Seed2Need2014 Year-End Report
Photo by Leah RocoNow that the gardening season has come to an
end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who
made 2014 a productive year and to provide you with a year-end
report. Two graphs are provided below. The first graph compares our
harvests from 2010 - 2014. The second compares our major crops from
2012 -2014. Thanks to a long growing season, a heavy apple crop and
many generous property owners who donated land and allowed us to
glean fruit from their orchards, this year's harvest was 63,768
pounds bringing the total pounds donated over the past five years
to almost 1/4 million pounds.
What went well1. Harvest: 2014 was our second largest harvest,
surpassed only by 2012. This year, we had a record harvest of
tomatoes (29,837 pounds), green chile (5,601 pounds) and fruit
gleaned from local orchards (25,899 pounds).
2. Increase in Volunteer Hours: We had higher volunteer turnout
this year. Volunteers contributed over 3000 hours planting,
maintaining and harvesting the gardens. Besides Seed2Need
volunteers (Sandoval County Master Gardeners and the general
public), we hosted six Eagle scout projects - three to plant the
gardens, one to glean fruit and two to clean up the gardens at the
end of season. In addition, we received help from several Corporate
volunteer groups such as Jiffy Lube, Smith's grocery stores, Heads
Up Landscaping and CarMax, from church groups, boy and girl scout
troops, Los Ranchos 4-H and students from Bosque School, the US
Forest Service, Roadrunner Food Bank, Albuquerque Academy, UNM
Sustainable Studies and Kappa Omicron Nu, a nutrition and family
studies honor society at UNM. We sincerely appreciate all of the
volunteer hours worked to provide fresh produce to less fortunate
families in our community.
3. Control of Root Knot Nematodes: In 2013, root knot nematodes
killed most of the tomato plants in one of our three gardens.
Root-knot nematodes are tiny parasitic worms that form galls or
knots on the plant roots which block the flow of nutrients to the
plant. The pest is found worldwide but thrives in the sandy soils
common to New Mexico. Thousands of root-knot eggs or worms may be
present in one tablespoon of soil. Internet research came across a
study in Texas that used a biological fungicide called Actinovate
to control nematodes. We added fertilizer injectors to the
irrigation systems at all 3 gardens, injected Actinovate into the
drip irrigation system 2 weeks before planting, at planting and 2
weeks after planting. When we pulled up our tomato plants this
fall, very few plants showed signs of root knot nematode damage.
For more information on this Texas study see
http://today.agrilife.org/2010/12/22/root-knot-nematode/
2013 - galls and knots on the tomato plant roots caused by root
knot nematodes2014 - healthy root system on tomato plants grown in
the same field after applying Actinovate
4. Control of Broad Leaf Weeds: In 2013, we had a heavy
infestation of pigweed (Amaranth) following the summer monsoon
season. We were concerned that this would lead to pigweed sprouting
next to our tomato plants this spring. Because we cover all 2200 of
our tomato plants with row cover and do not uncover them until the
1st week of July, this gives the pigweed time to reach 5' tall and
1-2" in diameter before the tomatoes can be weeded. Pigweed this
size can easily choke out and kill the tomato seedlings.
Young volunteer sprinkling corn gluten around each tomato
seedling during planting. Internet research led us to a study at
Iowa State University that found corn gluten to be 87-99% effective
in controlling broad leaf weeds. It also adds 10% nitrogen to the
soil. We found 40# bags of corn gluten at a local nursery and
sprinkled it around the tomato seedlings as they were planted. When
the tomato plants were uncovered in July, there was very little
pigweed. For more information on this study see
https://www-hort.sws.iastate.edu/sites/default/files/imported/gluten/pdf/grnhsechr.pdf
5. Codling Moth Control: This year we purchased an orchard
sprayer and sprayed the fruit trees to reduce codling moth damage.
While researching pesticides effective for controlling codling
moths, we found a table that listed pesticides based on their
toxicity to bees.
http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/pollinators/TenczarKrischik2013bulletin.pdfTo
reduce our impact on the pollinators, we sprayed the orchard with a
pesticide called Intrepid. Intrepid was effective. We had very
little codling moth damage. Intrepid is expensive and difficult to
find locally. However, less pesticide is required per gallon making
the cost less prohibitive. 6. Infrastructure: We built a garden
shed so we could store all equipment and supplies on site (see
photo below). We also purchased a single bottom plow for the
tractor. In addition, we installed a pallet scale and purchased
forks for the tractor so we can move and weigh produce by the
pallet rather than by the individual crate. This saved time and
back breaking labor. It also allowed us to load produce onto the
food pantry trucks with the tractor.
2014 - using the tractor and forks to move and weigh the
produce. Note the new garden shed in the background and the pallet
scale below the tractor forks. 2013 - two 80+ year-old volunteers
using a wagon to move produce from one end of the garden to the
other. One wagon of tomatoes weighs approximately 400 pounds.
What did not go well / New learning opportunities 1. Herbicide
damage. After we spread manure in the corner of one garden plant
growth in that corner showed signs of herbicide damage. We sent
plant samples to NMSU and this confirmed our suspicions. Further
research pointed to herbicide damage caused by using manure from
animals that ate hay harvested off of a pasture treated with a
broad leaf herbicide such as picloram, clopyralid and aminopyralid.
For more information see
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/programs/ncorganic/special-pubs/herbicide_carryover.pdfAn
article published by Clemson University reported that spreading
activated charcoal on a contaminated field will deactivate the
herbicide.
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/horticulture/turf/pest_guidelines/pesticide_deactivation.htmlWe
will do additional research over the winter and we will probably
treat the garden with activated charcoal this spring.2. Squash
bugs. This spring squash bugs killed most of our cucurbit crops
(cucumbers, squash and melons) before the plants were 2" tall. This
reduced our total harvest by approximately 10,000 pounds. The only
cucurbit crops that survived the season were covered with row cover
until the 1st week of August.
Over the years we have tried a variety of ways to control squash
bugs, e.g. pesticide, examining every leaf, killing the squash bugs
and smashing their clusters of eggs, planting companion plants that
are purported to repel squash bugs, torching the squash bugs when
the infestation gets out of hand and trap cropping (planting a crop
that attracts the squash bugs to encourage them to stay away from
the other cucurbit crops). So far, the score is Squash Bugs 5,
Seed2Need 0. Nothing we have tried has been effective.If we decide
to grow cucurbit crops next year, we will plant them under row
cover and leave them covered until late summer. Besides protecting
the young plants, row cover provides a white background that makes
squash bugs easy to spot and kill. This year we hauled most of our
tomato vines to the Sandoval County Landfill rather than composting
them so we don't provide a pile of vines to serve as cover for
over-wintering squash bugs. 3. Blossom end rot. Our tomato crop was
heavily hit by blossom end rot this year despite spraying the
foliage with gypsum (NMSU's recommendation was to spray the foliage
with a mixture of 1/4 c. gypsum per gallon of water.). We will
research other solutions over the winter.
4. Bacterial Blight on the green bean crop. In 2015, we will
look for a variety of green beans that is resistant to Bacterial
blight.
Plans for 2015We are already planning the 2015 gardens. We plan
to schedule a seed starting workshop in mid-March, and we will be
planting 30 more bare-root fruit trees this spring thanks to a
grant from Keep New Mexico Beautiful.We will be speaking to other
civic and community service groups over the winter to recruit help
gleaning fruit from local orchards. We plan to hire a part-time
student intern to help with spring garden prep, garden maintenance
and supervision. Most of our core Seed2Need volunteers are 55+. We
need more strong backs and youthful enthusiasm!We are looking
forward to another successful garden season.Thanks again for
supporting Seed2Need and for helping us provide fresh fruits and
vegetables to the families in our community facing food insecurity.
Your participation and support is greatly appreciated.Best wishes
for a joyful holiday season,The Board of Directors and Volunteers
of Seed2Need
