Technical Innovation and Know-How in Organic Vegetable Production: Selwood Green

By Maggie Hope-Simpson

The 60 acre farm known as "Selwood Green" is a ribbon of green situated along the wind-swept shores of the Minas Basin in central Nova Scotia. Owner Norbert Kungl got his start here in organic farming 17 years ago, growing vegetables on a pocket of sandy loam soil. He now cultivates 32 acres of vegetables, grown in rotation with green manure crops. Norberts' goal has always been to produce a large variety of good and consistent quality organic vegetables for as long a season as possible. Greenhouses are used to extend the season for the production of early salad greens and warm season crops like tomatoes and cucumbers. Since the early 1990's, he has been marketing his vegetables directly through his highly visible and popular stall at the Halifax Farmers Market. Norbert notes that growing more than 30 different kinds of vegetables, which are harvested at different times of the year, "has always been an advantage in direct marketing". He now considers diversification of risk, however, to be an additional major benefit. For the past three years, he has been cooperatively marketing larger volumes of selected crops to Atlantic Wholesalers, Sobeys and Loblaws under the "Seaspray Atlantic" label.

Innovation and Experimentation
Innovation and experimentation, to overcome challenges, simplify management, and improve efficiency, are a recurring theme in Norbert's production system. Norbert takes a scientific approach towards farming, and strives to balance efficient management with good organic farming practices. This approach has paid off, in terms of fine-tuning the production system, securing economic viability for the farm, and attracting researchers and students of agriculture to use his farm as a "test site" for organic farming research. While Norbert believes that much benefit can be derived from on-farm research, he emphasizes that what works well in one farm or site-year may not work in another, and therefore farmers need to continually adapt methods to fit the specific conditions of their farm.

Plant starting systems
A frequently cited challenge for organic vegetable growers is finding a reliable, cost-effective seed starting or transplant mix which is based on organically approved ingredients. Compost-based mixes, unless made from well-prepared, properly stabilized composts, are often problematic due to inconsistent quality, low nutrient content, and contamination with weed seeds.

Through a combination of experience, intuition, and trial and error, Norbert has come up with a potting mix that, so far, has been an unqualified success. "For us this was a breakthrough year in transplant production. After being disappointed by both my own compost and a commercially prepared organic potting soil, this year we formulated our own mix. Our new mix consists of a "pre-mix" of certifiable ingredients, like alfalfa meal, fish meal, kelp meal, Cal-phos, and a number of other things, which is thoroughly mixed with several bales of peat moss. And the results have been absolutely fantastic for us. We have never before had as many successful transplants-good sturdy plants, consistent quality."

Another experiment is transplanting crops which are typically direct seeded in Nova Scotia, such as sweet corn and onions. Sweet corn is a valuable crop, but is challenging to grow organically because of pest problems. The higher retail price Norbert receives for early sweet corn at the Halifax Farmers Market helps to make transplanting this crop economically feasible. "We transplanted the corn in five or six lots or plantings. The earliest planting is protected with floating row covers, to increase the growing temperatures and to keep the crows out. If you have good, sturdy transplants, and if you don't stress them before you set them out, they seem to do well. Last year the corn did fantastic, just great. "

Onions are also being transplanted on an experimental basis. "This year, we started some onions in transplant or seedling trays, and then set the onion transplants into the field. The main advantage in transplanting onions is that you beat that first flush of weeds. Also, without a fairly sophisticated or precision-type seeder, it is difficult to properly space your onions. Transplanting makes spacing the onions easy, and therefore you get better size control, and bigger individual onions, which allows you to get a better price for the onions".

Weed Control
Green manure crops, along with crop rotation, play a key role in maintaining fertility, and controlling weeds, pests and diseases on the Kungl farm. For many years, Norbert used perennial ryegrass as a green manure, alone or in mixtures with perennial legumes such as vetch, alfalfa and various clovers. The main problem with ryegrass, however, is that the residue is hard to get rid of in the spring before planting early seeded crops. "What we've done in the last two years, with great success, is to seed oats and peas as our standard green manure, on our light soils before we plant any vegetable crops". Oats and peas have two advantages as green manures over perennial forages: they thrive under the cool conditions of early spring, thereby preventing the establishment of warm season weeds, and they die out completely during winter, leaving a clean field the following spring that you can use with minimal soil disturbance.

The stand-by for weed control in direct seeded crops is flame weeding. Increased acreage in vegetables has prompted Norbert to scale-up from a manual backpack flamer to a custom-made tractor-mounted unit that covers a five foot bed. "Flaming is a standard method of pre-emergent weed control for us on carrots and onions, as well as for just about any other direct seeded crop where we see an opportunity to use it. If the crop isn't up, and we see a flush of weeds, we try to go in with the flame weeder, regardless of what it is, from spinach to beans, anything and everything".

Maggie Hope-Simpson is a consultant for the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada. Please send comments or questions by phone to 902-893-7256 or by email to oacc@nsac.ca.