WEEK XIII
July 28
At the Terraces
The harvesting pattern has moved from the west side of the terrace, where the late Spring to early Summer crops were planted, to the east side, where the summer crops such as tomatoes, peppers, bush beans were planted. Today we were able to harvest cucumbers...
Beautiful sunflowers growing along the corn in the west terrace. Notice the difference in size and colour among the corn plants due to a difference in nutrient content in the soil. This could be attributed to the fact that the composts was not tilled into the soil at the edges of the beds because the walk behind tractor could not access the narrow space at the end of the beds.
No progress on the beets, still...
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We notice a significant difference in side between the plants growing in the tunnels and the same varieties growing outside when we lifted the wall of the tunnel to spray the zucchinis
July 30
At the Orchard...
Weeding in Sami's experimental plot...to avoid a build up of weeds seed bank at the orchard
At the Terraces
Among some of the tasks we completed today at the terraces, we were able to re-apply a mixture of 40% milk spray to combat powdery mildew in cucurbits. This and the removal of old and infected leaves seems to be working. Removal of some of the leaves will not affect the photosynthetic rate since plants were bushy to begin with.
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We planted some leafy greens...
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According to Dr. Bomford, in July along we have harvested 100kg of produce, which account for double of what we harvested in June. Solanaceous crop yield remains low because potatoes have been counted as a root crop rather than a Solanaceous. Solanaceous crop yield will however increase once tomatoes are all harvested. Overall, we estimate this numbers are going to fade naturally as the season comes to an end.
The harvesting pattern has moved from the west side of the terrace, where the late Spring to early Summer crops were planted, to the east side, where the summer crops such as tomatoes, peppers, bush beans were planted. Today we were able to harvest cucumbers...
Carrots. Yields remain low due to a combination of factors: soil disturbance in some section, poor compost, thievery)
pole beans, the yield was significantly high...
tomatoes and peppers
and squash and zucchini
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We had a great germination rate among the beans and peas that were planted in June.
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The dill is growing very well, in spite of being kind of neglected by our class...
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No progress on the beets, still...
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Unfortunately the irrigation system failed and was off for a couple of days. A few crops show water stress, such as tobacco...
tomatoes and basil...
We have officially moved into stage 4 draught and stage 3 water use restrictions starting July. Nevertheless, thanks to the 20mm rainfall received last week, Richmond has met the expected average rainfall amount for July. Water restrictions remain in place until the local reservoir is replenished, which will probably take place during the fall.
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July 30
At the Orchard...
Diligently, we came to the rescue of corn and squash crops and lay down the irrigation lines at the orchard.
Plants of the Yukon gold potato variety were showing signs of early senescence, although this shouldn't be happening before blooming. A fungus could be responsible for the wilting symptoms. We also observed potato flea beetles in the plants closer to the edges.This pest pressure probably comes from neighbouring potato fields. Potato farmers use this to their advantage and plant rows of potatoes in horizontal rows at the edges of their fields. Potato flea beetle cannot fly long distances and tend to establish themselves in these outer rows at the edges of the field. This allows the farmer to spray only these marginal rows instead of having to spray the whole potato field.
The corn continues to grow successfully, better than the one at the terraces and definitely green, which implies better overall nitrogen and nutrient content. One thing to notice is that the plant are at different stages of maturation, due to the fact that there was to stages of seeding, something we should avoid in the future if we are going to manage pollination effectively.
to the Squash is growing successfully, again, larger in size than at the terraces. There's also less sightings of powdery mildew. We sprayed a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, soap and water and removed infected leaves (took them to the composts vs. leaving them laying in the floor)
Carrots are growing better her than at the terraces.
Ahhh garlic!! Yummy snack at 11:30...
Weeding in Sami's experimental plot...to avoid a build up of weeds seed bank at the orchard
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