the 1001-B are: 18100 Sweet Corn,  18101 Radish, Leeks, Spinach, 18102 Carrots, Lettuce, Turnips, 18103 Beans, Small Peas, 18104 Jumbo Peas, 18105 Beets, Okra, Swiss Chard." (Earthway Webpage)

The Jung Seeder is known to be a more precise instrument, it usually comes with 40+ rollers to choose from.

Fig 15. Jang Seeder (Woodward Crossing Country Basics Webpage)

Both models can be adapted to plant more than one row by adding "add-ons" or heads to the sides (Fig.16).

Fig 16. Jang Seeder (Woodward Crossing Country Basics Webpage)

We planted Lettuce and carrots from West Coast Seeds

Today, May 14, 2015, a king dies peacefully in his sleep. He'll always be remember as the King of the Blues. I'm sure George Washington Carver would've had liked BB King a lot. Farewell to the king!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYxPz7KpdG8