Tag Archives: corn

Meet the Amelia Demonstration Garden.

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This month’s post is a bit of a departure from our usual “Meet the Farmer” stories–for February, we are sharing some lessons we learned from our experiences managing the 2015 Extension demonstration garden in Amelia County. The following narrative was first shared in our newspaper column in the Amelia Bulletin Monitor. -Laura Siegle

The garden began in 2013 as a 1,200 square foot vegetable garden at the historic Raleigh Parish Glebe in Amelia Court House, and it was used for several tours and demonstrations. We enlarged the garden to 3,000 square feet in 2014 and expanded efforts to use it for youth, agriculture, and healthy lifestyle education. Following those efforts, we created a documentary video and featured it on the blog last year.

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For the third year in a row, we planted vegetables at the 2015 Extension demonstration garden at the Glebe for the purpose of tours and education, and along the way, we tracked our observations in hopes of sharing the results with gardeners who may benefit from our experiences. In fall of 2014, we planted a wheat cover crop which we killed in the spring with mowing and tillage prior to planting time. This cover crop protected the soil during winter rains, increased organic matter, returned nutrients when it was incorporated into the soil with a tiller, and even seemed to choke out some weeds. However, even after it was mowed, it was tough on the tiller and required us to run through it twice to adequately prepare the seedbed. We then planted snap beans, lima beans, patty pan squash, sweet corn, watermelons, cantaloupe, and several heirloom tomato varieties.

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Insect pressure this year was minimal, and we observed a number of beneficial insects settling in our plants. Bean leaf beetles and various caterpillars fed on foliage, but neither caused enough damage to warrant treatment. In 2014, we picked bean leaf beetles off bean seedlings until they grew large enough to withstand damage, but that practice seemed unnecessary this year.

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Because we could tolerate some crop losses in our garden which might not be acceptable in other scenarios and because our garden is immediately adjacent to some bee hives, we decided to forgo the use of insecticides on our plants. We observed a variety of pollinators from honey bees to bumble bees active in the garden, and insecticides pose the greatest risk to these beneficial insects during the periods when they are readily observed foraging around the garden. Like clockwork, squash bugs showed up in the garden right around the time that our pollinators began taking advantage of blossoming plants, making it difficult to find an appropriate time to use insect controls. However, the squash bug population this year seemed lower in our garden than it was last year, perhaps because we discarded the 2014 cucurbit plant residue from the garden in the winter and removed egg masses we saw on leaves this year. Both practices can be helpful, although sometimes combining these practices with the use of an insecticide can be the only way to salvage a cucurbit crop and prevent the squash bugs from transmitting wilt to the plants.

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Bear in mind that controlling squash bugs and other insects chemically is a risk versus benefit decision, as you must consider the potential for extensive crop losses and pest population buildup in the garden against the risk to pollinators and beneficial insects in the vicinity.

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A few long bouts of dry weather we experienced in June and July helped us avoid early buildup of many of the foliar diseases that sneak in when weather stays wet. However, humidity and sequential rainy days later in the summer favored development of some foliar diseases in our cantaloupe and watermelon patch, treatable with copper and chlorothalonil. Around the middle of the season, we saw powdery mildew arrive on our squash which we treated with fair success using a copper spray.

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Naturally, weeds put constant pressure on the garden throughout the season. However, we judiciously hand-rouged out emerging lambsquarter and spiny pigweed before either could go to seed throughout 2014, and the results seemed to pay off in 2015 as only a few of these plants crept into the garden. We had too much bare, unused space last year where weeds easily grew, so we used shade to our advantage this year by planting as much available space as possible without planting too densely. This seemed to effectively weaken many grass seedlings. We removed weeds approximately biweekly and relied on a scuffle hoe early in the season when crabgrass seedlings were the primary concern. For larger weeds, we combined hand-weeding and hoeing. Carpetweed, spotted spurge, crabgrass, Bermuda grass, and goosegrass were the five most common weeds in the garden this year.

Many people ask about herbicides and pre-emergent control options, and I advise them to keep in mind that the pre-emergent options that are approved for vegetable gardens should only be used in places where desirable plants have already germinated and grown a few true leaves or else they, too, will be suppressed, just like the weed seeds. I have used trifluralin granules in the past for weed seed suppression. I had no experience with the organic option, corn gluten, so we applied this product to the garden as an experiment. We found that, just as stated on the label, this product did not offer long-term control comparable to trifluralin, but it did seem to keep weed seedlings from growing for a period of several weeks. We ceased using it in late summer, as we wanted the option to plant a fall crop. Remember, these pre-emergent products are designed to keep germinating seeds from growing into seedlings and should not be used in places where you are trying to germinate seeds of “good” plants.

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As for post-emergent herbicide sprays, we had good results spot-spraying a few trouble areas last year, but that did not seem necessary this year because our cultural controls were sufficient. Furthermore, gardeners need to realize that herbicides might selectively control grasses or broadleaf weeds or even both. Since most vegetables with the exception of corn are broadleaf plants, a broadleaf or broad-spectrum herbicide, for example, will not know the difference and can kill desirable garden plants that contact the product through drift or direct spray. Many vegetables are highly sensitive to glyphosate and other chemicals, and even organic herbicides can kill desirable plants. For these reasons, the average gardener who is not experienced with using these products and following their labels may be better off relying on tillage, hand-tools, and other cultural methods for weed control while desirable plants are in the immediate vicinity.

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The last facet of our garden’s management that may come as a surprise is the fact that we never watered the site. Getting water to the garden required logistical gymnastics in 2013 and 2014, so for 2015, I decided that the garden would simply be a “sink or swim with what you get” affair. I expected some plants to struggle, but was surprised at the garden’s resilience. This is not necessarily the best strategy for anyone who is aiming for high yields and minimal stress on plants, and we were blessed with a favorable year for rainfall. However, our garden did quite well considering the circumstances. To make the most of this strategy, we timed planting to coincide with a period of high moisture, and we planted everything but the tomatoes from seed because we believed that the transition from a greenhouse to a dry garden might be too much of a shock for transplants to weather. We planted the tomato transplants deep, covering half of the stems, to encourage strong root systems. It seems that the beans, watermelons, and cantaloupes fared the best in the dry weather, whereas the squash experienced some wilting during the longest dry stretches.

All in all, we had an excellent garden year in a beautiful Amelia County setting. Even if you missed this year’s tour, we are sharing our experiences in hopes that they help you along in your own garden pursuits.

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Additional Resources for Readers:

Virginia Garden Pest Factsheets

Virginia Vegetable Factsheets

Integrated Pest Management for Vegetable Gardens

Cover Crops

 

 

Meet Chris Drake at Sandy Point Farms.

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His operation, situated in Southampton County near the southeastern corner of Virginia, produces a number of integral crops for the region including cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and corn. In fact, according to the most recent census, Southampton County is ranked first in the state for cotton and peanut production, second for soybeans, and third for wheat.

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Peanut harvest at Sandy Point Farms

When it comes to produce, Sandy Point also excels. While Chris’ father and brother work primarily on the row crop side of the farm, Chris is responsible for managing production of sweet corn and watermelons, neither of which are uncommon on farms around this region. “A lot of people don’t realize that we have a large commercial watermelon production industry,” says Chris. “Ag in Southeast Virginia is extremely diversified.”

Less common, on the other hand, are commercial pumpkin operations in Southeastern Virginia. Sandy Point Farms, with an impressive seventeen acres of pumpkins, stands as an exception. Chris got started with his first acre fourteen years ago. Today, he grows so many pumpkins that he focuses nearly all of his attention on the wholesale market. “Most others are around two or three acres and are selling retail,” he says of other operations in the region.

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Though Chris has managed to build success with pumpkins, their relative rarity in large-scale production in Southampton County is not without reason. “One thing that’s helped Chris is developing a good market. Growing these crops can be a challenge, but you have to be able to sell and market the crop as well. That might be why most growers around here stick to traditional commodities,” says Austin Brown, the Virginia Cooperative Extension agent who serves Chris Drake and other farmers in the county. “I think Chris has been able to tap into the urban areas and capitalize on the demand from these large populations.”

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Austin Brown, Southampton County Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, visits with Chris Drake at Sandy Point Farms.

Austin, who earned an undergraduate degree at North Carolina State University and a master’s degree at Virginia Tech, worked alongside several crop researchers to gain experience in agronomy before he joined Extension. In his current role, he helps producers like the Drake family at Sandy Point who rely on dependable crop management information. When certain field problems arise, timely updates are critical so that growers can protect their crops. “That’s something I try to do to help Chris and all people growing watermelons and cucurbits,” says Austin. “We diagnosed downy mildew, and I called all the producers,” says Austin as he recalls wet, cloudy conditions favoring the development of this disease earlier this summer. “This year has been a mixed bag of weather. It was wet early and we saw some nutrient leaching, then it was like that spigot just turned off,” he says.

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Those early wet conditions created special concerns for Chris and his pumpkin crop, as plants on the ground are prone to a number of diseases that can make the fruit unmarketable. “The two biggest challenges are disease control and marketing, in my opinion,” Chris says. He protects his crop throughout the growing season each year, but the threat of rain in late summer can push him to adjust his harvest date expectations. “Weather determines most of that. If it’s wet, we get them off the ground ASAP,” he says. Harvest itself is generally more labor-intensive than other pumpkin chores, often requiring a twelve to fifteen hour work day. In between, there are plenty of tasks and decisions to keep Chris up late and awake early. “A lot of times I’m up at four or five in the morning looking at market reports, deciding what to do for the day,” he remarks.

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Prior to developing his current undertakings at Sandy Point Farm, Chris honed his agronomy background in school and at work. His undergraduate degree and master’s degree from Virginia Tech not only equipped him to be the most ardent Hokie fan for miles around, but also prepared him for his current career. When he is not taking care of his farm at home, he serves PhytoGen Cottonseed as a territory agronomist covering northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. He spends a considerable portion of his work running on-farm research plots and yield trials and presenting data at about fifty grower meetings each spring. In all, he is responsible for 250,000 acres of cotton through his job.

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Chris and his family grow cotton on their farm.

Though all of the crops at Sandy Point Farms provide a diversified income stream, the pumpkins are a point of pride for Chris because they attest to an uncommon accomplishment for his growing region. When asked what he considers his greatest achievement, he says, “I started out with a half-acre in 2001 and now I’m up to seventeen acres. The quality of the pumpkins I’m producing in this area is competitive with the other growers from Southwest Virginia.” He believes the key to his success lies with marketing a top-notch product. One look at his trailer loads of perfectly orange, evenly-sized pumpkins with textbook stems is proof that know-how, dedication, and an eye for new marketing opportunities can be worth the effort to grow something a little unconventional.

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Additional Resources for Readers:

Sandy Point Farms

Specialty Crop Profile: Pumpkins

 

 

Meet David Smith’s grain sorghum.

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David raises cattle on his farm in central Virginia, but this year, he also gave sorghum a shot.

100_0866 (768x1024)Sorghum—or milo, as some call it—is a summer annual plant that was developed in the Upper Nile region of Sudan. It is quite versatile. Most varieties have been developed for grain harvest, while others are chopped for silage as an alternative to corn. Sorghum-sudangrass hybrids are becoming increasingly popular for hay and forage because they can be grown during the summer months when cool-season grasses like tall fescue hit a slump. Varieties that make up the “sweet” sorghums are valued for the juices that are extracted from the plants’ stalks and turned into sorghum syrup, a homestead specialty that has become rather rare. Furthermore, faculty at Virginia State University and other research centers are developing varieties of sorghum that are suitable for use in biofuel production.

IMG_20130705_094516_927 (1024x577)Sorghum has been grown for grain in many states for a number of years, but many new producers in Virginia and North Carolina, including David, have recently decided to try it thanks to an increase in demand from livestock operations in the state. The rising costs of fuel, labor, and fertilizer in combination with past periods of drought have raised the cost of feeding corn on these operations. Managers are looking for alternate feeds that equal corn in nutritional content, so sorghum has become a good pick. Most grain sorghum produced in the U.S. is used as animal feed, but sorghum is growing increasingly popular as a gluten-free, high antioxidant food in the U.S. Many farmers favor sorghum because it is more drought-tolerant than corn. While corn and sorghum may both curl up during a dry year, sorghum can wait longer for moisture to return and will bounce back readily after a rain. Sorghum also adds flexibility and diversity to a crop rotation, resulting in easier disease and pest control.

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Sorghum plants closely resemble corn during their early growth stages.

David was among many farmers in the state who faced some challenges during the early part of the growing season. Excessive rain washed nutrients out of the soil in high parts of fields, leaving seedlings with shallow roots temporarily deficient in phosphorus. Seedlings in low areas, especially in flat fields in eastern Virginia, faced the risk of drowning. The heavy, constant rains also created a good environment for pressure from seedling disease issues like damping off and root rot. Fortunately, David’s sorghum weathered the late spring and grew out nicely. The same is true for most of the growers across southside and central Virginia. In fact, the middle and late summer moisture was a boon for both corn and sorghum plants in later stages of development.

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This sorghum has developed a head but the gain has not filled yet.

Grain sorghum looks like corn throughout its early growth stages, but rather than developing ears, it grows a head with small, rounded seeds that appear as pyramidal cluster. The grain must be harvested before it becomes dry enough to “shatter” or fall off prematurely before or during harvest. Ideally, it should be harvested between 17 and 20% moisture to prevent losses at harvest. However, grain at these moisture levels will spoil easily during storage, so the harvested grain must be dried so that it reaches a safe storage moisture level of 10-12%.

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The grain shown here is well-developed and almost ready for harvest.

The future of sorghum in the state looks bright. Sorghum grain is not a complete replacement for corn and not all growers have the equipment to grow and dry it or access to an increasing market, but acreages in parts of the state near large buyers are expected to increase. This year, the drought-ready traits of the crop did not have an opportunity to shine. However, in view of the uncertainty of next year’s weather, many sorghum producers will be better equipped to withstand a dry year. Sorghum is not new to everyone, but thanks to new growers like David and expanding markets in and around the state, it is enjoying a resurgence and helping farmers mitigate risk and diversify their operations.

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Additional Resources for Readers:

Sorghum Marketability

Sorghum Variety Data

United Sorghum Checkoff Program Mid Atlantic Production Handbook