Backyard Organics. Organic Production 3/5/2015. Organic is trademarked 5

Transcription

1 3/5/2015 Backyard s Grant McCarty Local Foods and Small Farms Systems Educator Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Winnebago web.extension.illinois.edu/jsw Take certified organic production procedures and scale them back Create areas that use organic techniques to manage weeds, diseases, soil fertility, and insects Grow certified organic and/or heirloom seeds/transplants 1 2 Season Extension Crop Rotation Cover Crops Integrated Pest Management Pesticides / OMRI Mulches Soil Fertility Companion Planting 3 4 Season Extension Integrated Pest Management Pesticides / OMRI Mulches Crop Rotation Create a system that interacts Cover Crops Soil Fertility Companion Planting Production Extensive rules and regulations Certification program from the USDA 3 Year Process Use certification agency and inspector to make sure complying with rules and regulations Illinois: Certified Operations; 30,805 certified acres is trademarked 5 Source: USDA Certified Production Survey,

2 3/5/2015 Official Definition Official Definition: Ecological production management that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity a system that responds to site specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical methods which means. Source: USDA National Standards Board, 1995 Season Extension Integrated Pest Management Pesticides / OMRI Mulches Crop Rotation Cover Crops Soil Fertility Companion Planting 7 8 Integrated Pest Management Process: Prevent- Alter environment Action- To act or Not to Act? Monitor- Make sure it is a pest, not beneficial insect Control- Last resort Natural Predators Attract predators and pollinators through borders, companion planting, and flower mixes Purchased predators through companies Making observations within your fields 9 10 Companion Planting Plant families together Benefits: Shade Beneficial insects Pest control Weed control Trellis systems

3 3/5/2015 Companion Planting for Insect Control Insect Main Crop Companion Cabbage Worm, weevil, looper Broccoli, Cabbage, Lettuce Thyme, nasturtium, onion Cucumber Beetle Zucchini Marigold Squash Bug Zucchini Marigold, Nasturium Yellowstriped Armyworm Tomato Basil, Thyme Source: Riesselman, Iowa State Companion Planting: A Method for Sustainable Pest Control Mulching Reduces weed growth, adds to soils, keep in moisture conditions Insulation- keeps cooler temperatures Can incorporate after season Breaks down into soil 15 Source Apply Characteristics Straw 6-8 in Decompose quick, avoid those with weed seeds Pine Needles 2-3 in Grass Clippings 2 in Works very well for trees Use dry grass, build up over time, avoid grasses treated with herbicide and fertilizer Leaves 2-3 in Will decompose quickly, improve soil once decomposed, avoid black walnut leaves Peat Moss 2-3 in Can form crust if used in thick layers, can be expensive Compost 2-3 in Better incorporated but useful for perennial plants like berries and asparagus Bark/wood chips Newspaper 2-8 layers 2-3 in Slow to decompose than shredded bark Decomposes within season (typically), may cover with hay 16 Soil Fertility Management Goals: Build soil organic matter, manage ph and nutrients, keep soil microbes active Add organic matter to feed your soil microbes Through compost, manures, or other organic materials Get soil test Address any needs you might have Keep in soil moisture Through mulching Crop Rotation Using Compost: as a mulch as compost tea as a seeding or potting mix incorporate into garden

4 3/5/2015 Material %N %P %K Availability Bone Meal Slow Compost Slow Dried Blood Rapid Fish Meal Slow Cow Manure Medium Horse Manure Medium Sheep Manure Medium Swine Manure Medium Poultry Manure Rapid Urea Rapid Bat Guano Medium 19 Crop Rotation Rotating among crops that are not related botanically nor share similar nutrient requirements Can also encourage better use of soil nutrients and amendments 20 Resource for Crop Rotation Crop Rotation on Farms OMRI Approved Pesticide Materials Review Institute A non-profit that approves substances (pesticides, soil amendments, etc.) Only pesticides allowed for organic production Surround(Kaolin Clay) Neem Oil/soap Source: HartwoodFarm.com Nonsynthetic, ground particles made from Kaolin Clay, a noncaking ingredient. How does it work? Places a sheath barrier and acts as irritant if it gets on insect Pest Examples: apple maggots, white apple leafhopper, pear psylla, vine borer, cucumber beetles, stink bugs When to use: applied with water at sign of damage or flowering 23 Nonsynthetic, oil from the neem tree How does it work? Contact or ingesting, blocks respiration from insect Pest Examples: Mexican Bean Beetle, Colorado Potato Beetle, caterpillars, squash bugs, some stinkbugs, some aphids When to use: presence of pests Example(s): many different variations available 24 4

5 3/5/2015 Cover Cropping in Small Spaces Choose one that makes the most sense for you Equipment needs Planting and Harvest needs Aim for one that can easily be cut/removed or incorporated in by hand or tiller Best ones for small spaces: clovers, hairy vetch (sometimes) Cover Cropping in Small Spaces Resources for Cover Crops Midwest Cover Crops Council Managing Cover Crops Profitably ments/managingccprofitably.pdf Season Extension Useful tool in both conventional and certified organic Way to close gap between cool and warm season crops Tools: Floating row covers, low tunnels, and high tunnels Season Extension

6 3/5/2015 Season Extension Integrated Pest Management Pesticides / OMRI Mulches Crop Rotation Create a system that interacts Cover Crops Soil Fertility Companion Planting Square Foot Gardening Utilize proper spacing to get most out of garden Can allow you to micromange Very good for raised beds Combine with other organic methods Lasagna Gardening Layering system No tillage Plant right in Make compost within beds Easy way to make a raised bed system Increase spring temperature Lasagna Gardening

7 3/5/2015 Resources Lasagna Gardening-Lanza The New Grower- Elliot Coleman SARE Transitioning to Production, Managing Cover Crops Profitably, Crop Rotation Insecticides for Commercial and Backyard Gardeners Fertilizing the Garden Extension Production Webinars and videos Midwest and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Conclusion Many methods are easy to do Crop Rotation, Companion Planting, IPM More availability of OMRI products, seeds, and transplants than ever before Start small and go from there Consider techniques that work for more than one part of your system Questions? web.extension.illinois.edu/jsw 39 7

8 Backyard s Grant McCarty (gmccarty@illinois.edu) University of Illinois Extension, Local Foods and Small Farms Educator Backyard s (Slide 2) is designed as an overview on organic production that introduces concepts and practices that you can adopt in your backyard. Many of these concepts are ones you have probably heard about or you are already doing in your backyard. But the idea is to connect them so that they have the best interactions. For instance, the use of organic seeds and transplants can be enhanced by using organic soil amendments. Much of what we talk about in organic production is based on the management side of weeds, insects, and diseases while growing crops in your backyard. One of the easiest ways to try organic is by using certified organic seeds or open pollinated/heirloom seeds. For organic seeds to be classified as organic, they must be harvested from plants that were grown on certified organic operations using certified organic practices. Open pollinated/heirloom seeds are those where pollination occurs by wind, animals, humans, or natural mechanisms. There are 8 main practices (Slide 4) we are going to discuss today in our session. These include crop rotation, Pesticides/OMRI, organic mulches, organic soil fertility, companion planting, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), cover crops, and season extension. All of these will interact when setting up your system. By rotating crops, we can address organic soil fertility and IPM methods. If we choose to grow crops with companions, this can enhance our IPM plan. By utilizing many of these practices, it may mean that we do not have to use OMRI pesticides. These interactions are what create an organic system and allow for these concepts to be utilized in a way that address organic production. production (Slide 6) is a USDA certification program with rules and regulations a farm must follow in order to use the trademark name of. They also require a certification agency and inspector to make sure they are following regulations. It takes 3 years from the time the paper work is filed for the farm to become certified organic. During this time, the grower has yearly inspections from the certification inspector while also checking in frequently during the growing season. A grower is expected to communicate with the inspector often. For instance, if the grower wants to use an organic pesticide, he/she must check in with the inspector before applying or else risk starting over the certification process if it is not approved. If a grower is to use organic, they must be a certified organic operation. There can be some exemptions of this due to volume of sales but for the most part the farm must be certified organic to use this trademark for marketing purposes.

9 The official definition of organic production (Slide 7) is that it is an ecological production management that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. What I like to point out with this definition is the use of biology and ecology- two pieces that we do not normally think of as being important in agriculture. agriculture makes it a point that the very essence of organic production is these features. From an ecology point of view, organic agriculture should enhance water cycling into the soil. It should build up soil properties. It should encourage attracting native pollinators to the system. agriculture focuses on practices that may not lead to noticeable plant yield but will setup the system from an ecological standpoint. You also see a focus on soil biological properties. These are the microbial communities as well as insects like earthworms that have a role within the soil to recycle nutrients. Many of the practices within organic production are tied to increasing the soil biology as it will lead to better plant health and better yields. Another definition is a system that responds to sit specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical methods. Cultural practices can include crop rotation, cover crop, organic mulches, IPM, OMRI products, Cover Crops, and Season Extension. Many of these cultural practices can then enhance the biological features of the soil and above ground. Mechanical is pretty straightforward then. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (Slide 9) IPM is a process that requires steps before using a pesticide. The first step is prevention where you alter the environment. For instance, I might use a floating row cover to prevent insects from getting to my cabbage plant. I might also grow my cabbage with a companion plant that can repel pests. The next step is action whether to act or not act. This is a step that really depends on my comfort level. I could have a number of plants that if there were some insect pests or disease I could handle it by picking off the individual insects or removing dead leaf tissue. Monitoring involves actively looking at my plants on a weekly basis and making decisions to know whether it is a pest, predator, or pollinator. Our final step is chemical control which is considered the last resort. We ve done everything we can and to save the crop I need to use some chemical control. When I m insect scouting (Slide 10-11), I also want to look for beneficial insects like predators and pollinators which can be attracted by borders, companion planting, and flower mixes. I can also purchase predators through companies. At the same time, a beneficial insect chart can be handy to use when in your backyard. As you are looking for insect pests, you might find insect predators already there that are able to control the insect pest problems that you have. Companion Planting (Slide 12)

10 Companion planting is a method that can help with insect control, weed control, and even enhance all of the plants that are grown together. In essence, you are planting plant families together and their growth habits enhance the other ones. For instance, some plants could provide shade on the soil which would keep weeds from germinating. They could also attract beneficial insects that wouldn t be drawn there otherwise. Companion plants might also provide good pest control by repelling pests that are turned off by the aroma of the plant. There are numerous examples of companion planting such as marigold or basil with tomato. One of the key examples is the Three Sister Method in which beans, corn, and squash are grown together. The beans provide nitrogen to the corn while gaining the trellis system from the corn. The squash will block out the soil and control weeds. Other recommendations for companion plants come from Iowa State (Slide 13- Riesselman Companion Planting: A Method for Sustainable Pest Control ): Insect Main Crop Companion Cabbage Worm, weevil, Broccoli, Cabbage, Lettuce Thyme, nasturtium, onion looper Cucumber Beetle Zucchini Marigold Squash Bug Zucchini Marigold, Nasturium Yellowstriped Armyworm Tomato Basil, Thyme Another resource is the Carrots Love Tomatoes book (Slide 14) that gives some examples of what companions work well and which ones do not. Mulching (Slide 15) There is a probably a good chance you are already using organic mulches in your backyard. This includes straw, leaves, pine needles, and other. Not only will organic mulch address moisture fluctuations, it can help soils stay cooler and these products will breakdown into the soil and enhance your soil properties. mulches are also good for reducing weed growth as they will block out sunlight and keep weeds from germinating. mulches can further be tilled into the soil at the end of the season. Source Apply Characteristics

11 Straw 6-8 in Decompose quick, avoid those with weed seeds Pine Needles 2-3 in Works very well for trees Grass Clippings 2 in Use dry grass, build up over time, avoid grasses treated with herbicide and fertilizer Leaves 2-3 in Will decompose quickly, improve soil once decomposed, avoid black walnut leaves Peat Moss 2-3 in Can form crust if used in thick layers, can be expensive Compost 2-3 in Better incorporated but useful for perennial plants like berries and asparagus Bark/wood chips 2-3 in Slow to decompose than shredded bark Newspaper 2-8 layers Decomposes within season (typically), may cover with hay The qualities of these mulches can vary due to how they are applied to the soil. Some of these can also be more suitable for perennial crops instead of your annual vegetable you grow each year. Many of these will have very positive effects on the soil when they are turned under. Soil Fertility (Slide 17) soil fertility is the ability of the plant to uptake all of these nutrients that they need in order to thrive in the soil. Our soil management goals are to build soil organic matter, manage ph and nutrients, and keep soil microbes active. Soil organic matter (SOM) is where much of the activity in soil occurs. SOM contains 95% of the available nitrogen within the soil. It s also where much of the biological activity occurs. Your soil ph is tied to nutrient availability. If the soil ph is lower than the optimum level for vegetable plants ( ) then soil nutrients will not be taken up by the plant. An acidic soil (less than 6) can also lead to lower populations of soil microbes. The way we keep soil microbes active is by feeding them. This may mean organic mulches tilled into the soil, compost, manures, and other organic materials. One of the best ways to determine the state of your soil is to get a soil test. This will give you an idea of what your SOM, ph, Phosphorus, and Potassium are. Another method that can address soil fertility is crop rotation. By moving your crops and families from different spots season to season, this can ensure that nutrients are not depleted as much each year. Crop rotation can also enhance soil microbial communities as well. Compost can be used in a number of ways in the garden (Slide 18). By making your own or purchasing it, it can act like a mulch around the base of the plant. Compost is also good to

12 feed soil microorganisms as it can then allow them to build up and enhance the soil through competition below ground. Compost has a neutral ph and is fairly stable which makes it good for building up soil properties. Because of its low Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium (NPK), compost isn t recommended as your sole soil amendment source and only 30% of each of these percent will be released for the next 3 years. Compost tea is the action of adding compost to water to then apply to the soil. Material %N %P %K Availability Bone Meal Slow Compost Slow Dried Blood Rapid Fish Meal Slow Cow Manure Medium Horse Manure Medium Sheep Manure Medium Swine Manure Medium Poultry Manure Rapid Urea Rapid Bat Guano Medium soil amendments (Slide 19) are those that come from a natural source. As you can see in this list, their NPK values can vary greatly. Many of these will also needed to be transformed by the soil microbial community to add the nutrient to the nutrient cycle and then be taken up by the plant. Many of the manure amendments may also need to be treated/aged further, meaning that you wouldn t want to add fresh manure right at planting. The suggested recommendation is 3-4 months before planting. Adding manure to the soil in the fall can also be a good strategy and allow you to build up the soil properties, soil microbial communities, and begin the work of having nutrients be released into their cycles for plant uptake in the spring. Crop Rotation (Slide 20) Crop rotation is one of the easiest methods to do in the backyard. In essence, whichever crop you grew in one space this past summer, you rotate a different crop in next summer. You want to rotate out of families. So if one row had tomatoes in it, you would rotate a cucumber plant in. You wouldn t want to rotate peppers or eggplant in. While you might not see significant difference in yield, you are modifying your soil microbial community while also allowing for better uptake of soil nutrients. If you are growing the same crop in the same place season after season, this means that the same amount of nutrients are being taking up. There are many rotation schemes out there that can take you into 4-5 year rotations. One valuable resource is

13 the Crop Rotation on Farms ( which can be found as a free pdf at that web address. OMRI (Slide 22) OMRI ( Materials Review Institute) are pesticides and other substances that are approved for organic production. Almost all of these are non-synthetic and come from natural sources. There are some that are manmade and used in production but these are allowed when there isn t a certain substitute available. A product is given the OMRI approved label by a company submitting their product to be tested by the organization. Just because a grower can purchase the product, does not mean that he/she will be able to use it. The certification agency/inspector has the final say and the grower must get permission before applying. When you look at the list of OMRI products, there is a paragraph above that denotes that in order for a product to be used the grower must show that he/she has done cultural/biological/mechanical practices that they can and must use chemicals. It is also important to realize that just because it is an OMRI pesticide does not mean that you should treat it differently than how you would treat regular pesticides. Surround/Kaolin Clay (Slide 23) is a nonsynthetic, ground particles made from Kaolin Clay, a noncaking ingredient. It works by placing a sheath barrier and acts as irritant if it gets on insect. It works on a number of insects such as apple maggots, white apple leafhopper, pear psylla, vine borer, cucumber beetles, and stink bugs. It can be applied with water at sign of damage or flowering. Neem Oil/Soap (Slide 24) is nonsynthetic comes from the Neem tree and comes into contact or ingesting, blocks respiration from insect. Examples of pests it works on are Mexican Bean Beetle, Colorado Potato Beetle, caterpillars, squash bugs, some stinkbugs, and some aphids. It should be used in the presence of pests. There are many variations (%) available on the market. Cover Crops (Slide 25) Cover crops are crops grown to restore soil nutrients. On large farms, they are used often to close the fallow period after you have removed the cash crops. In the organic system, it is common to see cover crops used in fallow, during the growing season, and sometimes in no-till systems where the cash crop and cover crop are grown at the same time. Cover crops can also be used effectively in a crop rotation setup. Two common cover crops we see adopted are cereal rye and wheat. For backyards and smaller spaces, you want a cover crop that can be easily seeded and killed. Many cover crops can be scattered by hand on to an already tilled bed while other ones may need to be drilled. There are also cover crops that will kill when the first frost hits the area. Some cover crops can be chopped up and tilled into the soil or be cut by a weed eater. Clovers, vetch, and buckwheat are all good cover crops for small spaces. Clovers

14 and vetch will sequester nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil while buckwheat attracts pollinators for your crops. While these have shorter height and relatively easy to grow, they can become problematic and you need to be aware of them when they are going to seeding and manage appropriately. Two resources for cover crops are the SARE publication of Managing Cover Crops Effectively and the Midwest Cover Crops Council. Season Extension (Slide 28) Season extension is the management practice of starting your season early or extending it further. It allows you to control air temperature through the use of barriers that keep temperatures in or provide enough protection for your crop to withstand it. High tunnels are the common season extension tool seen in organic production. There are smaller high tunnels on the market that can provide similar protection from air temperatures. On the opposite end are floating row covers. These can be useful in protecting cool season crops around the first frost in the area. Floating row covers are fairly inexpensive and can be used season after season. They also have different material weaves that allow for full light and rain penetration. Floating row covers can also keep insects from getting to the crops you are growing. Putting it all together (Slide 31) So now we put it all together to make a system in which our components interact. One method can be the square foot gardening where you take a raised bed and grow certain crops beside each other. This can allow you to work on companion planting, micromanage your plants, instigate an IPM plan, utilize OMRI products and soil amendments, and others. Square foot gardening also works for raised beds fairly easily. Lasagna Gardening is a layering system that does not require any tillage. You plant right into the soil. You also can make compost within the beds as layers are continually breaking down and recycling. It can be a very easy way to manage a raised bed system. Additionally it can increase spring temperatures. Resources (Slide 37) Lasagna Gardening-Lanza The New Grower- Elliot Coleman SARE ( Transitioning to Production, Managing Cover Crops Profitably, Crop Rotation Insecticides for Commercial and Backyard Gardeners ( Fertilizing the Garden ( Extension Production ( Midwest and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) (

15 Wrap Up Hopefully after today you have gotten a better idea of what organic production is. You might also now realize that you have actually being doing organic practices already. There are numerous organic methods that are easy to adopt in the backyard. These include crop rotation, companion planting, and IPM. There also is more availability of OMRI products, seeds, and transplants than ever before and you can find these at home and garden centers. As most organic farms are systems, consider techniques that work for more than one part of your system that allow for interactions of different parts of production.