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.
As demand for sweet potatoes grows in Canada, breeders are working to create sweet potatoes that are adapted to eastern Ontario. In the first year of the project, Kate selected sweet potatoes that are best suited for low input, organic systems in eastern Ontario.
Progress to Date
- Kate evaluated nearly 60 genetically unique and
diverse sweet potato tubers. - After final evaluations of taste and storability, Kate
will choose 15 varieties and trial them in 2020. - Kate collected seeds from the vines that produced
seed, which is germplasm for future breeding.
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.
- 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.
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.
Jason Hayes raised groups of Nova Free Ranger and White Rock chickens on pasture and measured feed intake, carcass yield, taste and nutritional quality.
Key Findings
- From one successful replicate, the Nova Free Ranger group had a lower (better) average feed conversion ratio and greater return to labour ($5.30/kg vs. $5.05/kg).
- Blind taste tests suggest the taste and texture of Nova Free Ranger meat is preferred by culinary professionals but that the average non-chef customer may prefer the smoother texture of White Rock meat.
- Average OMEGA 6:3 ratio of one White Rock and one Nova Free Ranger was 9.5:1, higher (worse) than previously published results from pasture-raised chickens but lower (better) than previously published results from non-pasture-raised chickens. Vitamin content was higher than all previously published results.
- Delayed arrival of Nova Free Ranger chicks allowed analysis of only one replicate in 2016, so additional replicates are needed to draw conclusions.
- Evaluating the nutritional quality and profitability of alternative breeds on pasture helps producers choose breeds that are better suited to integrated, pasture-based farming.
Val and Brent were curious to know if biochar will help regenerate soil in their young apple orchard and help to set in motion biological activity and nutrient retention. Researchers have documented benefits from biochar in arid and tropical soils, which vary by soil fertility status and biochar quality. Much less is known about biochar’s effect in temperate regions, but there is anecdotal support for biochar use from some farmers in Ontario.
Key Findings
- In the first year of application, Val and Brent detected no effect of the biochar amendment on soil microbial activity, as a proxy for soil health.
- They also detected no changes in tree health in the first year of application.
- Val and Brent will continue to monitor soil and tree health in future years.
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.
Felicia grows nematode-free garlic, which she sells as clean seed. She’d like to prevent loss to Fusarium and tested a copper spray and biostimulant spray as potential ways to control the fungus.
Key Findings
- The dry conditions and good seed garlic led to low Fusarium pressure this year.
- Felicia found no difference in the proportion of garlic with visual signs of infection by weight of good garlic when she compared plots treated with copper spray, RhizoVital® spray and no spray.
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
- The “Fruition” or “pyramid” method, learned from Petra and Matthew at Fruition Seeds, where the head is trimmed like a pyramid such that leaves are usable but not sellable and;
- An alternative “Meadowlark” or “chop” method, learned from Beth and Nathan at Meadowlark Hearth Biodynamic Seeds, that removes the head in a way that it can be sold at winter or spring markets.