Research Library

Interplanting is an agroecological approach that optimizes space, light capture, and water and nutrient use. Effective combinations vary by region and system, and Ryan wanted to test different intercropping distances using a paper pot transplanter. Ryan’s goals for interplanting were to optimize growing space and minimize pest pressure without impacting growth of onions or brassicas.

On-farm research guide by Organic Farming Research Foundation.

Duane would like to breed a pea that can be planted in the fall and yield early peas, before the heat and drought set in. He’d like to see early production of high quality peas to supply market gardeners and backyard gardeners without the struggles of early spring planting.

 Progress to Date

• This breeding project should take 3-5 years to get uniform lines with the combined traits of winter hardiness and quality, which are both complex traits.
• Varieties derived from this project will be released publicly as per the Breeders Pledge (below).
• If deemed commercially viable, the resulting varieties will also be licensed to small seed companies.

Garlic on small organic farms is typically either dry mulched (e.g. straw) or grown in bare soil and cultivated for weed control. Farmers would like to see the soil covered to prevent erosion, increase water retention, and improve soil nutrition. However, water retention could increase nematode pressure and green mulches could compete with garlic. Heather wanted to see if there was a difference in yields of garlic when white

Part of a multi-farm trial on five farms asking the research question: Do spring planted cover crops benefit the production of late season brassica cash crops?

Summary

• Organic vegetable growers use cover crops to improve soil fertility and tilth and control weeds.
• Five growers evaluated summer cover crops to determine benefits to N-demanding late season brassicas.
• Specific cover crop comparisons included bell/fava bean (legume) vs. no cover crop control; cocktails containing a legume (bell/fava bean, peas, white clover) vs. buckwheat control.

Key Findings

• Dry conditions in the spring impeded germination resulting in “lacklustre growth [that was] not nearly competitive
  enough to deter weeds” or mature enough to effectively mow, resulting in very little meaningful cover crop or
  brassicas yield data.
•  Buckwheat came up better than other species, making it the most drought tolerant of the species grown; at
  Angie’s, buckwheat had 6+ times greater biomass than the oats/peas/fava cocktail (P<0.01).

Adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing uses short grazing intervals followed by long rest periods. By doing so, this system allows for plant recovery, promotes optimal plant communities, protects against erosion and leads to net carbon storage in the soil (Stanley et al 2018). To optimize his grazing, Tony assessed the benefits of ultra high density grazing as part of his AMP approach. Specifically, he tested whether a single pass of mob grazing would provide a “hit and boost” to his pastures. Key Findings:

• The amount of forage consumed was the same, irrespective of standard or ultra high density grazing.
• Tony found no difference in pasture recovery between standard and ultra high density grazing.
• Tony will graze these areas in a similar way next year to see if a second year of a “hit and boost” has benefits.

Productive pastures are paramount to organic grass-fed, grass-finished beef operations, especially when soil health and regeneration are also important farm goals. To try to further regenerate specific areas of his rotationally-grazed pastures, Tony tested whether addressing micronutrient deficiencies would help pasture growth.

Much of the flower seed being produced and used by cut flower growers across Canada is grown internationally in the Netherlands, Israel, and various South American and African countries. This means that varieties are not adapted to the Canadian climate and flower growers can’t support local seed houses. Jessica wanted to assess different varieties from local seed houses to find the best one for her farm, and she enlisted the help of other flower growers.

Key Findings

• There was not a detectable difference in plant quality among blush or white varieties.
• While there was not enough data to analyze statistically, Jessica recorded differences in bloom period and vase life. In doing so, she gained insight into the importance of these factors – especially in hot southern Ontario – for future variety trials of Sweet Peas.

Garlic on small organic farms is typically either dry mulched (e.g. straw) or grown in bare soil and cultivated for weed control. Farmers would like to see the soil covered to prevent erosion, increase water retention, and improve soil nutrition. However, water retention could increase nematode pressure and green mulches could compete with garlic. Ken set out to see if there was a difference in yield of marketable garlic between cultivation and spring mulches.

With the goal of regenerative farming, Brent and Gillian want to minimize tillage for their organic salad greens production. To do this, they trialed tarps to kill residue between succession plantings and recorded the management needed to direct seed. They also tracked labour, including time moving and placing tarps and hand weeding.

Key Findings

• Tarping soil, without tilling before tarping, reduced tillage by 82% and resulted in faster growing crops.
• It also reduced total labour 60% for lettuce and spinach crops because of fewer weeds.
• It increased total labour by 65% for mustard greens, which do not require weeding.

White rock chickens are the industry standard but weight gain is usually lower on pasture than in conventional settings. Feeding them probiotics, therefore, might improve the health and weight gain of pasture-raised chickens. With several products on the market, Justin wanted to see if any would have a real effect on his chickens. Justin set out to compare three commercial poultry probiotics to see if they increased growth rates and survival of pasture-raised White Rock chickens.

Northern Ontario faces specific challenges compared to other parts of the province when it comes to seed production, including late springs and early frosts (as early as end of August), followed with a wet fall. The demand for lettuce and greens seed is high, but these growing conditions make producing lettuce seed outdoors very difficult. This means that northern seed producers cannot produce regionally adapted varieties. As a potential solution to lettuce seed production in northern Ontario, Peggy compared seed production in a hoop house and uncovered.

Key Findings

• In the hoop house, Peggy grew sellable lettuce seed from 4 of 5 varieties, and sales of the seeds would recoup hoop house material costs in 2.21 years.
• When grown uncovered, none of the 5 varieties produced viable seed.

Ecological vegetable growers often struggle with pests and disease pressure. There is anecdotal and observational information around the use of organic foliar sprays, but quantitative data is lacking. While nutrient foliar sprays can be expensive, the cost could be less than time and space cost associated with succession planting needed to manage disease pressure. With the goal of minimizing succession planting and field space while maximizing harvestable yield, Angie tested the efficacy of a nutrient foliar spray to maintain health of her cucurbits.

This project compared yield and labour for garlic planted into established oats, garlic and oats planted together, and garlic without a cover crop.

Key Findings

• Garlic survival and proportion of medium garlic was highest when garlic was planted with oats or into bare soil (control); and lowest when garlic was planted into an established oat cover crop.
• Garlic planted into an established cover crop required more planting labour and delayed emergence.
• Delayed emergence, in turn, delayed weeding and allowed perennial species to establish.
• Eric won’t use the oat treatments as tested again; but seeing the biomass of the early oat planting has motivated him to tweak the system to make it work.