Garlic Harvest
As we move toward garlic harvest season, there are some important factors to keep in mind that will help determine the best time to harvest. Harvest timing is very important in preventing post-harvest diseases. Garlic should be harvested with five to six green leaves and before the cloves start to pull away from the stem. Green leaves correspond to the wrapper leaves around the cloves, which protect them from light, moisture and heat during storage. As the wrapper leaves start to deteriorate, the cloves will continue to grow and pull away from the stem causing the bulb to split open. Besides being unmarketable in this condition, exposed cloves make for poor storability.
Check out Perennia’s new “Garlic Storage, Post-Harvest Diseases, and Planting Stock Considerations” factsheet for more information.
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How Much Soil Carbon Do You Have On Your Farm?
There is much interest in soil carbon these days. Soil organic matter is primarily composed of carbon. Because of the many benefits of organic matter to agricultural crop production and because of the interest in carbon sequestration on-farm, a group of researchers from Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture are trying to get a better handle on carbon distribution through digital soil mapping. Their project is attempting to model soil organic carbon on the DAL AC farm using state of the art remote sensing and digital soil mapping tools to produce high-resolution soil organic carbon maps. These models will be used to extend predictions of soil organic carbon to areas that haven’t been physically sampled and can then be displayed on a map (Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Dalhousie University Agricultural Campus (DAL AC) campus farm with soil sampling locations used to make sure the model can predict soil carbon levels that match those sampled by traditional soil sampling and testing methods.
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The DAL AC farm records of soil and crop rotations paired with available digital data are used in developing machine learning algorithms to assess soil organic carbon dynamics. Figure 2 shows a preliminary map of soil organic carbon (%) in 2019 that was computed via the machine learning algorithms. The carbon percentages at first glance seem low, but the analytical lab at the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture uses a conversion factor of 58% carbon in soil organic matter. On the DAL AC farm, soil organic carbon ranges from a low of 1.21% to a high of 3.09%, which corresponds to soil organic matter ranges of 2.08 % to 5.33%.
The DAL AC farm will be used to prove the concept, but it is hoped this can be expanded to selected commercial farms in Nova Scotia to map carbon on farm. Funding for this research is provided through the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
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Figure 2. Preliminary map showing the distribution of soil organic carbon (%) in 2019 across the study area.
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What’s the Buzz… Tell Me What’s Happening! – with ATTTA
Beekeepers are at risk for tick-born illness! Beekeepers often work in locations where ticks are present and must manage and mitigate this risk. The busiest time of year for beekeepers corresponds with the time of year with the greatest number of ticks. In order to help beekeepers understand more about ticks and the dangers of Lyme’s disease, check out ATTTA’s new factsheet, ‘Tick Safety in the Bee Yard.’
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ALAB Offering Analysis for Hops
ALAB is pleased to inform you of their Hops analytical services available for this year’s harvest.
Using the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) methods, they can provide the following:
- Alpha and Beta acids-Toluene extraction and HPLC-UV-VIS - $45
- Hops Storage Index (HSI) - Toluene extraction and spectrophotometry - $15
- Moisture Content - Air oven - $30
- Hops Package - Alpha and Beta Acids, HSI, Moisture - $70
Obtain a representative sample of ~100g. Dry cones (10% moisture), pellets, or wet hops are accepted.
- Representative samples should be taken from at least 4 locations depending on sample type.
- In the yard – select from different plants and locations.
- Post-harvest/palletization – select from the bottom, top, and sides of piles
- Post bagging/baling – choose samples from multiple bags or bales and positions within
For more information, visit the ALAB website.
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Getting Wild with Wine Making
The ancient winemaking method of letting indigenous yeasts take over fermentation, also known as spontaneous or wild fermentation, has started to be used more frequently in the last decade since there are winemakers and researchers who believe that commercial active dry yeasts (ADY) create “uniformity” in wine characteristics. However, spontaneous fermentations continue to be a risk to winemakers since the completion of fermentation and regularity in wine quality are not guaranteed.
Pied du cuve (PdC) is a traditional method of preparing a winery-made fermentation starter from grapes. The method involves collecting some grapes close to the harvest date, crushing them and fermenting the fresh juice. The resulting solution, which is rich in diverse yeast strains from the vineyard, is used to inoculate subsequent batches. Although frequently used in many wineries, the PdC method continues to be implemented based on experience, and the effect on wine quality is yet to be studied.
A recent study was conducted in France that evaluated the impact of PdC method on fermentation efficiency and wine composition using Sauvignon blanc, Sauvignon gris and Ugni blanc grapes. In terms of fermentation kinetics, comparable results were obtained with different modalities of the PdC method, compared to spontaneous and commercial ADY inoculated fermentation. Moreover, no significant difference was detected in the sensory analysis in between the modalities. Finally, the study provided some technical information on how to prepare and apply PdC in winery conditions.
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Open Farm Day 2020 – Virtual Tours
Due to public health recommendations and the ongoing risk of Covid-19- Open Farm Day will be a virtual-only event for 2020. Farm visits and tours cannot be organized under Open Farm Day this year.
If you are interested in having your farm participate in Open Farm Day, please send the completed and signed form to Janette McDonald at 7 Atlantic Central Drive, East Mountain, NS, B6L 2Z2 or fax to 902-893-7063 or email: jmcdonald@nsfa-fane.ca
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Sharing The Root
Are you enjoying The Root and think other farming friends would appreciate the read as well? Please feel free to share this link with your contacts so that they too can be on the receiving end of timely and relevant horticulture based information!
Sign up link for The Root
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Here’s to a great growing year!
Your Perennia Horticulture Team
Andrew Byers, Apiculturist - abyers@perennia.ca
Amy Sangster, Soils – asangster@perennia.ca
Caitlin Congdon, Vegetables – ccongdon@perennia.ca
Hugh Lyu, Wild Blueberries – hlyu@perennia.ca
Francisco Diez, Viticulture – fdiez@perennia.ca
Jay Woodworth, Christmas Trees – jwoodworth@perennia.ca
Jennifer Haverstock, Manager of Horticulture – jhaverstock@perennia.ca
Jill MacDonald, Research Associate – jmacdonald@perennia.ca
Jonathan Bent, Research Associate - jbent@perennia.ca
Michelle Cortens, Tree Fruits – mcortens@perennia.ca
Nesli Ivit - Winemaking & Innovation Specialist - nivit@perennia.ca
Robyn McCallum, Apiculturist – (on maternity leave)
Rosalie Gillis-Madden, Vegetables - (on maternity leave)
Sarah Wood, Horticulture - (on maternity leave)
Shane Wood, Research Associate - shanewood@perennia.ca
Talia Plaskett, Protected Crops – tplaskett@perennia.ca
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Due to summer vacations, you can expect the following edition of The Root a little later than usual! Look for the next Root on Monday, July 10th.
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