The following
information comes from "Fellowship among plants"
by Tim Jenkins in the September/October 2004 issue
of Organic NZ. This is the first of a three-part
series in which the author "outlines the results
of experiments in companion planting at Lincoln
University's Biological Husbandry Unit":
Experiments with the traditional intercropping of
corn, beans, and squash "showed that corn still
yielded 90% of normal yield in this mixture, beans
20% and squash 60%, meaning that one hectare of
intercrop would yield the same as around 1.7 hectares
of crops on their own." The beans help fix
nitrogen and climb up the corn stalks. Squash shades
the soil to conserve moisture. The diversity of
the three plants lowers "the potential for
epidemics."
Broccoli/Lettuce: "Planted
at the same time in alternating rows, the lettuce
is ready faster and takes advantage of the space
and other resources available before the broccoli
has formed a tall canopy. This also helps reduce
the potential for weeds."
Carrots/Beets/Onions: The onions
help "repel plant pests such as the carrot
rust fly" in its first flight and "subsequent
flights are likely to have reduced problems as long
as onions were present from early in the season.
Beetroot provides shelter for the soil, reducing
weed issues and providing habitat for beneficial
insects."
Clover Understoreys: "White
or red clover can be sown at the same time (or oversown
once a slow-growing crop species is sufficiently
established) with many horticultural and broadacre
crop species such as cabbage, cereals, sweetcorn
and maize."
Oats/Clover: "As heads start
to form in the oats, clover oversown establishes
well in the partial sunlight. After oats are harvested
as forage, the clover will grow rapidly. Advantages
of this system are improved clover establishment,
faster turnaround to harvesting a second forage
crop, nitrogen fixation by the clover, essentially
replacing that used by the oats, no cultivation
requirement after the oats before planting the clover,
and maximising sunlight utilization during head
formation and after the oats have been harvested."
From "Cold
Storage of Garlic Bulbs Allows Spring Planting"
in the August 2004 issue of HortIdeas:
Garlic bulbs are generally harvested in the summer,
stored and then planted in the fall. However, this
is not possible for all circumstances. "Researchers
in Colorado have shown that spring planting of garlic
is feasible. The key requirement for keeping garlic
bulbs in good condition into the spring months is
storage at a temperature close to 27°F. After
such storage for up to nine months, when the bulbs
are returned to ambient temperatures, they have
the firmness and taste of freshly harvested bulbs
for a period of two months or more. The bulbs should
be cured normally before they are stored at 27°F."
This comes from
the Summer/Fall 2004 issue of Agrarian Advocate,
the newsletter of Community Alliance with Family
Farmers (CAFF), P.O. Box 363, Davis CA 95617.
CAFF is offering Hedgerows for California Agriculture
to download free from its website www.caff.org.
This 72-page resource guide is written by Sam Earnshaw
and based largely on his field experience. "A
hedgerow is a line or group of trees, shrubs, perennial
forbs, and grass planted along field edges, fence
lines, drainage channels and property borders. A
hedgerow can also be installed to connect riparian
or other valuable habitat areas, creating a corridor
for animal movement." Earnshaw "says that
farms and ranches around California are planting
hedgerows as part of their overall management strategy.
They provide year-round habitat to beneficial insects,
control soil erosion, and enhance water retention."
The manual is not yet available in hard copy.
This information
comes an article on evaporative cooling from Appropriate
Technology, Vol 30, No 3:
In low-cost alternatives to refrigeration for storing
fruits and vegetables, "the basic principle
relies on cooling by evaporation. When water evaporates
it draws energy from its surroundings which produces
a considerable cooling effect. Evaporative cooling
occurs when air, that is not too humid, passes over
a wet surface; the faster the rate of evaporation,
the greater the cooling. . Generally, an evaporative
cooler is made of a porous material that is fed
with water." One of the examples of this type
of cooler given in the article is called the Zeer,
which is simply a smaller pot placed with a larger
pot with sand in between. (The article doesn't specify,
but we assume this is wet sand with a cloth over
the top pot.) Experiments done in the Sudan found
that this cooler could keep tomatoes and guavas
for 20 days as opposed to 2 days without the cooler
and carrots for 20 days instead of 4. The article
illustrates several other low-tech coolers.
From "California's
Sleeping Monster" by Deborah K. Rich in the
Winter 2005 issue of onearth:
"Selenium, an element common in soils that
once lay beneath ancient oceans, is harmless when
left undisturbed. But changes in soil chemistry
caused by agriculture can turn it into an environmental
hazard. . As it enters surface water, selenium moves
up the food chain with devastating effects. The
most dramatic results of selenium poisoning are
embryonic deformities and death among wetlands birds."
In 2003 the state of California told Central Valley
farmers they had to lower selenium rates in their
irrigation and drainage waters or face drastic repercussions.
One farmer "began to capture and recycle his
drainage water, directing it to a designated area
of his farm." He discovered work on phytoremediation
done by a USDA researcher, and the two of them decided
the farmer "should try planting canola, which
absorbs soluble selenium into its roots and transfers
it to its stems, leaves and seed." The canola
seed is now used to produce biofuel to run the farmer's
tractors. Since selenium is an important trace mineral
in the diet, and "dairy cows are at particular
risk of selenium deficiency," the researcher
"found that feeding canola seed meal to dairy
cows was another safe way to increase the selenium
content of their blood."
From "Natural
Fire Ant and Insect Control" by Malcolm Beck
in the November 2004 issue of Acres U.S.A.:
The author's friend noticed that where he sprayed
liquid separated from cow manure, fire ants disappeared.
The author himself had had the same experience with
cowfeed molasses. They "mixed the two together
and found that it even killed a few other pests.
A friend of mine who owns a chemical company suggested
we add orange oil, a food-grade product pressed
from orange peels." They got permission from
the Texas Department of Agriculture to market the
product. However, it was so successful that pesticide
companies had the EPA put a stop to the sales.
From "Growing
Superior Winter Squashes" in the March-May
2004 issue of Maine Organic Farmer and Gardener:
One grower asked if side stems of squashes in the
field (winter squash) should be removed. Rob Johnston,
Jr., chairman of Johnny's Selected Seeds in Albion,
Maine, answered that squash plants are "pretty
self-restricting. As soon as they get the amount
of fruit that their photosynthetic capacity can
handle, they'll stop setting fruit." So he
advised against removing side shoots.
This information
comes from "How to Grow Clean Celery"
by Hans Schaper in the November/December 2004 issue
of Organic NZ:
The author points out that "while celery is
definitely one of the more difficult crops to be
grown organically . it can be done very successfully."
It needs "very fertile soils with good drainage
. a good supply of rich compost . and plenty of
water. . It is important to ensure that the seedlings
never dry out." (The author raises his seedlings
in his propagating house.) "When the plants
are about 8 cm tall with a sturdy root system, they
can be planted out with minimal disturbance."
He plants his 20 cm apart. "Observe a minimum
of a four-year crop rotation to avoid any buildup
of diseases." He harvests his celery early
to lessen the losses from septoria. "Septoria
is recognized by round brown spots on the leaves.
These spores can spread through the crop very quickly.
It is advised to remove any diseased leaves as soon
as there are any signs of the disease."
From the November-December
2004 issue of Les Quatre Saisons (the French equivalent
of Organic Gardening magazine), page 25:
For storage of dry beans, put them in the freezer
for 24 hours or put unpeeled garlic in each sealed
container. Another article in the same issue, pages
39-41, describes an insect hotel to provide a variety
of resting spots for all sorts of beneficial insects,
including syrphid flies, bees, ground beetles, and
lacewings. The article has good photos and directions
for construction.
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