The chickens are coming!

by Sam Karns  

          Cornercopia Student Organic Farm is going to have chickens again this year! Sustainable farming has to include an element of farm-generated fertility, and animals are a great way to fill that need.  With chickens on the farm, revenues increase through their products, and costs go down because farmer's have a lesser demand for fertilizer! But as with all the vegetables being grown this year (many of which are started in the greenhouse waiting to be planted) a good amount of spring preparation needs to happen before animals come on the farm for the season too, and we are busy getting things ready! Old plastic has been pulled off the coops and new tarps will be going on, repairs are being made, chicks are being ordered, feeding rations are being planned, and poultry barn space has been reserved!

            This year, in partnership with MISA and UMN-Extension, we will be raising both broilers (chickens for meat) and layers (chickens for eggs).  We'll have two 100 chicken batches of broilers (100 of the conventional Cornish Cross variety, and 100 Freedom Rangers, a newer French-bred, pasture specific variety) and 20 layers.  Meat will be sold to the Campus Club restaurant, and the eggs will be sold at our St. Paul market stand. 

            We're incredibly excited to have poultry pals on the farm again, and our first batch of chicks arrived a couple of weeks ago (April 19th shown above)! Stay tuned for more updates.

Planting Update 4/25/12

By Terry Scott Nelson

The Cornercopia Farm has been moving along smoothly as the days warm up and draw closer to the average last frost date. To get a jump start on the season we’ve been planting green’s in high tunnels. Cornercopia has two high tunnels in production, one growing kale and the other growing spinach. In the confines of the high tunnels we are conducting an experiment to determine if mulched greens grow better than un-mulched greens. For each high tunnel one side is mulched and the other side is un-mulched with path runs along the middle of the structure to separate the experiments. This last week we re-mulched the two high tunnels and took temperature readings. After taking the temperature readings we found that the mulched soil was significantly warmer than the un-mulched soil by 16 degrees F. Mulched was calculated at 77 degrees F and the un-mulched was calculated at 59 degrees F.

In the last week the farm has also been sowing seed and transplanting for many species of vegetable crops. Cilantro, Summer Savory, and our third planting of Spinach were sown this week, while tomatoes were transplanted. Two weeks ago Basil, Borage, Lettuce/Salad Mix, Nasturtiums, Rutabaga, Turnips and our second planting of beets were sown. We have also been sowing seeds and growing up transplants for City Fresh, a program that connects city kids with fresh vegetables.

Whoop-de-do High Tunnels / Hoop Houses

By Ann Putnam

An “agitated public discussion or debate,” is one definition of “whoop-de-do” according Merriam Webster’s online dictionary. (Merriam Webster.) If you followed the recent approval of the Minneapolis Urban Agricultural plan you know there was a lot of “whoop-de do” about “hoop houses” or as they are sometimes called, “high tunnels.” Often the terms are used interchangeably but there is a distinction: a hoop house is made with two layers of polyethylene film and a high tunnel is made with one layer.

Growing plants in unheated structures is not new. It has been used in Europe for decades and is gaining popularity in the U. S. in northern climates.  Elliot Coleman, an organic farmer in Maine, has been experimenting with hoop houses for decades and has written extensively about using them to prolong the growing season on his Zone 4 farm (Coleman. 1992.)

Above: High tunnels should be sited near a windbreak. A building immediately to the north protects the SOF high tunnel.

Since 2002 researchers at the University of Minnesota Extension have been studying high tunnels at the North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids. They have also collected data from commercial growers using high tunnels in other parts of the state. (Nennich. 2008.) The research so far suggests several advantages to using high tunnels.

On the plus side, some crops grown in the warmer enclosed environment can reach market up to four weeks sooner than those grown in field production.  By extending crop production a number of weeks with an earlier spring start and/or later fall harvest, different cultivars with longer days to maturity can be grown. This increases yield and variety and therefore profitability.

The enclosed environment provides other advantages including making weed and pest control significantly easier. However, high tunnels do require intensive management. Temperatures must be carefully monitored so optimal conditions for plant growth are not exceeded. (Jett.) Tradeoffs will always be made in agriculture but for now it looks as if the future looks good for hoop houses and high tunnels. Whoop-de-do!

Above: On a warm day the sides of the SOF high tunnel are rolled up to allow air circulation and prevent heat build up.
 

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whoop%20de%20do

Coleman, Eliot. 1992. Four-Season Harvest. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. White River Junction, Vermont.

Jett, Lewis W. High Tunnel TemperatureManagement. State Extension Vegetables and Small Crop Specialist, West Virginia University. 

Nennich, Sr., T. T., D. Wildung, and P. Johnson. 2008. Minnesota High Tunnel Production Manual for Commercial Growers. 

White Dutch Clover at Cornercopia Student Organic Farm

By Ben Boo

            Here on the Cornercopia Student Organic Farm, we are as much about simple farm goals like high yield, minimal pest damage and efficient use of space as we are about experimentation and finding out what works best for our plot through good old fashioned trial and error.  Learning is of the upmost importance and one of the fruits of this style has been the selection of our preferred weed control/ground cover crop, clover!

            As applied in our farm, clover is planted in any space not occupied by a high tunnel or a bed and the advantages have proven numerous.  The filled space has introduced competition for weeds that would otherwise fill in the empty spaces between beds and invade the crops.  We simply mow the clover before it flowers (which in turn beheads any weeds before they flower) and we have seen a dramatic decrease in weed colonization.  The roots help maintain soil structure and prevent erosion and runoff.  The presence of a uniform ground cover simplifies the question of “where can I walk out here?!”  And perhaps most importantly, clover acts as a nitrogen fixer, which means soil that would otherwise be fallow is instead being improved with nutrients that are typically removed when growing and harvesting crops.  This is effective when implemented with a rotation of planting the following year where clover existed prior.

            The lessons learned have proven numerous, and the effectiveness of clover is but one of many!  Spending time out here is a great experience for everyone involved, if you have the time to volunteer then check it out!!

Why use transplants instead of direct seeding?

by Lorinda Balfanz

     There are a number of season extending techniques that can be incorporated into a planting schedule for vegetable production.  These techniques can benefit gardeners by producing crops earlier in the spring and/or extending harvest later into the fall.  One of these techniques is the use of transplants in the garden.  With proper planning and favorable conditions, transplants can provide earlier harvests, lower costs, and healthier plants. A transplant is a seed grown in controlled conditions (such as a greenhouse) then transplanted to a field as a “plug”.   Harvest time for transplanted crops can be 3 to 4 weeks ahead of direct seeded crops. Transplants are in the field for a shorter amount of time making succession planting or multiple cropping possible which can increase yields and profit. 

     Many crops are grown in production as transplants while others are still grown as direct seeds. Ultimately, it’s up to the individual grower to determine if transplants are the right fit for their farm system.   Besides harvest timing and pre-planting plans, it is important to consider production costs of transplants versus direct seeds.  Transplants have a higher initial cost because they involve starting plants from seeds in a greenhouse (instead of directly seeding in the field) and more time is spent planting the plugs in the field.  However, there is a season long advantage for many transplanted crops including lower weeding costs, less irrigation and more uniform plant production.  A general rule of thumb is transplant if seed cost is high, direct seed if seed cost is low.

     Most of the seeds that are being successfully used as transplants are expensive or difficult to grow.  A good example is celery seeds.  Celery seeds are very small, germinate slowly and the seedlings grow slowly as well.  Because the germination process for transplants takes place in a greenhouse, celery seedlings are more developed before planting in the field.   This gives the celery an advantage over the emerging weeds.  Transplants do not need to compete with the weed seeds for nutrients and water necessary to germinate since they’ve already passed that stage.  Transplants can also shade out weed seeds and deter them from germinating.  Other benefits of transplants include disease prevention and pest issues that occur with germinating seeds in the field.  These weed, disease, and pest issues eat into your profitability.  As with most cropping decisions, it is recommended to plant a small test plot before making a full switch to transplant production.   One can then determine if the choice of plant is economically and physiologically suitable for transplanting for a particular grower’s needs and market conditions. 

References

1.      Bachmann, J.  2005. Season extension techniques for marketgardeners.  ATTRA.  National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. 

2.      Anderson, B., and S. Wright.  2011. Season extension tools &techniques.  University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. 

3.      Katz, M.  2003. Transplanting vs. direct seeding.  The Grower.  Vol. 13. No. 10.

4.      Schrader, W.L.  2000.  Using Transplants in Vegetable Production.  University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.  Publications 8013.