Another year, another round of biomass sampling for the Plant available Nitrogen trials!
What do fish guts, wool, thistles, and dry beans all have in common? They are the subjects of 22 farmer-led research trials happening in 2026. This year’s cohort includes 32 farmer-researchers,10 multi-farm trials and 6 continuing trials across the province.
Want to discover the questions farmer-researchers are curious about this year?
New trials for 2026:
Flax screening trial for fibre and oil
Shannon Gerard will investigate which varieties have the strongest linen fibre, greatest oil yield, overall yield, and how could the project be scaled up for future creation of artist’s materials.
Successful germination methods for butterfly milkweed
Kristine Hammel wants to determine which mediums and stratification methods result in the best germination success and vigorous seedlings.
Isolation distance for cut flower seed production: Celosia study
Justine Spits continues to build on previous trial work to determine the specific isolation distances for cut flower seeds.
Zinnia breeding project: screening trial
Michelle Dang and Jessica Gale begin year one of their multi-year cut flower breeding project developing new zinnias for southern Ontario.
Molokhia variety trial
Ilana Guslits will trial molokhia under field grown conditions in southern Ontario for early maturity, repeat harvestability, taste and texture suitability and overall yield.
Eggplant variety trial
Evalisa McIllfaterick and Janna van Blyderveen will trial open-pollinated eggplant varieties suitable for production and seed saving in northern Ontario.
Dry bush bean breeding in northern Ontario
Evalisa McIllfaterick, Josh Szura, and Janna van Blyderveen will begin a participatory breeding project for dry bush beans in northern Ontario.
Open-pollinated broccoli screening trial
Evalisa McIllfaterick investigates open-pollinated broccoli material in order to identify the varieties that perform best for broccoli production and seed in Ontario.
Efficacy of fish hydrolysate in northern Ontario
Evalisa McIllfaterick, Josh Szuraand Janna van Blyderveen evaluate locally available fish waste as an amendment for winter squash and peppers.
Soil amendments for nursery stock in orchards
Zack Muma compares various combinations of biological and mineral amendments for orchard establishment.
Hardwood cutting propagation for fruit trees
Gary and Jodi Roth compare cutting propagation methods for fruit trees best callusing, rooting, and root growth over time.
Efficacy of wool mulch
Dillon Muldoon, Valerie Palda, and Sydney Jinjoe continue the work investigating wool (raw wool and wool felt) for weed suppression and water retention, focusing on its application in annual vegetable production.
Best practices for Canada thistle management
Surendra Lawoti, Chloe Chaput, Earle Johnson, and Olivia Haufe compare two thistle control methods for organic systems on their farms.
Continuing, multi-year trials:
No-till winter squash and potato trials
The multi-farm mulching trials continue in 2026 with 11 farmer-researchers. Read the 2024-2025 potato summary and 2025 squash summary here.
Plant Available Nitrogen Network
Jesse Way, Norm Lamothe, and Dillon Muldoon continue to sample soil and cover crop biomass in order to grow the PAN database. Read more about this trial here.
Maxima squash landrace breeding project
Evalisa McIllfaterick, Janna van Blyderveen, Josh Szura, and Dillon Muldoon continue in their second year developing a Maxima squash through participatory breeding methods for the northern Ontario for great taste, storage and direct seeding.
Okra breeding project
Ekow Stone continues to develop a landrace variety of okra for southern Ontario.
Effects of winter-killed cover crops on intermediate wheatgrass (KernzaⓇ)
Tom and Christine Franklin are bulking up seed in order to investigate using cover crops to help with establishment of perennial intermediate wheatgrass
Efficacy of felted wool for weed control
Zack Muma and Lindsey Webber complete their trial work this year looking into the potential of waste felted wool mats as a weed barrier in perennial cropping systems.