Research Library
EFAO’s research library is an open access resource where you can find all of EFAO’s research protocols, reports and publications, and other on-farm research guides.
Aarathi wanted to see whether a bush or vining variety of lablab bean was more productive in southwestern Ontario. After germination challenges, the bush variety showed good potential with harvestable beans while the vining did not produce harvestable beans before frost. Aarathi was able to collect data on the bush variety as a first step towards determining its commercial viability.
In a Nutshell
- Similar to 2022, Emerald Green performed well with respect to yield, marketability and flavour
- New to the 2023 trial, Annie Oakley OP also performed well
- Dwarf Lee and Cajun Jewel were the lower performing varieties
- Growers identified season extension and regionally adapted varieties as priorities for growing okra well in southern Ontario
David and Della at Everdale Farm trialed 6 varieties of eggplant to see what varieties performed well with their production methods. Their work confirmed that Annina and Nigral were the standouts at Everdale.
In a Nutshell
- Annina’s abundant, striped fruits offered resilience in storage, firmness when cooked and visual appeal that masked imperfection
- Nigral met the demand for a reliable, dark purple eggplant that satisfied customer
- Larry’s results showed that yields decreased when he used the mix of alternative and synthetic fertilizers.
- Although there was some cost savings with the treatment protocols, the cost savings per acre could not justify the yield decrease compared to synthetic fertilizers alone.
- Overall, Larry’s trial demonstrates the power of farmer-led research for testing products for your own farm.
The growers’ objectives were to continue the work from their 2022 trial and document the highest yielding fava bean varieties for ecological production across different farms in southern Ontario.
In a Nutshell
- Fava beans remain a challenging crop to grow with Ontario’s climate, especially rooftop gardens
- Andy’s Broad Bean had fewer pods than the other varieties, but the pods were bigger and heavier making it the highest yielding variety by weight
- Growers had overall preference for Andy’s Broad Bean and the dwarf breeding line NVDWFLVC
To optimize labour associated with planting of easyleaf lettuce, farmers at Fresh City Farms compared transplanting, direct seeding and a step-in method.
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Among four succession plantings, there was a lot of variability and we were unable to discern clear differences between the three planting methods.
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Trends and observations support that transplanting has the potential to be highest yielding; and, depending on soil conditions, the step-in method may reduce labour time.
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The process of conducting a trial on the farm highlighted other areas for optimization, such as bed preparation, which ultimately led to greater yields in 2024.
Ryan and Isabelle tested different varieties and planting dates across two winter seasons to assess overwintering success of kale, cilantro and swiss chard in their unheated hoophouses in Cache Bay, northern Ontario.
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Kale and cilantro successfully overwintered in both years and were affected by their locations between the two hoophouses.
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Swiss chard did not survive in 2022 and was not included in the 2022/2023 trial.
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Planting date did not affect the yield of kale or cilantro.
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Winterbor F1 was the best kale of the three varieties tested and Caribe was the best cilantro of three varieties tested, with respect to its saleability and survivability.
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There was the same type of ground beetles in the beetle banks and cropped beds
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There were more ground beetles in beetle banks than cropped areas
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Beetle banks provided habitat for numerous other beneficial insects in addition to ground beetles
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Beetle banks provide opportunities for niche enterprises such as cut flowers and mushroom production
Continuing previous work on an organic system for no-till potatoes, Ken tested the performance of the varieties in this system and the effect of planting depth on marketable weight.
In a Nutshell
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Gemstar Russet and SP327 produced similar yield and marketable weight under tilled and no-till management
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Norland had lower yields under no-till management
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Ken found no significant difference in yield or marketable weight between 3” and 5” depths under no-till management
In a Nutshell
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Most of the potato varieties, including a diversity of types, did well with the mulch method with limited greening.
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Chieftain had the highest yield and marketable yield.
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Huckleberry Gold, Yukon Gold, Kennebec, Sangre, Purple Viking, Dakota Pearl were lowest yielding varieties.
In a Nutshell
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Cover crops with micronutrient amendments increased active carbon, a sensitive indicator of soil health and soil regeneration potential.
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Micronutrient amendments alone did not increase active carbon.
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Eric saw some added benefit of adding chicken manure and woody compost to the diverse cover crop, with respect to yield and cost effectiveness per unit biomass of an indicator crop of sorghum sudangrass.
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Moving forward, whether Eric uses cover crops with or without manure and compost will depend on the return on investment of the following cash crop.
Farmer-led research (FLR) is a process of inquiry wherein farmers use scientific methods to address their own on-farm curiosities and challenges in ways that are compatible with the scale and management style of their operations. With its flexible, adaptable, participatory, grassroots-oriented nature, FLR has typically been employed by farmers interested in ecological farming techniques and technologies, and evidence shows that it contributes to the adoption and improvement of ecological management practices across a range of contexts. Engagement in FLR initiatives has also been linked to positive social outcomes, including community building, farmer empowerment, and enhanced capacity for leadership and collective action. In this paper, we present a case study of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario’s (EFAO) Farmer-Led Research Program (FLRP), which is currently one of relatively few FLR initiatives in North America. We draw on data from a participatory, mixed-methods research project. Our results highlight how the FLRP is enabling farmers to feel more knowledgeable, confident, motivated, and inspired to adopt and/or improve ecological practices on their farms, in part by supporting them in building robust social networks that align with their farming values and priorities.
Keywords
- Farmer-led Research, Ecological Agriculture, Farmer-to-Farmer Networks, Knowledge-Sharing, Social Learning, Evidence-Informed Practice, Ontario
Rav et les autres agriculteurs voulaient documenter les meilleures variétés de gombo pour la production dans différentes fermes du sud de l’Ontario et du Québec.
En Bref
- Une grande variabilité entre les variétés a rendu difficile la distinction entre les « meilleures » et les « pires » variétés de gombo.
- La variété Emerald Green a été performante en ce qui concerne la germination, le rendement, la cote et les préférences des producteurs.
- Les clients du marché des producteurs et des paniers d’ASC aiment toutes les variétés. Les producteurs sont alors invités à opter pour les variétés les mieux adaptées à leur système de production.
As part of the Living Lab–Ontario project funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Brett Israel tested strategies to make reduced tillage more scalable for organic field crop production systems in southern Ontario by double cropping soybeans with small grains and forages and adding N-fixing forages to his corn rotation.
In a Nutshell
Over two years of trials, the most promising systems that emerged from his investigations included:
- Overwintered cereal rye harvested for forage before planting soybeans
- Winter barley planted ahead of short season soybeans
- Spring-planted alfalfa harvested for forage and then incorporated as the sole nitrogen source for the following corn crop
To innovate systems that reduce tillage and keep the soil covered using cover crops for organic vegetable production in southern Ontario, Ken Laing tested 60+ combinations of crops and ground cover over three years.
In a Nutshell
The most promising systems that emerged from his investigations included:
- Garlic no-till planted in the fall into a mown cover crop of sorghum sudangrass
- Potatoes no-till planted into winter rye, which is mown before potato emergence
- Winter squash no-till planted into hairy vetch or deep compost mulch
- Field tomatoes planted into winter rye and hairy vetch; with more trials needed to confirm
The growers’ objectives were to document the best fava varieties for urban rooftop and field production across different farms in southern Ontario.
In a Nutshell
- Distinguishing the “best” and “worst” among fava varieties wasn’t possible due to crop failure and missing data
- All fava varieties had issues with disease and heat stress, leading growers to note a need for regionally adapted varieties of fava
- Fava was a popular item at markets and through CSAs as many customers don’t see fresh fava very often!
The growers’ objectives were to document the best iceberg lettuce varieties for successional head production across different farms in southern Ontario; and to assess the viability of the varieties for seed production in Zone 3 in northern Ontario.
In a Nutshell
- Iceberg can be a difficult lettuce to grow and market because of the variability and inconsistencies in head development
- Due to issues with replication, no concrete recommendations can be made on which iceberg variety is best for successional head production in southern Ontario
- Two varieties that rose to the top for growers were Laibacher Eis 4 and Marius, both of which came from a co-operative organic breeding network in Germany
- Due to disease pressure, no seed was produced in Zone 3 from any of the iceberg varieties