Features
Potatoes and Polytunnels
Our farm became organic three years ago with the help of the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association. The farm, which is near Clawdy in Co. Derry, consists of forty acres, six of which are under timber cultivation as coppice woodland; one acre is used for vegetables; varying quantities of potatoes and corn are grown and there is grazing for seventy sheep and six cattle.
Potatoes
We grew 2.8 acres of Santé potatoes in 2001 as a result of a contract organised by the North West Organic Co-operative with Glens of Antrim Potatoes. The price was £300 per tonne in 2001. We managed to harvest ten tonnes of potatoes to the acre but we lost a lot due to the ground being stony. The stones damaged the potatoes when they were harvested leading to a loss of one third of the crop. The income generated was £6,100 less cost of £750 for seed and £1,200 for contractors to plough, rotavate, sow, remove weeds, remove the tops and harvest the potatoes. Overall I was very happy with the exercise. For 2002 the contract with Glens of Antrim was re-negotiated and dropped to £250 per tonne due to a drop in market price for organic potatoes. We planted 4.5 acres of potatoes of the same variety. In 2002 the company worked very closely with the farm.
Mineral deficiencies
The aim at the start of the year was to be as professional as possible. A soil analysis was completed and the results showed deficiencies in certain minerals. This resulted in the application of 1 tonne of sulphate of potash, 600 kg of kieserite, 2.5 tonnes of highland slag, 25 kg 'Glentrace' boron and 22.6 kg 'Glentrace' copper and zinc. We had applied well rotted farmyard manure to the field in late summer of 2001 and this showed up on the soil analysis as sufficient quantities of nitrogen present. In early spring the field was ploughed and rotavated, fertiliser was applied, the ground was de-stoned and the potatoes planted. The crop was planted in broad drills with the idea that larger drills would help prevent blight getting to the potatoes.
Summer washout
The weather in the summer of 2002 was particularly bad, with very little sunshine and lots of rain. A light copper solution was sprayed on the potatoes seven times to prevent blight. We only managed to harvest 34 tonnes from 4.5 acres - just 7.5 tonnes to the acre. Why such a low yield? Some factors were the lack of sunshine, the heavy rain possibly leaching much of the nutrients out of the soil and the broad drills allowing weeds to grow more easily as the potatoes did not shade them out. The bottom line was a gross income of £7,225 less £1,875 for seed, £1,323 for mineral fertilisers and contractors' fees of £1,980. Fifteen per cent of the harvested crop was taken out at the factory due to shade, damage and disease. This left a profit of £2,047, a disappointing return for all that effort.
In 2003 I plan to plant three acres of potatoes. However, I will use narrower drills to reduce competition from weeds and will make less use of contractors. I'm undecided regarding the application of mineral fertilisers and may rely on good quantities of well-rotted farmyard manure instead.
Polytunnel production
I grow a range of vegetables on one acre with three polytunnels. The first year's income was £1000 and income has been £2-3000 for the past two years. This is a part-time enterprise. Weeds can be a major problem due to the mild and wet climate. I put down black plastic and planted seedlings through it. The area between plastic and soil was a perfect habitat for slugs making it impossible to grow lettuce, radish or cabbage. I tend to plant lettuce directly from trays and hoe away any weeds. Radish and cabbage can be planted through plastic if it is removed once plants are established. Plants that did succeed through plastic were beetroot, onion and bulb fennel. I also put plastic down in the tunnel before planting tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes. It holds some moisture around plants and prevents that furious weed growth inside polytunnels.
Irrigation
Time is something none of us has enough of. The novelty of watering tomato plants once every two days soon wears off. I set up a system whereby a hose fills up the channels between the vegetable beds inside the tunnel. The channels have small dams of clay every two metres allowing the water to slow and soak into the soil at either side. Moving the hose along the top of the polytunnel ensures that all plants are watered. Having enough labour is another constraint. To run a successful horticultural unit requires a lot of time and energy. Mechanisation can help and having one extra person available even for one or two hours a week can be invaluable. If you have any idea to reduce the time and labour involved then try it out. Some of the ways I have tried include putting up netting rather than wire for peas, putting hens in the polytunnels over the winter months to eat weeds and help fertilise the ground, putting down plastic and other mulches to prevent a peak of labour demand when weeds become more aggressive in mid-summer and making access to and from the vegetables as easy as possible.
Box scheme marketing
There are no large vegetable processors round here; at least none that would accommodate a grower with an acre of organic produce, so selling vegetables means direct selling to the customer. For me this was in the form of a box scheme. At the moment the charge for a box is £10 or £15. I have tried other prices including as low as £6. From my experience a price under £10 makes it difficult to make a reasonable income. The £10 box had ten items and the £15 box had fifteen. This leads to the one major challenge with box schemes and that's having enough of a range and variety of produce to keep the boxes interesting and varied. Here are some ideas to ensure variety. Grow three different types of cabbage and lettuce, always put in something that is red e.g. radish or tomato. Pick at least one item from the different vegetable groups e.g. peas and beans, salad, brassicas, roots, onions and leeks, mixed salad and herbs, cucumber/tomato and fruit. It is also worth purchasing eggs or producing jam to add variety.
Organic farming adds one essential ingredient to farming and that's enterprise. In running an organic enterprise you are likely to be more aware of customer needs and need to be able to adapt to meet these demands. It is only through this evolution that a farm can survive in the long term.
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We're looking for an organic vegetable producer, for business purposes in or around leinster preferably.Any recommendations?
axelle
I'm thinking of using 2" perforated plastic tubing buried in the raised beds in my new polytunnel, with a perforated hose inside that so that I can get water to the roots of my plants rather than providing it through the surface. Has anyone you know tried that already and if so, is it a good way? What would you foresee as being the main problems doing this ?
Thanks for any info, suggestions you can give.