My Summer at Lansing Roots: Weekly Recaps and Thoughts on Food Issues: Hello, August: The harvest is on!

Hi everyone!

As always, there has been a lot going on out at Roots the past few days. Let's dive right in and see what's been happening!

In my last post, I wrote about how some of our plants were starting to produce fruit. For some of them, the harvest is now in full swing! We have been harvesting cucumbers the most. Over the past two weeks, we have harvested over 200 pounds of cucumbers from the hoophouse. We should be able to keep harvesting for another week or two. As long as you keep up with picking the cucumbers, the plants will keep producing them. All the plants are trying to do is seed the next generation, so if you allow the cucumbers to mature without removing them then the plant will stop producing them because it has done its job. The cucumbers that we have harvested look nice, and they taste great too!

Cucumbers!

On Monday, we also began harvesting our turnips. The turnip beds have turned out to be very productive. Monday was our first harvest, and we filled three containers like the one in the picture above. There are still more left! The turnips we left in the ground weren't quite big enough yet, so we need to let them grow a little longer. We won't be able to use the greens because of flea beetle damage, but the bulbs should be great!

Turnips!

Our education about pests and diseases has continued in recent days. We have a heavy infestation of squash bugs in our squash patch. We have also seen some squash vine borers. Our butternut squash haven't been affected very much, because they are more resistant to pests like the vine borer. Our other varieties, however, have been hit hard. We have had to pull many of the plants because the damage was so severe. Squash bugs lay eggs on the undersides of a plant's leaves. The bugs then begin feeding on the plant when they hatch. The larva of the squash vine borer eat their way into the stem of the plant and then move upward, eating the inside as they go. Sometimes you can perform surgery on the plant stem and remove the worm, and the plant will survive. We used this method on some of our plants.

Hole from a squash vine borer

Squash plant after removing the worm from the stem. It seems to be doing okay.

Squash bug (left) and egg cluster (right)

Another pest we've come into contact with is the tomato hornworm. The tomato hornworm is a caterpillar that eats the leaves and stems of tomato plants. It appears that one was feeding on a couple of the tomato plants in our square foot boxes. We were unable to locate it, however, and there has been no new damage the past few days. We noticed some bird excrement around the tomatoes, so we think that a bird might have been hanging out on the tomato cages and eaten the caterpillar. Regardless of what happened, it is good news that he is gone!

Hornworm damage

We are also beginning to see a lot of bacterial wilt on our cucumber plants in the hoophouse. One downside of growing plants in a hoophouse is that the warm and moist environment is very favorable for the growth of bacteria and fungi. As the season has gone on, the number of infected plants has increased. We have been pulling plants as needed to slow the spread of the disease, but we can only do so much. The bacteria can be spread by pests as well as by people working with the plants. We have had some cucumber beetles in the hoophouse this summer, so they probably began spreading the disease. Now that we are harvesting cucumbers regularly, we are probably contributing to the spread of the disease as well. It is unfortunate that the disease is becoming so widespread, but it is not uncommon for some sort of disease to manifest by the end of the season when growing cucumbers in a hoophouse.

Cucumber plants infected with bacterial wilt. Note the yellowing leaves.

Pulled cucumber plants

Our experiences with these pests and diseases is an example of one of the difficulties of using sustainable and organic principles when growing produce, as opposed to using conventional methods. If we were following conventional practices, we could use large quantities of pesticides to reduce pest damage and increase production. But sustainable practices call for limited use of synthetic chemicals, so we must resort to other methods that are sometimes less effective. Overall, however, I think our control methods have been effective enough. We have lost a few plants, but not devastating quantities. The ecological benefits are also worth it, in our eyes. By refraining from heavy use of pesticides, we are preventing pests from developing resistance. We are also avoiding damage to the ecosystem surrounding our farm by refraining from using synthetic chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. That is what makes our operation sustainable.

Regardless of the various pests and diseases, things are going well overall! Most of the plants are looking good, and we have begun prepping some beds for fall plants. It is looking more and more like our first year will be a success! Hopefully things will continue on that positive track. I will continue to update you as we go. Thanks for reading! I encourage you to leave any comments you may have! See you next time!