Inexpensive and Effective Season Extension

Practical Farmers of Iowa

Webinar – Dec 13, 2011

Rob Faux

Genuine Faux Farm

Genuine Faux Farm Lettuce…Tell You About Our Mission

Small Family Farm

Local Sales

CSA, Direct Sale,

Farmers’ Market

Education

Sustainable Agriculture

Organic Certification

Vegetables

Vegetable Plants

Poultry

Season Extension Goals

1. Avoid production lulls during the growing season.

2. Extend the ‘normal’ accepted range of production dates for any produce.

3. Extend the season forward and backward.

4. Extend specific crop production periods.

5. Avoid breaking the bank doing it.

Considerations

• How much are you willing to extend your season?

• What are you willing to invest into the effort?

• You cannot make up for lack of sunshine

• You can only do so much to mitigate weather conditions.

• The later/earlier in the season it is – the harder the work is

Extending into Fall/Winter

Fall/Winter Crops

Root Crops Radish, Turnip, Parsnip, Rutabaga, Beets, Carrots, Leeks

Greens/Brassicae Lettuce, Spinach, Collards, Arugula, Mustard, Pok Choi, Chinese Cabbage, Kale, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Kohlrabi

Storage Crops Winter Squash, Potatoes, Dry Beans, Garlic, Onions and Root Crops

Variety Selection Example Lettuce

• Tighter core = less tolerant of freezing

• Pick head varieties first, then romaine

• Loose leaf last to pick

• Red varieties are ‘redder.’

• Oak Leaf varieties can handle most cold.

• Most growth completed in October

Amish Deer Tongue – tighter ‘core’ Grandpa Admires – loose leaf

Variety Type Notes

Bronze Arrowhead

Oakleaf Excellent all season. Redder in colder weather. Will hold under cover until Dec 15. Can overwinter.

Grandpa Admires

Loose Leaf

Good all season. Redder in cold. Begins to show some damage at base, but easily cut off. Dec 5 avg last date under cover.

Pablo Batavian If old enough to head, pick before too much freezing. If a loose head, Dec 5-10. Harder to time in the Fall (longer maturity date). Good for summer lettuce.

Crispmint Romaine Best if all mature heads out by Thanksgiving. Outer leaves break in freeze. Will overwinter if small. Other than a little edge burn, good in summer.

Forellenschus Romaine Not tight romaine heart, so handles cold a bit better. Leaves don’t bounce back as well from longer freeze. Fair, but not the best with warmer weather. Until Thanksgiving.

Red Salad Bowl

Loose Leaf

Best in cooler weather. Overwinters well. Could pick until Christmas. Taste is off if weather too warm.

Gold Rush Loose Leaf

Best in cooler weather. Overwinters fairly well. Similar growing condition notes to Red Salad Bowl.

Australian Yellow Leaf

Loose Leaf

Tends to burn if 30 deg F or lower. A good summer variety. Taste holds even if plants tower some.

Other Fall Crop Varieties

Radish – small radish by end Oct

- Misato Rose, Miyashage (Diakon), Black Spanish

Turnip – Purple Top White Globe, Red Round, White Egg

Beet – Detroit Dark Red

Carrot – St Valery’s, Bolero

Pok Choi – Black Summer

Kale – Red Russian, Lacinato

Collards – Champion

Spinach – Bloomsdale

Cabbage – Red Express, Copenhagen Market

Timing the Planting

• Seed Pok Choi in trays end of July (transplant 4 weeks later)

• Lettuce in trays throughout August (tranplant 2-3 weeks later)

• Turnip direct seed mid August, can try later.

• Fall radish – Aug 20-25 seems to optimal

• Arugula, mustard – early September

• Collards, kale – let Spring plants continue.

Mulching or Not?

Picture September 6, 2010

Mulch

• Don’t discount the solar collecting ability of bare soil

• Weeds aren’t (as much) a problem in Fall

• Mulched kale & cabbage was not marketable as late as unmulched.

• Mulch helped with cleaner crops, easier pick.

• Increased field storage of root crops slightly

Row Covers

More on Covers

Snow can do amazing things, the taller hoop was inserted to show normal height, the other was found in Spring after snow melt.

Extending into the Spring

Spring Crops

Other Crops Beets, Baby Carrots, Leeks, Onions, Peas, Radish, Garlic Scapes

Greens/Brassicae Lettuce, Spinach, Collards, Arugula, Mustard, Pok Choi, Kale, Kohlrabi, Chard, Broccoli

Perennial Crops Asparagus, Rhubarb, Walking Onions, various herbs and spices.

Overwintering Crops

• Lettuce started late and kept under cover • Spinach, cover if no snow • Chard, Kale can overwinter and produce early • Leeks and Onions

Success

Failures

• Most Brassicae (Broccoli, Cabbage, etc) • Arugula, Collards, Mustard • Lettuce over 2-3 inches in height. • Carrots – borer problems (mulch and no mulch)

Overwintered Crops

• Water in well before covering in Nov/Dec • Start watching plants in late Feb/early Mar • Avoid collapsed low tunnels/covers • Only check when temps above freezing • Wind is an issue – a good snow can be helpful • Watch for aphids – lettuce in particular

Crop Harvest

Spinach March-early May

Lettuce Mid-April-early May

Chard Mid-April – early June

Kale Mid-April – early June

Leeks May-June

Kick Starting Things in Spring • Transplant what you can vs direct seeding

• Select seed/varieties rated for cooler soil (e.g. dark green bean seeds vs light)

• Wait on the mulch (soil solar gain)

• Raised beds, row hills, hills

• Consider row covers

Pepper Mulch Trial 2009

Cold Frames

Seed Starting

Warm Season Crop Extension

Plant A Range of Cultivars Example: Sweet Peppers

Tier Cultivars Days To First Pick

To Peak Pick

I Ace 36 42

II Purple Beauty, Tolli Sweet 47 57

III King of the North 62

IV Napolean Sweet, Jimmy Nardello’s 59 70

V Garden Sunshine, Quadrato asti Giallo 71 78

VI Golden Treasure, Marconi Red 75 90

Transplanting

Try transplanting from trays to pots, then move them to the ground.

Advertised First Peak Top

Ace 50 36 42 63

Tolli Sweet 75-85 43 58 70

King of the North 70 62 62 74

• Pots reusable • Wider planting window • Able to ID “off” plants before putting in field • Effect is less for longer season peppers

Succession Planting Summer Squash example

2007 5081

2008 3679

2009 3840

2010 4120

PER FOOT FIELD

6.3 T1

4 SW 1

3.2 T2

2.7 T3/E5

per foot

Planting 1 Plant 2 Plant 3

2007 11.6 2.5

2008 4.7 6.6

2009 5.2 5.1 0

2010 4.7 5.4 3.0

per foot by planting

p1 July p1 Aug p1 Sep p2 July p2 Aug p2 Sep p3 Aug P3 Sep

2007 7.5 3.9 0.3 2 0.5

2008 0.9 3.6 0.1 2.4 4.2

2009 2.2 2 1 1.3 2.9 0.8 0

2010 0.6 3.9 0.3 2.9 2.4 1.2 1.7

More Warm Crop Thoughts

• If you have time, try to sneak in ‘late’ plantings

• Green Beans, Tomatoes and Eggplant in October (cover to prevent frost damage)

• Extended Cucumber harvest with timely irrigation

• Keep plants picked to extend harvest

• Heirloom vs Open-pollinated vs Hybrids

• Taste testing an important part of harvest

Q & A Thank you for joining us!