Snow peas!!

Rita,
Thanks for the snow pea! What was the yield?

Mildew? Mold?

Hi group,
There appears to be something going on with the peas... has anyone with pathogen specialization been out to see???

Hydroponic Shadehouse...Up and Running!!!

View of Dosatron set-up

The hydroponic shadehouse is now being utilized. Plants, which include, tomatoes, peppers, sugar peas, snow peas, and watermelon were planted on 3-30-09.

Brunch, 3/19/09

Everyone involved in the organic greenhouse farm is invited on Thursday 3/19/09 at 10 am to a brunch in the Hydrology lab. Hope to see everyone there!

Finals

Okay groups!! We will judge the crops on Friday, March 13th at 3pm. Yuncong would also like to do a salinity pull through test at this time. Groups are welcome to attend the judging.

I realize time is short - but if possible, please determine the amount of water you used for your crop and send me this info by Friday or bring it to the judging. I know many of you used water other than that of the irrigation system and this will not be counted so our total water volumes will be off.

Based on observations during this period we will be changing the irrigation control and delivery. The control will be changed to a timer that will allow for lower irrigation times and the control will be modified to a jet type of application. Any suggestions by groups for the type of jet - please send to Kati or Tina.

Prizes will be awarded next week after results have been tallied.

Also - the fertilizer is here for the hydroponic shade house and Mike is making modifications so that we can have 2 rows on 1 fertilizer and 2 rows on another fertilizer. By Friday, I hope that the system is operation and planting can take place when ever you are ready!

Friday the 13th!

Friday, March 13, 2009 the organic greenhouse farm will cease, and the decision on the winners will be made. Please visit the blog to see who the winners are. Prizes will be awarded.
Also start thinking of what crops you would like to plant the next go round. We will be modifying the irrigation to allow more choices for the watering times anywhere from 1 second to 12 hours. Also the drip irrigation will be replaced with misters. Good Luck everyone!

Is Miracle-Gro a miracle?

It is a ‘miracle’ that both spinach and cilantro planted in Miracle-Gro fertilized soil have stayed in suspended animation for almost two weeks. Cilantro especially has not grown up since germinating, becoming yellowish day by day. Is it because of too much nitrogen in the Miracle (N:P:K 7-1-2)?

Coming to an end?

Starting March 9, 2009, our organic greenhouse plants will be looked at on a week by week basis to determine when the project will end and who the "winners" are. That gives us at least one more week to nurture our plants and get them growing....Go Spice Girls!

Fertilizer is on its way!

This week Teresa will be bringing the fertilizer for the hydroponic shadehouse. We will soon be ready to start planting!

Question for the powers to be:

How and when will you decide who the “winners” are? Here is the reason I ask. If it will be in say a month, it might make sense to leave many plants in a pot to have the most mass at the end. If it will be in say three months, it might be better to leave only one plant per tiny pot, or they will all be dead. Thank you - rita.

PS- Ian, how did you get Pam to let you video her, do you know how much trouble she gives me when I want her to be my model? Good job!!!

Spicy!

Spicy! Spicy! Green gators today are rewarded with the fresh fragrant when they thinned our cilantro. We guess it might be even smellier when it grows bigger and starts to absorb Perdue or Miracle-Gro, which smells not so pleasant to us but should be sweet to cilantro and spinach.

Green gators are glad to see all their spinach have germinated at the 6th day after planted. Cilantro seems not to be in a hurry. There are only three ‘early birds’ headed out of their beds on Feb, 12. As our decent baby seedlings are ‘getting up’, Guiqing is thinking of giving them more to drink. It is true that the temperature is warming up. We don't want our cuties to be thirsty!

Video Blog entry: 02/16/09

TEAM NAME: "If I tell you then....We will have to kill you"
(Pam, Isaya, Luis, Ian)

As you all can see we have decided on a name...without Isaya's approval (sorry Isaya but that is what happens when you are in Gainesville). Today (02/16/09) we got our spinach and cilantro planted and it's looking like we are "Good to Go". At one point during our secret planting we did have a spy show up from one of the other teams......I won't say who...but she works for Dr. Pena and likes to drink tea....hmm mmmm....RITA...oops sorry.

baby spinach plants - so cute!!!

I'm a little worried, Tom wants to start harvesting his dinner salad already :)

Picture from Feb 4th

Greenhouse plant day - everyone is doing a great job getting media/fertilizer mixes into pots and testing irrigation systems.

Feb 4th

Big thanks to Teresa for the great lunch! Also - thanks to all groups for your effort. This is already so exciting! I have some good pics from today and will post them soon! Remember to keep a record of your irrigation usage by recording the water meter readings on a regular basis (such as weekly).

Two organic fertilizers

You can use one of following organic fertilizers for your planting:

1. Perdue organic fertilizer Producer:

• Perdue AgriRecycleN:P2O5:K2O: 4-2-3
• Derived from: Pasteurized and pelletized broiler poultry litter
• Retail price: ~$9 for 50lb bag
• Available: Some fertilizer distributors
• Application rate suggested on the label: none
• Our recommended rate: 80 gram/gal or 21g/L potting media for herbs

2. Miracle-Gro organic plant food for flowers & vegetables

• Producer: Scotts Miracle-Gro Products, Inc
• N:P2O5:K2O: 7-1-2
• Derived from: Pasteurized and pelletized poultry little and feather meal
• Retail price: ~$14 for 6lb bagAvailable: various home garden stores
• Application rate suggested on the label: 100gram/gal or 26 g/L potting media
• Our recommended rate: 46 gram/gal or 12 g/L potting media for herbs

February 4....Planting Day

Remember: Tomorrow, February 4, we are meeting to plant our seeds in the greenhouse at lunch time. Lunch will be provided. Hopefully everyone's irrigation is ready to go!

I have the peas for the hydroponic gh.
Pam the answer to your question - Plant one seed every two inches. Do not thin.
Other instructions: Plants perfrom best when supported by trellis. Support 2 rows at the same time by placing trellis between 2 rows and letting plants grow together.
Harvest (I'm I getting ahead?) when pods are filled out to encourage production.
When harvesting peas do not jerk pods from vines since rough handling can cause plants to stop producing. Best to snip clusters of pods from vines with scissors or pruners.
rita

Log Books

We have composition notebooks in my office to keep a log of your notes/ideas for your organic plot. Please stop by my office, if your group does not yet have one. I have the notebook for my group and Pam has one for her group.

Cilantro

Does anyone have organic cilantro seed? If not, we may have to go with parsley or something else. Also - if you want to do anything (such as soak) your seeds before we plant next week - I have them in my office.

Hydroponic shadehouse

Does anyone have suggestions for what to plant in the shadehouse with the hydroponic system? Ian can get some heirloom tomato plants for us (yeah Ian), but do we want other stuff, too? As the system is configured now, there are spaces for 48 plants. I don't know whether or not we are locked into that.

We also need to do some work back there -- weeding, refilling the perlite bags, checking the system, etc. I am planning to do some weeding for a little while around 3 pm on Friday, if anybody wants to join me.

Getting started

The irrigation supplies are here and groups are starting to anchor their tables and set up their irrigation. You are welcome to go out to the greenhouse at any time and start assembling your irrigation. Remember to mark your table along with the water meter/timer that you will want to use for your irrigation event.

irrigaiton supplies

Hi groups! Irrigation and other supplies are available in the lab and greenhouse. I will go out to the greenhouse during the afternoon break - 3pm - and go over some basics for the irrigation. Also, I have seed - but no cilantro as of yet. I will see if I can come up with some or we may have to pick something else.

New member

Just an FYI that Ian has joined us and will be working with Luis's group.

Irrigation / supplies list

Don't forget I need your shopping lists tomorrow so I can get all of your supplies. You can email or give them to me - either way. I plan to go buy everything Friday afternoon or Monday - depending on other appointments.

Time zone correction

If you noticed the strange time postings - I think I have now corrected this problem by selecting the right time zone.

Winning crops

Based on the votes I have received, the crops to be planted are cilantro and spinach! So start your planning! Please remember to bring me a list of supplies by Friday so I can get everything for your group. Also - remember BLOG-ing is a two way street - if you have comments, suggestions, please post!

Fertilizer on its way!

Super big thanks to Teresa for securing us 2 different organic fertilizers to be used in the 4 in pots. Also - she may have some liquid fertilizer for the hydroponic system. If you are interested in the hydroponic, please note on the BLOG or follow up with Teresa. We are on our way!!

Hydroponic shade house

Teresa has materials and manuals for the equipment for the hydroponic system. Please email Teresa regarding obtaining these materials. I think some of them are located at TREC...and some are located at Extension. If you need additional supplies (which you may), see Yuncong.

Important dates

The greenhouse has been cleaned! Please select your table by placing your group name - however you think is best - on the table and locating the table where you want it in the greenhouse. The table legs need to be secured with rebar and zipties. Please ask Tina for zipties and rebar as already at the greenhouse.

The two tables on the east side of the greenhouse have already been claimed. The NE corner was claimed by Tom's group. The SE corner was claimed by Luis's group.

The teams are: Tom's team (Yanli, Rita), Luis's team (Pam, Isaya), Tina's team (Brigette, Holly, Shouan), and Nic's team (Guiqin, Daisy, Wanda). Please feel free to come up with different names for your teams.

The dates: Jan 23rd - supply Kati with a list of supplies needed for irrigation or other organic management, Feb 3rd - have your table ready to go, Feb 4th - planting with lunch provided.

EDIS pub on organic herb production

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE408
This EDIS publication may be of interest to you.

Organic seed is on its way!

Thanks to Dr. Palmateer we will have seed next week! Not only that, but we will have all kinds of seed... including beet, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, radicchio, cilantro, gherkin, kohlrabi, bunching, parsley, radish, and spinach. At the meeting Friday we will discuss more details on which crops will include in the first planting.

New co-op

This site will host discussion on the co-op organic production / research / demonstration project at the University of Florida TREC. Professional communication is required to use this site. Please do not post unappropriate materials or this BLOG will be dismantled.