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.
Ann wanted to know if there was a yield benefit to growing four-row compared to three-row beets in a three foot bed system. She also wanted to investigate whether there is a difference in labour required for weeding and disease pressure between the two systems.
In a Nutshell
- Using an Earthway seeder with no thinning, Ann found no difference in beet yield between three-row and four-row plantings.
- Ann observed three-row beets were less labour intensive for weeding and that she could use time-saving tools like a wheel hoe longer into the season.
towards the nitrogen requirements of the following cash crop. They established a randomized
block design with low- and high-legume cover crop treatments. They sampled cover crop
biomass and used lab analyzes paired with a free online calculator from Oregon State
University to estimate plant available nitrogen (PAN) from the cover crops, and also tested
an in-field method to estimate PAN. Finally, they took soil nitrate samples throughout the
growing season to better understand the best tools to manage his fertility.
In a Nutshell
- Legume cover crop mixes can supply a lot of PAN, potentially in excess of the needs of some vegetable crops.
- Cover crops act as an effective catch crop by reducing soil nitrate early in the season.
- Legume content in a cover crop mix moderates in-season PAN as indicated by soil nitrate.
- Cover crop biomass sampling coupled with lab analysis and the online calculator provided a simple, cost effective tool for quantifying PAN contribution of cover crops.
- Both pre-plant and mid-season soil nitrate-nitrogen sampling were effective tools for predicting PAN availability when Jesse and Meghan compared their results to the literature.
L’objectif de Becky était de voir s’il était possible d’établir des lieux de cultivation sans labour qui remplacerait de pâturages permanents existants pour la production de fleurs coupées.
En Bref
- Le paillis de résidus de cultures, du compost profond et le travail du sol (témoin) n’a donné aucun résultat appréciable par faute d’une mauvaise germination dans la répétition de son essai.
- Becky a eu de la chance en cultivant des tournesols dans deux parcelles de démonstration qu’elle a bâchées pendant 12 mois et 2 mois, respectivement.
- Becky recommande d’utiliser des bâches pendant de 2 à 12 mois avant de tenter la cultivation dans des pâturages permanents
The growers’ objective was to document the best summer and fall head lettuce across different farms throughout southern and eastern Ontario during the 2020 season.
In a Nutshell
- Magenta, Muir, and Nevada were the top varieties with respect to overall vigor, flavour, and germination in the summer.
- Green Star was the growers’ least favourite variety overall in the summer.
- Magenta, Ruby Sky, and Red Mist (from Vitalis Organic Seed) were the top varieties with respect to overall vigor in the fall.
- Encino was the growers’ least favourite variety overall in the fall.
- Red Mist (from another seedhouse) had poor germination rates, demonstrating that seed source – and not just variety – matters.
To prevent chlorosis in chestnuts, Derick compared broadcasting and localized application of nutrient amendments to no amendment controls. After a year of growth, he measured tree height and leaf nutrient status.
In a Nutshell
- Derick detected no difference in plant health or leaf nutrient status between the two amendment methods. Given the extra labour involved with the localized treatment, he will not broadcast any amendments moving forward.
- He detected higher leaf potassium levels in the amended trees, which is important for iron availability in the plant.
To reduce tillage for crops that are direct seeded, Jason tested different composts in a no-till deep bed system in one trial each of lettuce and carrots.
In a Nutshell
- The substrates for deep compost mulch differed with respect to growing lettuce and carrots, but bare ground control produced the highest seedling count for lettuce and the greatest yield for carrots.
- Optimizing the use of deep bed compost requires a systems approach since seeding depth and irrigation rate, etc. differ by substrate. It was not practical, however, for Jason to test each substrate in a systems- context which limits the applicability of these results.
Heather compared a standard protein ration with 16% protein to a reduced protein ration with 13% protein to see how her heritage Chantecler chickens responded during the grow-out period.
In a Nutshell
- In 2019, Heather tracked the weight of three cohorts of chickens, taking more than 1,000 weight measurements of individual chickens.
- There were no consistent differences in the weight of chickens on the two protein rations throughout the grow-out period.
- There was also no detectable effect of reduced protein on finished live weight or dressed weight.
- In 2020, Heather continued to use the reduced protein ration and would like to continue the trial over several seasons for more confidence.
Given the incredible importance of fungi in our world, Dianne was curious if inoculants improved lettuce and onions yields, as these two species are known to grow in relationship with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).
In a Nutshell
- In 2019, she used AMF inoculants for the first time and observed particularly large, healthy lettuce and onions.
- In 2020, she set-up a randomized and replicated trial comparing two inoculants to uninoculated controls for Ariana, Cantarix, Nevada and Skyphos lettuce and Patterson onion. While they were also large and healthy, Dianne detected no effects of the inoculants yield.
- She wonders if the design of the trial was flawed because she unsuspectingly inoculated and/or resuscitated the mycorrhizal community of her whole garden in 2019.
To further explore no-till techniques, Matt compared no-till tomatoes three ways: compost + landscape fabric, compost + cover crop + landscape fabric, and compost + cardboard + landscape fabric.
In a Nutshell
- He detected no difference in cumulative or monthly tomato yield among the three methods.
- He also detected no difference in water infiltration, an indicator of soil health, among the three methods.
- This data indicates that adding cardboard or cover crops to compost and landscape fabric does not improve yield for no-till tomatoes; and cardboard and cover crops may be a useful means of further building soil without negative effects on yield.
To help him optimize pasture growth, Andy assessed soil nutrient status from the top slope, side slope and bottom slope of a 50–year old pasture and a hay field that he will start grazing in 2021.
IN A NUTSHELL
- Organic matter was higher in the older pasture but did not change significantly with topography.
- Potassium, phosphorus and iron were also higher in the old pasture and potassium was higher on the top slope. Andy observed variations in manganese and copper for reasons that are unknown.
- Andy’s observations of better soil health at the top of the hills weren’t supported by the basic assessment of soil nutrient status used in this study.
To try to hasten emergence and improve yield of no-till planted spring cereals, Ken compared liquid amendment, biological amendment, a combination of amendments and a no-amendment control.
In a Nutshell
- There was no observable difference in emergence due to amendments.
- There was no significant difference in yield among the different treatments.
Amaranth is climate-resilient and nutrient-dense, and is an important Indigenous plant of the Americas. To learn which varieties of amaranth are best suited for their region of southern Ontario, Ronaldo and Myriam compared five varieties of amaranth in an unreplicated screening trial.
In a Nutshell
- They observed differences among the varieties in germination, flowering times, flowering patters and yield and think that Grain Amaranth from Richters Herbs and Atitlan Dorado from IMAP Guatemala merit consideration for a replicated trial.
Ryan and Isabelle tested whether a crimped cover crop of rye and hairy vetch reduced tillage, cultivation and irrigation for their fall broccoli crop.
In a Nutshell
- Compared to tillage, the cover crop residue provided sufficient mulch to significantly reduce weeding time and increase soil moisture throughout the growing season by 11%. There was adequate rainfall, so they didn’t need to use irrigation in the tillage plots.
- Broccoli grown in crimped cover crop mulch had around half the marketable yield compared to the tilled plots.
- The yield loss combined with no difference in total labour made this no-till system as tested unviable for broccoli production.
To identify the best performing crosses of sweet potato for organic farming systems in the Ottawa area, Kate, Erin and Lise-Anne compared nine new crosses of sweet potato and one check variety (Covington) in a replicated and randomized trial across three farms.
In a Nutshell
- They identified three varieties that they think are definitely worth continuing to grow and observe, and another two “runner-up” crosses that are alsopromising.
Ryan et Isabelle ont testé si une culture de couverture sertie de seigle et de vesce velue réduirait le travail du sol, l’entretien de la culture et l’irrigation pour leur récolte de brocolis d’automne.
En Bref
- Par rapport au travail du sol, les résidus de culture de couverture ont fourni suffisamment de paillis pour réduire consid rablement le temps de d sherbage et augmenter l’humidité du sol tout au long de la saison de croissance avec 11% plus d’humidité que la parcelle de contrôle. Les pluies étaient suffisantes, de sorte qu’ils n’avaient pas besoin d’irriguer les parcelles de labour.
- Le brocoli cultivé dans le paillis créé par la culture de couverture serti avait environ la moitié du rendement commercialisable par rapport aux parcelles labourées.
- La perte de rendement combinée à l’absence de différence dans la main-d’oeuvre totale a rendu ce systéme sans labour, tel que testé, non viable pour la production de brocoli.
As a follow-up to their 2019 multi-farm trial, we compared 5 large tomato varieties and 4 cherry tomato varieties grown by grafting onto four different rootstocks and an ungrafted control.
In a Nutshell
- The best choice of rootstock was specific to the scion, with some rootstocks producing no improvement
or even reducing yield for some varieties of scion. - Compared to ungrafted plants, Caiman F1 large tomatoes had great yield and profitability when grafted DR0141TX rootstock.
- Preliminary data suggest that only Sakura cherry tomato may benefit from grafting on Fortanimo or Estanimo, but more replicates are needed to be confident.
- Preliminary data suggest that grafting “heirloom- like” hybrid varieties tested does not confer a yield advantage, but that open pollinated Striped German maybe benefit from being grafted onto Fortanimo.
Compte tenu de l’importance incroyable des champignons dans notre monde, Dianne était curieuse de savoir si les inoculants améliorent les rendements de la laitue et des oignons, ces deux espèces étant capable de grandir en relation avec les champignons mycorhiziens arbusculaires (AMF).
En Bref
- En 2019, elle a utilisé pour la première fois des inoculants AMF et a observé des laitues et des oignons particuli rement gros et sains.
- En 2020, elle a mené un essai randomisé et répété comparant deux inoculants à des témoins non inoculé s pour la laitue Ariana, Cantarix, Nevada et Skyphos et l’oignon Patterson. Bien qu’ils soient également grands et sains, Dianne n’a détecté aucun effet sur le rendement des inoculants.
- Elle se demande si la conception de l’essai était viciée parce qu’elle a inoculé et / ou ressuscité sans méfiance la communauté mycorhizienne de tout son jardin en 2019.
Eric compared five methods of preparing fallow land for vegetable production with respect to soil regeneration and cost to implement.
In a Nutshell
- Cover crops with micronutrient amendments increased active carbon, a sensitive indicator of soil health and soil regeneration potential.
- Micronutrient amendment alone did not increase active carbon; and Eric saw no added benefit with respect to soil health of adding chicken manure or woody compost with cover crops.
- Balancing cost and soil health benefits, Eric will focus on micronutrient application and full season cover crops in areas that require regeneration.
Key Findings
Continuing our work that began in 2016, members of the SeedWorks Plant Breeding Club worked together to breed and release an early, blocky sweet red pepper with good flavour that is adapted to ecological growing systems in southern Ontario. We continue to select for a yellow sweet bell pepper for release in fall 2021/winter 2022.
This trial was multi-year. Earlier reports and protocols can be found using the links below.
Earlier reports
Earlier protocols