Today was the Ontario Garlic Growers Annual Field Day near Brantford, in Ontario. We drove the quiet country roads under overcast skies and the little villages looked like stage props in the early morning light. There were a few showers during the morning, but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits.
We first toured the Brant County Garlic Company fields and then the University of Guelph's test fields where we heard presentations by a Plant Pathologist and a Vegetable Crop/Leek Moth Specialist. From there we hopped back into our buses and were given a peek into the Boot Farm garlic scallion cleaning process where the garlic was being prepared for the local markets. And then we went on to a small Mennonite farm also growing Music garlic.
During these excellent presentations, we learned that one of the serious garlic pests are bulb and stem nematodes. Once established they can kill the whole crop and infect the soil for a long time. We were shown samples of diseased plants, and reminded about the importance of disease-free seed, and the importance of crop rotation (ideally 4-5 year rotation for garlic!).
We also found out that the other crops grown in non-garlic years can also be hosts for the same nematodes, so it's important to carefully choose! A very interesting finding is that if you grow mustard as a cover crop (certain varieties are recommended), you can "fumigate" your soil naturally by chopping up the mustard cover crop into small shreds, and IMMEDIATELY burying it in the soil and tamping it down. The chopped mustard plant releases gasses that kill nematodes within 24 hours. Then the soil is ready for any kind of planting two weeks later... Here's a really good website with lots of info: www.sare.org/Learning-Cente
We will certainly be very cautious about garlic diseases, as they can be disastrous. Chives, leeks, and onions, etc. can be disease/pest carriers as well. We were warned against composting any garlic or onion waste, as it could infect your soil.
The garlic scallions at Boot Farm looked delicious!
The event was attended by about 50 people, and it was a most inspiring day. Free to attend, we just needed to register and it included and a nice hot lunch (donation). We learned a lot and plan to attend it again next year.
No, we're not planning on going commercial and buying a larger property to enable us to grow more garlic. But we will be planting more next year because it doesn't seem to matter how much you grow it never seems to be enough : )
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| Great report! by dave | Jun 9, 2013 1:57 PM | 7 |
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