A Busy Day at the Orchard

Their are often more tasks at the orchard then could possibly be completed and today (June 20) was no different. We typically perform a "walk around" discussing current progress of the crops, potential pest issues, some unique characteristics of the orchard, etc. Today, however, the tasks were delved out and with a quick huddle by the picnic tables we were ready to begin the day of work. We split ourselves up with students working on strawberry harvest, weeding the garlic crop, weeding the brassica crop, and individual students had research projects to work on.

The orchard serves as both a productive farm but also a valuable space to conduct agricultural research. A strawberry variety trial was currently taking place and students were tasked with collecting and documenting data. Working on this project has taught many of us the importance of organization and communication when carrying out a research project. Strawberries are harvested twice weekly and a count and weight is documented. If we do not correctly label and organize the varieties it is difficult to then gather accurate information. Many of us found it challenging to not sample the strawberries as we picked!

The strawberry varieties all possess unique characteristics. The flavour, size, and shape is greatly variable and may come as a surprise to the average consumer purchasing strawberries from a common grocer. The complexity of flavour is unbelievable and it was immensely satisfying to try one (or many more!) from each variety and discuss with fellow class mates.

Stark is also growing strawberries for his research project. He has an interest in season extension and developed an experiment to explore just that. There are many different strategies a farmer may use for an early start on a crop or to extend a crop later into the season. Stark is testing both floating row cover and hoop houses. He could be found that Thursday caring for this young strawberry plants.

It is so important in this course to take a moment and observe your surroundings. I took a quick walk through the orchard to see the progress of the pears. They were coming along well. There is something inexplicably special about watching a plant grow and produce fruit. It tends to take me by surprise!

Sticking with the theme of research projects the pear orchard is also home to one. Will had decided to study mulches and their impact on weed suppression. He has experienced challenges with the living mulches from poor germination, delayed shipping of irrigation equipment, to weed species outcompeting the living mulch species.

You will typically find Will at some point weeding or tending to the orchard floor on Thursdays, and today was no different. It does appear the non living mulch (wood chips) has had some success with weed suppression and may have some value in orchard floor management.









Next was a check in with the brassica crop. The class had planted cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussel sprout transplants earlier in June. It is essential during this period of the plants life cycle to have little competition with weed species. A plant uses nutrients obtained from the soil to grow, weeds are often able to outcompete these young transplants. Thus weed management! And lots of it. I think each and every student would answer weeding as a task most commonly completed. And as stated for good reason. Eric was using a helpful tool, the wheel hoe. It is manually pushed through the soil and essentially severs a plants roots and shoots with a blade positioned behind the wheel. There are many different designs and models but ultimately they all have similar outcomes, terminating weed plants by a cutting action.

Mike was monitoring the plants for pest damage. Quickly the culprit of the bullet hole feeding damage was found, the flea beetle. Aptly named for its ability to hop. Flea beetles (and flea beetle larvae) may damage a crop by feeding but are more of a concern as a vector of viruses. Thus an immediate decision was made to manage the flea beetles with the intention of reducing or eliminating damage to the crop and reducing the insects population. The ecological pest management course Mike teaches has been so helpful in applying to on farm scenarios. Because the orchard follows organic standards a physical management practice would likely be the most effective in managing the flea beetle. Row covers are a quick method to control some insect pest species. They create a barrier inhibiting insects from establishing on a plant because they are simply prevented by a thin breathable fabric covering the plant. In some cases row covers can result in greater damage as you essentially trap the pest species with an ample food source. This was not a serious concern in this case.

A look at the garlic crop. Again another experiment was being conducted. Garlic is not grown like most plants. Instead of planting a seed it is much easier to plant an actual bulb of garlic. The faculty had noticed a substantial price difference between large and small red Russian garlic bulbs. And as agricultural scientists this price difference was put to the test, to determine whether it was warranted. Additionally the garlic was to be planted as both a monoculture and a polyculture with a wheat variety. Unfortunately the wheat had not established, this was attributed to the wet characteristics of the site. Instead weeds had established and the class was tasked with eliminating them. While a hoe may be useful with transplants it is unfortunately not always an appropriate tool. In this case good old hands were the best tool for the job. The students are just as effective, the first picture is the garlic crop pre weeding and below is post weeding. Pretty amazing!

And finally Nic's research project is also being conducted at the orchard! Piper can be seen here using a different hoe design to manage weeds. Nic is growing onions and carrots as both monocultures and polycultures to determine the efficacy of polycultures on control of carrot rust fly and onion maggot. Small transplants need relatively constant care to ensure successful emergence and growth. Weed management is crucial to ensure this.

The orchard is place of learning through practical farm work but also by conducting and observing the many research experiments taking place there. Sustainable agriculture is such an exciting field as many new techniques are melded with tried and true methods resulting in overall more socially and environmentally responsible systems.

(Retroactive Journal Post of Activities on June 1st, 2017)

We gathered at the Richmond campus ready to tackle the day ahead. Our trucks were packed up quickly and we raced under the grey skies to the little orchard at Gilbert and Dyke road. Clouds were heavy, moisture was thick in the air, and it was 18 degrees Celsius. The green leaves of the nearby oak trees were vibrant. 

A few hands got to setting up our work tent while Rebecca Harbut relayed the days tasks:

- spreading compost 

- removing excess brassicas

- limb positioning pears

- weeding

- planting onions

Dr. Harbut also informed us that today would be a day with no "tool time" or "web of life".

The class self-separated into groups, each addressing their own duties. I followed along with the orchard weeding group. After clearing a a few trees I got ahold of the tablet and started snapping pictures. It was the sort of day where there isn't much occurring, but you can really see the foundation that has been laid for the active days in summer; the strawberries were small and green, the tree fruits were just emerging, the new transplants were establishing their roots. In a matter of weeks this place will be alive, but now it remains nascent and quiet - our major tasks were removing weeds and prepping beds. 

The onions that were going into the ground today were for Nicolas Walser's research project. His study looks at the effect of intercropping (onions and carrots) on the presence of two pests, carrot rust fly and onion maggot. I took a moment to mark up some planting sticks to make transplanting his onions easier. 

weeding the tree wells

strawberries, still green and sizing up

garlic, a little weedy but looking good

labeling is integral

I took a little stroll to the brassica block. When the brassica transplants went into the ground a research project had been overlooked and brassicas were placed in the research plot area. When I took a look at the spot that day the brassicas had already been removed by another group and string delineated the research plot. Stark and Eric were busying themselves with spreading manure across the brassica plots. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch...

demarcation of research plot, sandwiched between strawberries (left) and brassicas (right)

... lunch consumed we resumed our class with a training lesson: how to properly attach a tractor implement. Torin Boyle gave us the low down on how to remove and attach an implement and we all practiced on our compost spreader attachment. We also got a lesson on how to operate the BCS walk-behind tractor, but since we were running low on time Torin took on the task of tilling the field. 

tractor implement lesson

walk-behind tractor lesson

With an hour left we reassessed our task list: spreading compost (done), weeding (done), removing brassicas (done), limb positioning pears (undone), planting onions (undone). Since getting the onion transplants in the ground before we left was top priority we all pushed up our sleeves and started to get to work. In a mad dash we managed to plant all of the onions (yipee!) and, with that, we packed up and piled into the vehicles that brought us there. 

The Future of Sustainable Agriculture at Kwantlen Looks Bright!

July 6, 2017

Today the class spent the first half of the day at the orchard, and the second half of the day on campus presenting our group farm plan projects. The morning began with a fast and efficient strawberry harvest that was finished in record time. Once all of the strawberries were harvested, the class split into groups to do other tasks. One group planted beans in the plots west of our garlic rows.  The second group measured our farms 8-metre buffer zone that is next to the bean plot, which ensures our organic certification. Canadian Organic Standards defines a buffer zone as a “clearly defined and identifiable boundary area that separates an organic production unit from adjacent non-organic areas.”1 These buffer zones are used to prevent crop contamination from neighbouring land. The bean varieties are Blue Lake, Purple Peacock, and Edamame. They will be planted every 40 inches under a circular trellis, allowing for efficient picking.

While the beans were planted and the buffer zone was mapped, sticky traps were installed throughout Nic’s research project, which marked the beginning of his data collection!

Strawberry harvest.

Figuring out a game plan.

On the east side of the orchard a portion of the class was tasked with planting squash and pumpkin transplants. The transplants were spaced every 20cm at each drip emitter.  This is tight spacing considering the fact that they cover quite a large space once mature. The species that were planted include:

·      Steroid Pumpkin: this is a green, oil seed pumpkin.

·      Neon Pumpkin: orange carving pumpkin.

·      Small Sugar: dense and sweet flesh.

·      Orange Summer: dense and sweet flesh.

·      Reno Squash: Acorn squash.

·      Butternut Squash

·      Spaghetti Squash

·      Galutazine Pumpkin: warty, sweet variety.

Nic, getting ready to plant transplants.

Squash transplants in the ground.

Once 11:30 AM hit we packed up our things and headed back to campus for our farm plan project presentations. Before the presentations began, Piper presented the weekly Web of Life organism. The organism that Piper researched was Photorhabdus luminescens. P. luminescens is a gram-negative bioluminescent bacterium from the family Enterobacteriaceae. This bacterium lives symbiotically inside the entomopathogenic nematode, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. The nematode will burrow in to the target insect larva and regurgitate the bacterium into the primary body cavity of the insect. The bacterium toxins will then kill the target insect. To me, the most fascinating aspect of P. luminescens was its involvement in the American Civil War and First World War. Due to P. luminescens bioluminescent properties, the wounded soldiers exhibited glowing wounds, and had a higher survival rate of those that did not. The higher survival rates can be attributed to the antimicrobial properties that are produced by the bacterium. While these war stories are fascinating, it’s hard to imagine that this was the first time that these bioluminescent bacterium were present in battlegrounds. Considering the folklore that could easily result in something as unusual as glowing wounds, I wonder what the indigenous cultures of North America thought of P. luminescens? Unfortunately, a Google search didn’t seem to pick up anything relevant.

Piper's Web of Life paper.

Well, after a semester and a half of working on them, it was finally time to present the group farm plan projects. Our class had been split up in to three groups-- Orchard, Tsawwassen, and Garden City. All of these farms clearly have their different sets of pros and cons. For example, the orchard is slowly becoming more established, however, the water table is incredibly high; Tsawwassen has a decent amount of arable land, but the soil is filled with clay, and there are areas that have salt contamination; Garden City will have brand new soil that has been trucked in, but with that, comes many future unknowns.

All of the groups presenting definitely touched on the key objectives of Kwantlen's Institute for Sustainable Food Systems. All of these farms revolve around education, community engagement, and environmental stewardship. I enjoyed the Garden City groups many ideas around potential projects like cider production, CSA programs, a community kitchen, and grain milling. Lastly, I enjoyed the Tsawwassen group’s idea for a long-term crop rotation, to reduce soil erosion. While all of the class groups had mostly sound, and creative plans, I believe it is important to now consider how the three farms can work together using their lands unique strengths to create a resilient agricultural centre. These three farms have their different pros and cons, which changes the potential of each one. 

References:
1. Government of Canada. (2015). Canadian Organic Standards- Organic Production Systems. Retrieved from http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/ongc-cgsb/programme-program/normes-standards/internet/bio-org/pgng-gpms-eng.html

Can't Bt this!

Tuesday July 4 

What a beautiful morning this was to be working outside on the Terraces at Kwantlen.  Some sunflowers have started to bloom, and the sorghum grass is getting bigger, and the pollinator garden is spectacular. Attendance was somewhat lacking in the morning, which just meant that we had to work extra fast to get everything prepared for this weeks’ market. A few students went to the orchard with Rebecca to harvest strawberries and garlic scapes, and the rest of us tackled the terraces. 

Red Russian Kale 

Our lettuce harvest was especially short this week, but there should be a little bit more to harvest next week. There was lots of arugula to harvest, however, the first batch of arugula that was planted that we are still harvesting is starting to become a bit more work than it is worth it for market and I suspect that this will have been the last harvest for the arugula in this lower south section. 

There was of course lots of kale to harvest as always as well as sugar snap peas , melting mammoth snow peas, and the last batch of scallions and radishes.

Lodging Scallions

During our walk about we noticed that the scallions had started lodging. This means that all of the tops had started to fall over, and energy was ceasing to go to the green tops, and start focusing on the bulbs. This is why it was the last week of harvest for the scallions.  After the market, the rest were all harvested and laid out on the side of the terraces in the sun to cure.  There is no rain the forecast up ahead, so the only concern about leaving them outside, would be the public.  Once they have been cured, they will store pretty well, and will be sold at market as shallots. Some diamond back worm and imported cabbage worms were found on just about every species of brassica we have planted on the terraces.  It was proposed that later in the day we would spray them with Bt.

Curing Scallions

Unmarketable Radishes

It was determined that this would be the last radish harvest while we were getting ready for the market.  The size, colour, and shape of all the radishes were very variable, and they just didn’t look that great. Once they were cut into they had some brilliant colour, however, they were extremely spicy and a bit tough in texture. It was decided that we would not sell them at this market, and brave students could take them home if they wished. After lunch, the rest of the radishes were pulled and composted, and the bed got prepared to be re-planted. The last of the spinach plants were also pulled, it is been a pretty crummy year for spinach, and enough was enough with those. 

Colourful Radishes

The strawberry harvesters returned to campus, and helped the rest of us get the finishing touches for the market.  The strawberries sold out within the first hour, and it was a beautiful day, so we had a fairly steady flow of customers. 

                       

Nice Mounds Ladies! 

After lunch and this weeks web of life presentation from Isabel, we were sent to work on some terrace tasks. Including pulling out the scallions and radishes, stringing up the tomato plants onto the stakes that were put in place last week, selecting a planting some squash to replace the scallions, and spraying the brassicas with Bt.

Species that were planted include: Goldy Zucchini, Sunbust Scallop Squash, Ambassador Squash, Diplomat Melons, and some seeds were given to us from a vendor at the market from an Indian squash, and we are a little unsure of what it is going to turn out like, but we decided to give it a go anyways! 

Eric took on the task of spraying the brassicas with Bt. 3 grams of DiPel was added to backpack sprayer filled with water and then Eric sprayed away. 

Some Purslane was harvested later on in the day but was not sold at market, it was distributed between the students that wanted to give it a try.