WEEKVI - June 16 - 18

WEEK VI

June 16

Richmond Terraces

Corn Seedlings are coming along with differences in height probably due to nutrient availability in the soil.

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The Tobacco plants are growing very well!

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The Yukon gold potatoes are already showing signs of senescence  Dying back of this variety might be caused by fungal infection. We need to check for early blight by taking samples of sporulation in necrotic leaves and checking for lemon shaped spores under the microscope.

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We removed the suckers from the tomato plants.

There's a significant difference in size between the tomato plants growing inside and outside of the tunnel.

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Cucurbits growing well inside and outside the tunnel.

Zucchinis

Cucumbers

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Second load of Compost

In spite of been planted on April 30th, beets grew very little after germination. This is due to the fact that the second load of compost was clearly of low quality, as compared to the other loads.

Most beets did not grow after germination.

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There are clear indications of a decrease in aphid population and an increase in ladybug population, although this might not be indicative of a significant reduction in pest pressure due to the fact that aphids are vectors to several viral pathogens. Filed observations show a wilting of the plants due to pest pressure or early senescence of the plants.

Another crop impacted by pest pressure are the leafy greens in the east terraces. Chard and spinach have been eaten by local rabbits.

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Experimental plots

The difference not only in germination but also in growth is visible now among the experimental plots, with the control plot performing the poorest, followed by the Net Zero crops and the Harvest Power being the best of the three compost treatments. The difference was more noticeable in the lettuce and spinach but not so much in the swiss chard. This  might be due to a difference in the content of salinity between the treatments. Even pus lane, which has been growing very well across the terraces performs poorly in the sandy soils of the Control plots. Clover growing also in the control is an indicator of nitrogen deficiency in the soil. 

Purslane growing in the control plots

Clover growing in the Control plots

Swiss Chard in Control Plots

Swiss Chard growing in Net Zero Compost

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Exotic Leafy greens

Purple Lambs Quarter, Spicy Arugula, Bitter Italian Dandelion, and Drunken Lady lettuce are growing quite well on the East Terrace.

Leafy Greens Growing in Harvest Power Compost Plot - not experimental

Lambs quarter

Beautiful Lambs quarter

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Midseason Fertilization Application

Crops were showing symptoms of nutrient deficiency, such as yellowing of the leaves. A mixture of organic fertilizers was prepared and the plants were "dressed" with a 2.5-3.5-3 NPK blend.application.

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June 18

The Orchard

We installed part of the irrigation system in at the orchard. We started by laying the lines along the rows of fruit trees E block. 

The orchard is hooked up to City water at 40 gallons per minute on the main line. The main line runs all the way around the back of D block. The line has five subheathers, the zone come off the main line. The line is underground and buried, we can mow over but not till over it because in some areas the line is laying just below ground, so ask before you dig!

The only thing visible of the zones is the hoses that come up above the ground, so we have a hook up that comes for each row of trees that have been existing. This allows us to lay a thick hose all the way down the length of the rows. The hose has no holes , so we are going to puncture the hose with a special tool and clip the emitters, two for each tree.

The emitters release 4 gallons per hour, so each tree is going to gets 8 gallons per hour. We will run the system for 30 to 35 minutes up to one hour per day from June to the end of the season. The system is all automated by means of an electronically control valve system. It is all control with wires buried underground and connected to each individual valve. Lots of stuff to keep in mind when digging!  Each zone can be controlled independently from each other. The drip that comes from the emitters is really good for water conservation. Ideally, it would be better to raise the lines a few centimetres of the ground to keep it safe from the weed waking process. Once raised it is easier to see if there's any damage issues. There hasn't been too many issues with voles eating the hoses in the past (keep our fingers cross). 

Next we need to install the irrigation system in the corns and squash plots and the potato plots.