WEEK XV - Aug 11 to 13

WEEK XV

Aug 11

Working at the Terraces

The leaves of our sunflowers display an array of brow spots accompanied by yellowing of the areas around the spots. A little bit of research point to a couple of fungi. Septoria leafspot as well as Alternaria leafspot are two foliar diseases that are common in sunflowers. The fungus, Septoria helianthi, affects plants of any age but symptoms usually begin on the lower leaves after flowering.

Management: Crop rotation, incorporation of sunflower residue and clean seed are the best means of managing Septoria leaf spots. Although resistance to Septoria has been identified in breeding material, the infrequent occurrence of Septoria has not warranted the development of resistant hybrids (Sunflower Production, North Dakota State University 2007)

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The runner beans have recovered from the could of days without irrigation. We were able to harvest some more beans out of them. We also harvest lettuce that grew in the shade of the sunflowers.

We pinched the lambs quarter to prevent them from going to seed.

We also sprayed the cucurbits with a mix of baking soda, soap and water.

Aug 13

At the Orchard

Our last day at the Orchard, we are harvesting the Yukon Gold potatoes. It seem, according to Dr. Bomford, that the wilting symptoms this variety was experiencing was not a fungal infection but, who would thought, early senescence. Dr. Bomford did some research and found it is possible for potato plants to senesce without going into the blooming phenolic stage. He noted that the wilt was occurring mainly on the leaves, while the stems remained  healthy and strong, which would not happen if tho had been a fungus.

We re-applied the mix of baking soda, soap and water to the squash to keep powdery mildew under control.

The blackberry bushes are very effectively coming back, they will need to be mowed with the tractor.

As we come to the end of the course, we will always cherish the learnings and the great moment we spent together. I am sure that we will cross paths in the future many times as we collectively build a more sustainable food system.

Class of 2012, the very first Sustainable Ag Batch!