A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 30, 1999
Soil Microbes Make Difference In Health Of Plant , Vegetable Grower Notes
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster
Co.) Vegetable producers
should understand that the soil
used for their crops is a living
organism, according to an organic
vegetable grower from Lancaster
County.
And those soil microbes we take
for granted “can make a very big
difference in the health of your
plants,” said Harry Wimcr, farm
foreman for Paradise Organics in
Paradise.
“When we keep our plants
growing healthy, they have less
pressure from insects and disease,”
said Wimer to mote than 100 veg
etable producers and agri-industry
representatives last week during a
session of the New Holland Veget
able Day at Yoder’s Restaurant in
New Holland.
At the Vegetable Day, moved
from its previous location at Sum
mit Valley Elementaiy School to
the conference facilities at the
restaurant, more than 240 growers
and industry representatives
attended. Some learned about how
to become certified as organic veg
etable growers, an industry that is
growing exponentially and which
provides premium income for
quality produce.
Paradise Organics grows field
and greenhouse vegetables and
other crops cm 4.5 acres. They
market their organic products
directly to natural health food
stores and others.
Winter explained that the organ
ic vegetable farm maintains a vari
ety of practices specific to generat
ing a quality product
For crop fertilizer. Paradise uses
compost provided by a local far
mer, spread on at the rate of 3.S
tons per acre. They also use a gra
nular mix composed of bone meal,
blood meal, and kelp (with a 5-2-0
label). In addition, a foliar feed
made up of seaweed and liquid fish
with a 4-1-1 label is used to main
tain the health of the plants.
The foliar feed is one of the most
effective feeds accepted by the
Organic Crop Improvement Asso
ciation (OCIA).
The compost is a mixture of cow
manure, chicken manure, old hay,
and end material. The microbial
compost takes the raw natural
material to a finished humus stage.
Winter noted.
The benefits of having a com
post allow the plant to actively
extract nutrients when they need it.
The nitrogen is not in a water
soluble form.
It’s important to maintain the
proper nutrient mix so the plants
have “what they need when they
need it.
Keeping the plants fed and
watered properly goes a long way
to allowing a consistent supply of
healthy plants, Wimer noted.
“Water with an appropriate
amount of water at all times,” he
said.
Fortunately the past growing
.season included a “relative lack of
moisture,” he said. Using irriga
tion during droughty conditions
kept the disease pressure down.
Paradise Organics uses a drip
irrigation system with timers.
They use a flat system that pumps
water to a garden hose and from
there to a drip hose. The timer is on
the header.
Tomatoes, when in full produc
tion, are watered two hours every
day. The farm uses the Caruso
tomato variety in the greenhouse
and Paragon and Mountain Pride
outside, according to Chris Peter
sheim, owner of the farm who also
spoke at the conference.
With the system, number one
tomatoes were “way up,” said
Wimer. “We’re very pleased with
that.” Equipment is kept to a mini
mum. The fertilizer is spread with
a drop spreader and a rototillcr is
used. The fields are moldboard
plowed “when we can get in," said
Wimer.
Insect challenges varied, but
included the leaf miner and spi
nach leaf miner. Organic spray
materials were used. For control of
caterpillars, Bt material was used.
“We spray only when absolutely
necessary and in areas necessary,”
said Wimer.
The farm regularly scouts to
examine insect populations.
For weed control, the farm nev
er uses herbicides of any kind.
They use plastic mulch for toma
toes and melons. In between rows.
Paradise Organics sows white
clover, which is effective in keep
ing weeds down.
Winter noted that direct sunlight
burns up the soil, “and the more we
keep the soil covered, the better off
we’ll be,” Winter said. “The sun
will bum the organic material out
of the soil, even in winter.”
Weeds are removed by hand or
hoe. The important thing to
remember, according to Winter, is
not to let the weeds go to seed.
It’s important to start weeding
when weeds are just sprouts, he
said.
He is reminded of a saying, “one
year of seed is seven yeais of
weed,” he said.
Cultivation is done between
plastic to prevent erosion.
The farm uses two greenhouses
measuring 30-fect by 144-fcct.
They also maintain a small green
house for starter plants.
They plant 6-7 varieties of let
tuce with each group and planta lot
of baby greens, including lettuce,
kale, and collard.
“Be a good manager,” said
Winter. “We have learned how to
budget our time, take notes when
we go around, and how to plant for
next year.” Paradise Organics also
experiments with new varieties
and new planting methods.
Chris Pctersheim, owner of
Paradise Organics, spoke to the
vegetable growers. Petershcim,
who worked for 19 years (some of
them as seedling supervisor) at
Winner's Greenhouses in Lancas
ter, began Paradise Organics in
1980. The farm began as a small
operation which gradually
expanded to the 4.5-acre facility
today.
A small, treated wood-framed,
lean-to type of greenhouse was
constructed in 1981. The farm
began using the greenhouse, which
faces due south, to grow trans
plants. In 1988 the two large
greenhouse were constructed.
The business uses refrigerated
vehicles for transporting products.
Pctersheim reviewed die use of
their seedling production, includ
ing the company’s vacuum seeder.
The medium is a mix of their own
soil, including 1.5 parts peat,
'/} part compost, and 'A part Pear
litc, in addition to rock dust and
organic fertilizer. They use a
cement mixer.
Paradise uses a 30-gallon gas
water heater which provides heat
to the soil zone in the greenhouse.
The soil is heated at the base. Some
areas use an incubator system. The
large greenhouses are heated by
propane gas. Ventilation is by
electric fan. “It’s important to have
Soil microbes we take for granted “can make a very big difference in the health of
your plants,” said Harry Wimer, farm foreman for Paradise Organics in Paradise, left.
And growers should beware of how insects migrate and reproduce and incorporate a
scouting program into their management, according to Dr. Shelby Fleischer, Penn
State, center. At right is Or. Tim Eikner, Lancaster County horticulture agent, who
spoke about powdery mildow-resistant pumpkin trials at the meeting.
Penn State wants to be on the for cantaloupes (muskmelons).
“cutting edge" of the plasticulturc “Don’t use white (plastic) for
movement, he said. As a result, the muskmelons," he said, because the
new Rockspring research center color actually keeps the soil too
has recently installed 12 high tun- cool.
nel frames and will install another * Polyon-brown material is
12 in the spring. They will look at almost as warm as the IRT green,
tomatoes in the tunnels and exa- * Red mulch. Used by more
mine a tomato nutrient program, growers on tomatoes. Some grow-
Also, the center wants to look at ets have seen al5 percent increase
a variety of plastic color systems, in yield on average. Also reduced
They will also be looking at a the incidence of early blight cm
moveable, rail-type tunnel system tomatoes. Red mulch is also effcc
for cool to warm season crops, tive on egg plants —l3 tons to the
The plasticulture center will acre average yield in some cases,
look at “really Intensive of * Black mulch. This coles - can
agriculture," he said. “It is all produce a tremendous amount of
about intensive agriculture how yield for onions. However, using
to farm less but produce more on black on melons produced the
the land.” The systems are similar smallest fruit size,
to how land in Japan and Israel is ' Silver mulch. Highest yield
used to the maximum to produce for peppers on silver mulch. How
crops. ever, peppers didn’t do so well cm
Also, Lamont noted that in Sep- blue or white mulch,
tember 2000, the 15th Intemation- • Yellow mulch. Attracts insec
al Plasticulture meeting is schc- ts. Yellow mulch decreased yield
duled for the Hershcy Convention on eggplants. Eggplants had the
Center in Hershey. largest yield on red mulch but the
For growers, Lamont provided fruit size was the lowest on silver
some research results about the use mulch.
of plastics and bedding for maxi- Mulches will effect yields of
mum produce production. potatoes (it becomes too hot under
“I personally like to use a crown the plastic),
bed," he said, “tapered from center In all, it is important to match
to the edges by !'/«inches. This the type and color of mulch plastic
allows the crop to sit up high and to the crop being grown,
dry and keeps the weather away According to Lcland Miller,
from the crop. Water moves away Advanced Agronomics, Quany
from the'plant." ville, the quality of the product
Here are some of Penn State’s starts before the harvest
findings cm the use of colored plas- An agronomic consultant. Mill
tic mulch: cr worked with the Nelson and
• The new IRT green plastics Rose Rohrer farm and learned
eliminate the weed problems that about a variety of fresh and cut
clear plastic provides. They allow flower growing strategies which
heating but not weed-generating he shared with those who attended
wavelengths of sunlight to pass the Vegetable Day.
through. The IRT green was good
good air circulation,” he said.
For each transplant, it is impor
tant to raise a nice; sturdy product,
<me that will sell.
Beds are planted in order to
harvest regularly. Every week a
new planting group is harvested.
“Plan and plant to have' a consis
tent amount coming at all times,”
stud Petersheim.
A key to planning is keeping a
log of die items to sell, the dates,
and the amount that will be avail
able. Paradise Organics uses such
a detailed scheduled sheet for that
purpose.
For pollination, the farm uses
bees. They found hand-pollination
to be too time-consuming. Bees
are highly recommended, espe
cially for tomatoes. Also, for con
trol of insects, particularly aphids,
they use a parasite bug control
method.
The most profitable crops for
Paradise are the “warm weather
crops in the spring," he said.
Overall, working to keep the
plants healthy goes a long way in
keeping a consistent customer
supply.
At the Vegetable Day, growers
should beware of how insects
migrate and reproduce and incor
porate a scouting program into
their management. According to
Dr. Shelby Fleischer, Penn State,
the female com earwotm can lay
up to 1,000 eggs.
When spraying for control, it is
important to understand the insec
t’s propagation cycle. While con
trols work best on the adults, if
applied too early or too late, the
material can often do little to get
rid of subsequent generations of
pests.
Dr. Bill Lament, Penn State,
spoke about the ongoing efforts to
create the Penn State Center for
Plasticulture. The center plans to
be an information clearinghouse
for all sorts of ag plastics, includ
ing greenhouses, films, high tun
nels, unhealed greenhouses, field
mulches, drip irrigation tape, con
tainerized transplant trays, plastic
pots, silage bags, hay wraps, ag
product packaging, and other
materials.
The center can act as a “light
ning rod,** said Lament, to develop
new products, test film, come up
with new formulations of colored
mulches, new covers, and produc
tion systems for the vegetable
grower.
Pa. Jersey Annual Meeting
TUNKHANNOCK (Wyoming
Co.) Pennsylvania Jersey Cattle
Association annual meeting is
scheduled April 9-10 here at the
Shadowbrook Resort.
A directors meeting is sche
duled April 9 in the afternoon. In
the evening, an awards banquet
and the Pennsylvania Jersey
Queen Contest are scheduled. The
queen contest is open to any girls
between 15-19 years old. Those
interested can contact Pat Rassau
at (724) 353-9681 for more
information.
The Pennsylvania State Jersey
Sale is scheduled April 10, with a
site to be announced. The sale
includes more than SO head of high
quality registered Jerseys and a
small number of Pot O'Gold
calves. The association is looking
for high quality consignments.
Contact Craig Sprout at (570)
965-2412 or Paul Moyer at (570)
324-2482, or any state director.
The association is accepting con
signments from other states.