Full Circle Community Farm
Mikey Formisano
Benjamin Gluck
Ryan Hegenauer
Danny Herriges
Introduction
Full Circle Community Farm is an experimental farm design with ecological
farmscaping at its core. The concept farm will raise vegetables, grains, and fruit using
organic principles and practices for a 44 share cooperative of owners. FCCP is different
from its counterparts because of its unique design that enhances soil conservation, wind,
pest, disease and disease management, and the effect of human intention. Its design
focuses on a 4.9 acre circular field , set in the center of a 10 acre rectangular field,
containing a 1 acre area habitat of mainly native plants and other beneficial non-crops.
The main circle will grow fruit trees, small fruits, berries, and vegetables while the
remaining 5 acres of land will be in grain primarily to feed egg laying hens. While there
are certain challenanges to overcome, such as adjusting to non-traditional field layout and
the cost of implementing the beneficial habitat, there are possible viable solutions that
could help make the concept reality.
Fitting into a Circle
The layout of the FCCF concept is different in many ways than that of a
traditional small scale organic farm. While one would encounter similar crops and
cultural practices used on other farms, FCCF adheres to a set of values that justify the
extensive use of non-crop habitat and intensify the power of human intent brought about
by a new and esoterically influenced design. However, there are physical attributes worth
understanding like increased soil conservation and wind production.
In a circular field layout, soil erosion is reduced since water is not flowing along
parallel rows. Furthermore, the main beneficial habitat ring creates a wind break from all
directions. This benefits crops more than just reducing wind. The beneficial habitat, with
its diversity of low growing to tall perennials creates a filter for pests and diseases that
move through the air. These, however, are only some of the ecological roles that the
layout provides for.
The circular field layout will increase the beneficial effect of biodiversity within
the agroecosystem, creating a stable farming system that can sustain the production of
grain, fruit, and vegetables in a harmonious balance. This system provides an alternative
method of incorporating non-crop species, an alternative to the common native strip
layout that separates or borders fields. Beneficial habitats are usually strips or patches
separated like islands. There are problems with such designs that reduce the effect of
having beneficial strips. According to Agroecology, “A population of a particular species
existing in one patch may be isolated from other populations; unless frequent exchange of
individuals can exchange can occur between patches, each sub population can become
subject to either genetic isolation or extirpation.” This effect is generally focused on a
regional scale spanning many farms, but the concept still applies on the “landscape”
level. On FCCP the problem of the island habitat is solved because a circular habitat
creates a contiguous corridor by which species can migrate to near all regions of the farm.
One potential argument against the use of a circle is the use of a simpler,
rectangular strip that bisects the land. This is good in that it doesn’t break the habitat up
into islands. But the circle, in the context of beneficial species and access to cash crop
fields, has two main advantages. First of all, it brings the whole farm into the reach of
beneficial species. Second, it increases contact between non-crop and crop fields.
According ATTRA, beneficial insects “will move up to 250 feet into adjacent
crop lands. The positioning of the habitat relative to crop fields is ideal for this purpose.
The distance from the center of the non-crop ring to the center of the circle itself is 244.5
feet. In addition, the furthest distance from the center of the non-crop habitat to the
furthest corner of the grain field is 256 feet. This means the vast majority of the grain
fields are well within the reach of predatory insects. Further, by planting in concentric
circles, the amount of contact between non-crop and crop fields can be maximized for a
given area. This is important because it increases the area that beneficial species can use
to access crop fields. With the current design, the area of the beneficial habitat is about 1
acre, and is 33 feet wide. This 33 foot wide strip yields 2844 linear feet of contact
between beneficial habitat and non-crop fields. A rectangular strip, bisecting the farm
with the same area of 1 acre at 33 feet wide yields 2625 linear feet of contact, 219 feet
less than the circular design. However effective these gains are over conventional design,
they alone do not fulfill its potential. As important as they are, stats like linear feet of
contact are bonuses of an esoteric design capable of harnessing unquantifiable yet
influential forces having a large effect on the outcome of the FCCP concept.
While the circular layout has high potential of creating a stable, healthy, effective
and diverse agroecosystem, it also facilitates another very important factor, human
intention and the channeling of cosmic energy into the farm. According to the sacred
geometer, Allen Brown, “The circle is a symbol of spirit, of heaven, of the unmanifest,
the immeasurable and the infinite, while the square is the symbol of the material, the
earth, the measurable and the finite.” By using circular planting systems in combination
with focused intention, the farmer will experience a new potential brought about by its
new possibilities. For example, when the farmer goes to prune his fruit trees, he will start
in one spot and end at the very place where he began, completing a full circle of work.
This will leave the farmer with a greater sense of satisfaction and completeness. The
center of the circle also provides a place where the farmer can go to center himself and
connect more to his space. The farm becomes more about life, survival and spirituality
than it does economics, inputs and outputs.
This mindset will change that which has been established in rectangular farming
for thousands of years. Because it has been in use for so long, the paradigm of rectangular
layouts creates a subconscious set of expectations. While we may believe that there are
limitless possibilities within this format, years of rectangles have created a mental
paralysis of creativity and intention. A circle will break this paradigm paralysis. No
longer will our expectations of crop yields, farm work, ecological interactions and more
be limited by what we already know and believe is possible through rectangular farming.
And, planting with concentric circles brings the farm in closer harmony with the
universal order. Aligning with the natural patterns of the universe, crops will rotate
around a core field, as our planet does with the sun.
The Design/Layout
The Design of Full Circle Community Farm incorporates grains, tree fruit, small
fruit, perennial and annual vegetables and a wealth of non-crop habitat all on one ten acre
plot. The ten acre plot is a rectangle with dimensions of 768 feet by 576 feet. Since this is
a perfect 3:4 ratio, the design can easily be scaled up or down to accommodate different
sizes. On the outside, occupying the corners of the rectangle and contouring the main
circle are the grain fields. In total, the grain fields compose 5.1 acres, segmented into four
1.2 acre fields. The main circle encompasses everything except for the grain fields which
lay outside of it. The diameter of the main circle is roughly 522ft, giving a total area of
about 4.9 acres. This area is then divided into concentric rings, each with a unique set of
crops or non-crops. The first ring that borders the grain field is 18 ft wide, planted in
mixed tree fruit. This gives it an area of roughly .65 acres with 2450 linear feet. The next
ring is the main beneficial habitat. It consists of a mix of perennial species, most of which
are Michigan native. It is 33 feet wide, with an area of about 1 acre. Following the
beneficial ring is another ring, 18 feet wide, consisting of small fruits like brambles. It
has an area of .52 acres and 1205 linear feet. The annual vegetable field comes next, and
is the largest portion of the circle with an area of 2.35 acres. This is excluding the area of
the core field of perennial vegetables. The annual vegetable field is segmented into eight
equal sections. Each of the sections rotate as a unit around the field, but each one-eighth
section is segmented into two 6,500 square foot growing areas. The core, then, makes up
the center of the farm and is a .3 acre circle planted in perennial vegetables.
Geography
Our farm is located in Melvin, Michigan which is located in southern Sanilac
County (Speaker Township) in the “thumb” region. The terrain is generally flat
agricultural land, the features of which include several-acre woodlots and numerous
drainage ditches. One of these ditches runs along the entire east side of the farm, and tree
lines run along the north and west sides of the farm, exclusively in deciduous trees. On
the south, the farm is bordered by East Burnsline Road, which intersects the nearest
paved road (M-19) about a mile away from the operation. The neighbor to the east has a
conventional corn-soy-sugarbeet rotation. The adjoining property on the west has been in
fallow for a decade is in transition back to forest. The farmer at the north to our
knowledge has been doing the same as the farmer to the east of the property. There is also
a pond that encompasses a quarter of an acre with a depth of eighteen feet.
Climate
The climate of the area is typical of the Midwest – short, humid, hot summers and
long cold winters. The property itself is subject to the “lake effect“due to its proximity to
Lake Huron. On average, the warmest month is July with the coldest being January. The
highest recorded temperature is 103 degrees Fahrenheit in 1977, while the lowest is -28
degrees Fahrenheit in 1994. The maximum precipitation occurs mostly in September,
with 3.87 inches of rainfall on average. The month with the lowest amount of rainfall is
February with an average precipitation of 1.28 inches.
Soils, Land, and Infrastructure
The property itself is nearly level with the greatest slope being less than two
percent. It consists of 40 acres, 32 of which are farmed. Less than one percent of the 32
acre parcel is Capac loam and fine sandy loam (Ca0). Around three percent (about one
acre) of the property is Capac loam and silt loam (CbA0), nine acres is Parkville loam (29
percent), and roughly fifty-nine percent of the farm is Parkville loam and clay loam
(PdA0), which encompasses about 19 acres. The final soil type is Parkville loam and
mucky loam (PeA0), which is found in about 3 acres or ten percent of the land.
The land was purchased in 1998 from the Dye Family for $65,000 USD (1998)
for forty acres at $1,600 per acre. It had been in hay production for the family horses for
the five years preceding the sale. After the purchase, a $50,000 modular home was built
on the property, and shortly afterward, a pole barn was constructed for $8,000. A used
grain silo was purchased and moved to the property for the cost of $5,000 USD. A gas
tank for the equipment on the property was purchased for the price of $2,000 USD. A
refrigerator for the vegetable and fruit crops was purchased and installed for $3,000USD.
Market/Products
Overview
Full Circle Community Farm will be “owned” by members of the community who
invest money on a monthly basis. Each month, members will pay $111 for their
membership, and in return are part owners of the farm, sharing in its workload and
abundant harvest. This is not a typical CSA style membership. Since members are
owners, they will help run the farm by fulfilling a 100 hour per year workmanship. The
jobs that members perform throughout the year include planting, cultivating, weeding,
harvesting and other necessary jobs. Members will pick up food on a weekly basis.
Because of the diversity of the crops grown, members can expect an array of products
from the farm that includes eggs, fruits, and vegetables. Based on the benchmark that 1
acre of intensive vegetable production can support 20 CSA members, FCCF will make 44
shares available.
Products Distributed
There will be a distribution every week of the year, with some exceptions for
holidays/time off for the year round labor. The share sizes and content will vary
depending on the season. For example, a share in August will have abundant vegetables,
some berries, and eggs. A share in December, however, may only consist of one dozen
eggs, 2 butternut squash, 2 pounds of potato, and 5 apples.
Item
Eggs
Apples
Pears
Peaches
Raspberries
Blueberries
Carrots
Parsnips
Celery
Beets
Parsley
Cabbage
Tatsoi
Chinese Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Kale, Fall Bunching
Corn
Corn
Scallions
Carrots, Early
Amount/Member/Yea
r
36 dozen
118
207
n/a
11lbs
5lbs
39
14
33
24
0
16
5
6
16
11
11
95
95
38
28
Item
Radishes
Kale, Spring Bunching
Chard, Spring Bunching
Lettuce, Early Head
Onions
Leeks
Garlic
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplants
Squash, Winter
Pumpkins
Potatoes
Peas
Beans
Cut flowers
Herbs
Cucumber
Zucchini
Melons
Asparagus
Amount/Member/Yea
r
24
23
16
31
95
28
0
71
12
16
142
47
95
9
38
0
0
85
47
71
* Yield Estimates taken from Student Organic Farm crop plan and other yield studies
Being a Member
In the first year of FCCF, there will be 44 memberships available. Up to four
people can belong to one membership. Each membership will receive one share each
week of food per week. Since this is a community owned farm, the owners will be
motivated to participate in the farm work. Each share is responsible for 100 hours of
labor per year. At the beginning of the year, each share holder or group of share holders
signs up for work times throughout the year, coordinated by the farm manager. During
the warm season, each share can work for up to 20 hours in one week. If a four person
share works on the same day for 5 hours, this counts for 20 hours of work. The minimum
amount of work time that any one person can contribute in a day is 3 hours.
An ideal member would be someone who wants farming to become a regular part
of their life, and wants to be directly involved with a farm and its community. FCCF will
offer people the opportunity to grow their own food on their own farm, who wouldn’t be
able to own, operate, or manage, or work full time on a farm otherwise.
In addition to direct pickup by the members, any surplus generated from the farm
will be sold at a road-side stand on the property. Any produce in significant surplus will
be sold at the stand, and all proceeds go back into the farm’s budget.
The Field Crops
Overview
The main focus of the field crop portion of the farm is to provide feed for organic
chickens and to increase the diversity of the farm. Since a good chicken feed is made up
of ground grains, and soybean meal, our farm will produce corn, soybeans, and winter
wheat. These three crops will be purchased by a large local organic poultry, he will be
able to incorporate our grains and beans into his feed supply and pay us in eggs that are
distributed to our farm owners.
Field Crop Equipment
Equipment
We will use the 50 horse power tractor that the rest of the farm will be using.
An in row field crop cultivator that will be used for corn and soybeans will be purchased
used for $1000. A used 4-row planter will be purchased for $500, along with a used
small grains drill for $500. A used three-point mounted sprayer for applying foliar feeds
and approved pesticides will be purchased for $500. The crops will be custom harvested
and transported by a neighbor that will be a member of the farm. A used 2-bottom plow
will be used to bury the crop residue if diseases and pests become a problem, and will be
bought used for $700. We will use a disk that the rest of the farm will be using.
Soil management
The first and possibly the most important part of the soil management plan is the
do regular soil testing. Our farm will most likely be a silt or silt clay loam soil, since it
will be a farm recovered from a corn and soybean rotation. Knowing that a soil with a
higher clay content has a greater buffering capacity to ph and has a high CEC, we will
only do soil sampling on the field crop and vegetable divisions every four years. If
possible we will have GPS soil sampling done to better see ph, soil organic matter, and
macro nutrient variability in the field.
The crop rotation will look like this:
yr 1
yr 2
yr 3
yr 4
Soybeans →winter wheat→ red clover cover crop→ corn → red clover and rye
This crop rotation is a good balance of N-fixing cover crops and crops with high
organic matter producing crops and cover crops. It is based on a common crop rotation
that is used in the thumb region of Michigan, but with a lot more cover crops to improve
the soil and its contents.
One of the best ways to keep the soil biology at its best is to limit tillage.
Moldboard plowing will be eliminated from this rotation. Winter wheat will be no-tilled
into the soybean stubble. The red clover will be frost seeded on the winter wheat. The red
clover will be disked in the spring once and then one final pass with a soil finisher a week
or two later. This will allow the clover to die down, and any that is not killed by the disk
will be killed by the soil finisher. By working the ground before the corn will allow the
soil to warm up. Before soybeans are planted the ground will be worked once or twice,
depending on how well the red clover and rye survives tillage. Deep tillage with a ripper
may be incorporated into the rotation if compaction becomes an issue.
Chicken manure will be applied before corn and soybeans. Any potassium or
phosphorous issues will be solved with rock minerals. It is impossible to assume that
these practices will not change in real life. As soil tests are analyzed along with yields
may open up more soil management practices.
Pest Management
In all field crops, the best management tool is effective scouting, this will be done
on our farm on a bi or tri weekly basis by a member that is familiar will field crop pests.
In Corn there are several major pests that can cause problems. They include western corn
rootworm, European corn borer, wireworm, seed corn maggot, and black cutworms.
Western corn rootworm is a newer pest to Michigan that has just recently become a major
pest. The eggs are laid by the beetles and over winter in the soil. They emerge in June and
feed on the corn stalk for several weeks, until molting. The best management tool for
western corn rootworm is a rotation. On our farm there will be four years between corn
plantings in each food, which should prevent the pest from becoming a problem.
The European corn borer emerges from the soil in the spring and feeds on
emerging corn plants. There is usually two generations of the corn borer in Michigan.
There are 4 stages of growth: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The larva causes the greatest
amount of damage to the corn. A good rotation is a good solution to the corn borer. Bt, in
spray form, is an effective OMRI approved pesticide for European corn borer, and many
other corn pests.
Wireworm, seed corn maggot and black cutworm are three major pests that affect
the corn seed once it is planted and before it emerges. In organic systems, the major
insect reducing tactic will be to disc-cultivation and to avoid no-tillage situations. Also,
cultural practices that promote rapid seedling growth and seeding at adequately high
populations will allow for some damage by these pests, but to an extent that can be
accepted. Later planting dates will also help the corn plant emerge quicker and allow for
higher survival rates of the corn.
The biggest disease problem in corn is corn smut. Common smut of corn is
caused by the fungus Ustilago maydis. It infects the ear of the corn plant and produces
large funguses on the plant. The best way to control the pest is by using a rotation that
keeps corn out of the field for at least three years. Since out farm will have a four year
rotation, this will keep the disease under control.
Other corn diseases are controlled by burying the crop residue and having at least
three years between plantings. Since our farm will have 4 years in between plantings, this
should control common diseases.
In soybeans there are also several pests that can effect. They include the soybean
aphid, Japanese beetle and Mexican bean beetle. However, one of the most abundant
pests in soybeans is the soybean aphid. The soybean aphid is native to Asia, which is also
where the soybean is native to, and was introduced into the United States around the late
1990’s. It started to do damage in the year 2000 and has been a problem in northern states
ever since. It was most likely introduced by a tourist carrying the pest. The pest has now
become established in the northern US, but the beneficial insects that controlled the pest
in Asia are not present in the US in large enough numbers to naturally control it. The
soybean aphid over winters in buckthorn, which grows in fence rows and under trees. The
largest population of buckthorn in Michigan is in the Shiawassee Refuge, south of
Saginaw, which causes a problem with our organic farm in central Michigan. The
soybean aphid flies away from the buckthorn after several generations and then it can
infest soybean fields, where it can rapidly reproduce and quickly reach an economical
threshold in a field.
Now that we know a little bit about the soybean aphid, we can now make a plan to
biologically control the soybean aphid using methods that are allowed by organic
standards. The soybean aphid has several natural predators that could be exploited so they
can be used as beneficial insects on our farm. There are many beneficial insects in
Michigan that are known to parasitize or prey on soybean aphids. Some are better than
others of course. Ladybugs, big eyed bug, lacewing, predatory thrips, aphid midge, and
aphid parasites are some of the most common and efficient predatory insects. Whenever
there is an aphid outbreak in a field there will be beneficial insects coming to feed off of
them, but if there is not a good habitat for these beneficial insects to live in near by, there
will not be enough of the predator insects to control the aphids at the onset of the
infestation. This may allow for the aphid to reach economic threshold numbers, which is
about 250 aphids per plant, fewer in smaller plants. These beneficial insects need nectar
and pollen from flowers to feed on and grow. If the beneficial insects have a plentiful
amount of food, it allows for them to spend more time hunting for aphids that they can
parasitize.
Providing an established habitat for these beneficial bugs is the key aspect to producing a
large and healthy beneficial insect population. The bugs that I listed above that parasitize
soybean aphids live and feed off a wide variety of plants. For example, ladybugs like the
carrot family and lacewings like the sunflower family. To provide the most beneficial
insects, we will plant a cover crop that consists of many different types of flowering
plants that flower during different periods of the growing season, and provide different
sized and shaped flowers that certain beneficials will like. The location of the cover crop
will most likely be around the perimeter of the fields and will be 10 to 20 yards wide. By
providing a cover crop around the perimeter of the field, it will allow for the whole field
to be surrounded by a barrier of beneficial insects that can prey on the whole field. Some
of the beneficial insects will travel further that others, of course, but by planting around
the whole field it will help protect the chance of one portion of the field reaching
economic thresholds of aphids that could take over the whole field. If the number of
aphids reaches the economic threshold we may spray Neem, Pyganic, Spiosad, or soaps
to chemically control the aphids. With the combination of cultural and chemical practices
on our farm, hopefully we will control the soybean aphid.
Non-Crop Competitors
The farm management plan for our grain crops on our organic farm will be based
on basic farm practices, like a good rotation and cover crops. More in depth aspects of
our weed management plan will include things like flaming and rotary hoeing. Each crop
will have its own specific aspects to manage weeds.
On a broader aspect of weed management of our farm we will try to keep the
ground covered as much as possible. An important reason will be to cover the ground and
choke out competitive weeds. As well as a cover crop, a good rotation with different
grain crops and beans will help compete against different types of weeds that grow best
under different conditions. For example, winter wheat is a good crop in a rotation because
it can compete well with cool weather weeds because it grows well in the cool weather of
springtime. By including a frost seeded clover into the rotation after wheat will help
suppress weeds after the wheat is harvested in July.
Looking at a crop like soybeans, which is susceptible to weeds in spring, we will
do a lot of tilling. To control early weeds in spring we will till the soil probably twice.
After planting we can rotary hoe (weather permitting of course) once or twice. After the
soybeans are large enough they will be cultivated to control weeds, until the soybeans are
large enough to cover the rows and choke out weeds. Any weeds that make it through the
soybean canopy will be removed by hand.
Winter wheat is a crop that competes well with weeds, as long as it is seeded at a
higher rate. If weeds do become a problem we will try to remove them by hand. There
will be a red clover cover crop frost seeded into the wheat, which will help compete with
weeds also. Mowing the clover in the summer will help control annual weeds that are
present.
Corn is also susceptible to weeds in spring. The soil will be worked twice
probably to control weeds, and warm up the soil. After planting we will rotary hoe
several times to control emerging weeds. Cultivating will be done several times once the
corn is large enough. Once corn is tall enough it will easily suppress weeds underneath its
tall canopy.
Several other practices may have to be used to control weeds. One that is very interesting
is “flaming.” Flaming may be used to control weeds after crops are planted and right
before the crop emerges from the soil. This way we could broadcast flame the field and
not harm the crop that is only days away from emerging from the soil. To control weeds
after the crop is too big to get a tractor through we may higher migrant labor to manually
remove weeds. After harvest of crops and before planting cover crops, we may till the
soil to kill any weeds that were not killed by the harvesting of the crop.
Annual Vegetable Production
Circle farm will produce about 30 different vegetable crops from many different
families in a diverse production system. The annual vegetable field will be laid out in a
circular ring 180 feet across and divided into sixteenths, with eight congruent sections in
an inner ring and eight congruent sections in an outer ring as in the adjacent diagram.
Each of these sections will have an equal area and be treated as a single field with
selected crops in each, fitting into a crop rotation. Each field is given a number and
moved in a specific pattern, a literal rotation of the field a given number of segments.
Additionally, the inner and outer sections are inverted when the field pair is rotated.
Field pairs will be rotated in the following pattern: 180 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees,
225 degrees and then repeated. In this way, 18 years pass before the same crop is on the
same ground, which is more than enough to break most pest and disease cycles. In
addition, the crops are usually being rotated to an opposite quadrant of the circle,
increasing the distance between crops from one year to the next which further breaks
pest/disease cycles.
The crop rotation does several things in this system. It prevents crops from the
same family from being in the same ground for several years. However, it goes one step
further and groups similar crops together in nearby fields, so that families move as
blocks. If they did not move in blocks, pests could over winter in the soil and emerge to
attack the crop next door, even if it isn’t on the same ground. This is why the melons and
squashes are in three clustered fields and why the potatoes are next to the solanaceous
fruits. The solanaceus fruits are also placed where they are because they can be
undersown with a fast cover crop which will winter kill, like buckwheat. This provides
biomass that suppresses weeds early in the season before the spring crops are established,
in order to give the spring crops a leg up.
Another aspect of the crop rotation is weed management. The two most difficult
groups of crops to manage for weeds are root crops like carrots and alliums like onions.
Therefore, in each of the three possible places that these crops could go, there was a
cleaning crop there the previous year. The crops act as cleaning crops in the following
ways: potatoes are hilled and mulched, cucurbits shade out competition, and the late fall
brassicas can be undersown with a cover crop. The crop rotation also includes two fallow
fields, which will be planted in rye. Rye adds substantial biomass to the soil and
therefore increases fertility as well as has allopathic action and reduces weed pressure.
The scale of the farm and its communal nature means that the annual vegetable plot can
be managed by hand and does not require mechanized cultivation. This is a positive
thing for Circle farm, because in a circle, driving a tractor for tillage could prove difficult.
One final aspect of circle farm’s weed management plan is the fact that since the annual
portion is surrounded by perennial trees and native beneficial plants, there is very little of
the “fencerow weed” problem. By being surrounded by unfavorable habitat for many of
the annual weeds that plague other systems, the circle model greatly reduces their
prevalence in the agroecosystem by reducing the fringe areas in which these weeds most
frequently go to seed.
Fertility is addressed in several ways. A liberal application of compost is applied
to certain fields after certain crops. In this way, the compost is a part of the crop rotation
and is not going on a field randomly, but for a specific reason. Compost will be applied
at a rate of ten tons per acre after the fall brassica crop, after the corn, and after each of
the fallow fields. In this way, the soil will be revitalized after depletion by corn and cole
crops, and will be added to the soil after the fallow field’s clover cover has been tilled in.
By adding compost at this time, the soil will be very biologically active because of the
aeration and addition of organic matter, which will greatly benefit the early spring crops
by slightly warming the soil and providing a plentiful supply of nutrients. Another
fertility consideration present in the crop rotation is that peas and beans follow heavy
feeders on soluble nutrients like the tomatoes and the lettuce, in order to replenish the soil
by acting together with soil bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen present in pore spaces.
The soils in the vegetable section of Full Circle Community Farm will be cared
for with love. There will be very little tillage, and what tillage there is will only be a
walk-behind tiller. By managing largely by hand we are reducing soil compaction from
large equipment and avoiding “shocking” the soil by inverting it with an aggressive
implement like a mole-board plow, thus maintaining high levels of organic matter and
sound soil structure.
Vegetable Disease Case Study – Potato Scab
One disease we expect to come in contact with at Full Circle Farm is common
scab of potatoes, which is a disease caused by Streptomyces scabies and is found in
almost all potato growing regions of the world. Although certain other species of the
genus Streptomyces may cause scab on the fleshy taproots of other crop families,
Streptomyces Scabies is known causing small, raised pustules called scabs, on the surface
of potato tubers that degrade the marketable yield of potatoes.
The bacteria can spread through water during irrigation, rain or flooding, or can
be transported via equipment covered in contaminated soil. Common scab overwinters in
dead plant tissue or in the soil. While the disease is soil borne, it can also be seed borne
when infected (vegetative) potato seed is used in planting. Signs of the disease can
sometimes be visible as white hyphal threads on the surface of the tuber, in or around the
small scabby lesions. However, the hyphal threads will disappear as soon as the tuber
begins to dry.
In general, increased soil acidity reduces the occurrence of scab. According to The
Potato in Health and Disease, scab will rarely occur in soils with a pH below 5.2.
However, exceptions to this claim have been reported, and the text suggests that scab can
adapt to acidic conditions over time. Soil moisture also affects the virulence of scab.
Since Streptomyeces Scabies is an aerobic bacteria, very wet, water logged soils will
decrease its ability to cause disease. Well-aerated, moist to dry soils on the other hand
provide good conditions for scab to grow. In addition to acidity and moisture, soil
temperature has also been correlated to the severity of scab. Potato in Health and
Disease suggests that scab has the ability to adapt to its local conditions when it comes to
soil temperature, and may even adapt to the optimum temperatures of the specific variety
being grown. According to studies cited in it, " local strains of the Actinomycetes have
their own temperature relationships; the optimum for infection being closely related to
the optimum temperature for tuber growth, and therefore varying somewhere with the
potato variety." In a lab where pure culture was used, the optimum growth temperature
was 75.2 degrees F. Although understanding soil conditions and their effect on the
pathogenicity of common scab are important, they are less controllable to the average
farmer than certain cultural practices are when managing or preventing a scab infestation.
The number one way to prevent a scab infestation on a potato crop is to avoid
planting infected tubers. All other practices are more or less useless if a farmer were to
plant seed already infected with scab. If clean seed is used, then there are other measures
that growers should implement to avoid scab. They include crop rotation, the use of
resistant varieties, maintenance of high soil moisture, and avoidance of over liming.
Since scab is quite host specific, increasing the amount of time between successive potato
crops in the same field will remove the source of food from the pathogen and thus reduce
its population. When establishing a potato crop, it is a good idea to use scab resistant
varieties and to also maintain high degree of moisture in the field as water will displace
oxygen that is vital to the life of S. Scabies. Finally, it is generally agreed upon that
common scab is less prevalent in acidic soils. Therefore, the use of soil amendments such
as lime to increase the soil pH should be carefully thought out when growing a potato
crop. Two recent studies published in scientific journals point to the ability of resistant
varieties and the use of compost as a way to reduce the incidence of scab.
In a study published in Journal of Plant Sciences, researchers tested the efficacy
of compost and compost tea on the reduction of tuber diseases in potato, including scab.
Several treatments were designed that included a control, compost, compost tea, and
compost with compost tea. Data was then taken on the severity of tuber disease, tuber
number and weight, defects and total yield. The results from this study were quite
profound. Compared to the control, compost reduced the severity of common scab by
81%. Compost tea reduced the severity of scab by 42%, and the combination of compost
and compost tea reduced the severity of scab 82%. Higher yield was also reported on the
treatments of compost tea and compost with compost tea.
The results of this study are very interesting, as they point to some simple
mechanisms like biological diversity that are too often over looked in conventional
agriculture. Besides acting as a fertilizer, the compost and compost tea likely inoculated
the plants and the soil with a range of beneficial microorganisms, producing an
antagonistic effect on the scab producing pathogen. Since this was the first study of its
kind, published in 2008, it suggests that there is still a lot of research to be done on the
use of organic techniques as a way to manage crop diseases like scab.
Perennial Vegetables
The Perennial Vegetable core will consist of Jersey Night asparagus, and a small
strawberry sanctuary at the very center. Asparagus will be planted in parallel rows in a
North –South orientation. Since it is within a circle, the rows will have varying lengths
from end to end. The field will be prepped by digging trenches in the rows. Trenches will
be 6 inches, 8 inches deep and one foot apart. Asparagus crows will be stagger planted at
16 inches apart. The beds will be on four foot centers.
Asparagus is susceptible to Fusarium stem and crown rot. Since it is a perennial,
crop rotation is not an effective control for this disease. In order to prevent disease, the
core field will be covered in an alfalfa cover crop for the first year of farm production.
This will serve two main purposes. First, the cover crop will provide a source of organic
matter once tilled in; creating a more biologically active soil that is able to suppress
diseases. Second, the alfalfa will supply ample nitrogen and micronutrients brought up
from the sub soil with its deep taproots. The available nutrients will give the asparagus
head on potential pathogens by increasing its overall health.
Weeds in the asparagus field will be managed by hand. Since it is only .3 acres, it
will not take long to go through the field with a hoe and clear non-crop competitors.
Should the plants need extra fertility, compost will be added in the fall, around august or
September, so that the nutrients are absorbed and can be used for spear production in the
spring. The asparagus will not be irrigated. Since spears emerge in early spring when
there is generally sufficient moisture, irrigation should not be needed.
Finally, there will be 16x16 foot strawberry sanctuary in the very center of the
core field. The strawberry sanctuary will be built out of a wood gazebo, with several
large pots of strawberries on the roof. Throughout the season, the strawberries will grow
down over the gazebo, making for a beautiful, edible sanctuary where people can enjoy
the ambiance of the farm.
Non-Crop Habitat
How the beneficial strip will work
There are a few main strategies to building a successful beneficial habitat. This
includes identifying potential crop pests, their predators, and what plants host those
predators. The table below serves as an example. For each crop family or crop, there is a
potential pest, its predator, and a predator host plant that can be found in the beneficial
habitat.
Crop Family/Crop
Insect Pest
Pest Predator
Predator Habitat
Alliaceae
Thrips
Damsel Bug
Yarrow, Golden Rod
Gramineae
European Corn Borer
Braconid Wasp
Virginia Snakeroot
Liliaceae
Asparagus Beetle
Braconid Wasp
Queen Ann's Lace
Indian Hemp, gloden
Chenopodiaceae
Aphids
Lady Bugs
rod
Minute Pirate
Asteracea
Leafhopper
Bug
Penstamon
Convovulaceae
White Fly
Green Lacewing
St. John's Wart
Brassicaceae
Cabbage Looper
Tachinid fly
Buckthorn
Cucurbitaceae
squash bugs
Tachinid fly
Buckthorn
Mexican Bean
Spined Soldier
Fabaceae
Beatle
Bug
Bishops Weed
Solanaceae
Tomato Horn Worm
Chalcid Wasps
Golden Alexanders
Umbelliferae
Rust Flies
Rove Beatles
Permanent Plantings
Apple
Coddling Moth
Brachnid Wasp
Queen Ann's Lace
Lady Bird
Blueberry
Aphids
Beetles
New Jersey tea
According to ATTRA, the most important characteristics of beneficial habitats are
providing a food source that encourages the beneficial insects to stay on your farm
throughout the season. This is done through the use of flowering plants that contain
extrafloral nectar. This is especially true with parasitic wasps. To fulfill this need,
a variety of flowering native Michigan plants will be established in the habitat. When
using flowering plants, a key consideration is the inclusion of a variety of species that
flower at different times throughout the growing season, providing continual nectar.
Below is a list of the native flowering plants, organized by flowering time that will be
used in the beneficial habitat.
Early Spring:
Alder- (Alnus Rugosa)
Leatherwood (Dirca palustris)
Plum, American wild (Prunus americana)
Wild Strawberry
Mid-Late Spring:
Canada Anenome
Golden Alexander
Late Spring/Early Summer:
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Saint John's-wort, shrubby (Hypericum prolificum)
Summer:
Cinquefoil, shrubby (Potentilla fruticosa)
New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus)
Rose, Carolina (Rosa carolina)
Late Summer:
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba)
Witchhazel, American (Hamamelis virginiana)
The above listed plants are mostly perennial shrubs. Using perennials is important
because they do not have to be re-planted every year, and over time, will grow big
enough to fill the entire space. Finding all of the listed native plants may prove to be a
difficult task. Certain resources, such as native plant nurseries like Wild Type in mason
Michigan will be important in the acquisition of these species. Some species may not be
available at a nursery, however, and so their seed or vegetative cuttings will have to be
sought out from the wild.
In order to share in the costs and logistics of establishment, the farm will seek the
help of the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive
Program. These programs can cover up to 75% of the costs of establishing permanent
wildlife conservation plans, offer “technical assistance” for public and private land
owners that implement “ filter strips, tree planting, and permanent wildlife habitat” all of
which the non-crop habitat could qualify for.
The beneficial habitat will be an ongoing project that will take several years to
fully establish. To begin, the 33 foot wide strip will be tilled up and sown in clover.
Once again, ATTRA claims that sweet clover is a good “insectary plant”, meaning that it
provides adequate food and structural habitat for insects. Once the clover is established,
some easy to acquire species such as Queen Ann’s lace, Yarrow, and Golden Rod will be
established around the edge of the habitat. In general, the lower growing, smaller plants
will populate the edges, while the center parts of the habitat will be reserved for species
with big growth habits, such as Alder a tall growing tree, or ninebark, a shrub that can
grow to heights of 8 feet. As the farm grows, more and more beneficial plants will be
incorporated.
Tree Fruit
The tree fruit ring will consist of apples, pears, and peaches. The trees will be
planted in a single row, and the 2450 linear feet of row will be segmented into three parts.
Half will be in apples, one quarter in pear, and one quarter in peaches.
The apples will be planted in a medium density system on Bud 9 dwarfing
rootstock. Bud 9 is well adapted to most soil conditions and has a good degree of disease
resistance. Three varieties will be grown, Goldrush, Liberty, and Fuji. Goldrush and
Liberty are both scab resistant while Fuji is not. The variety of scion cultivars should
offer some risk mitigation from pests, diseases and inclement weather. Apple trees will
be under a medium intensity management system that consists of winter and some
summer pruning. Trees will be planted every 7.5 feet, for a total of 163 trees. No fruit
will be harvested for the first three growing seasons in order to build a self supporting
scaffold.
The pear trees will occupy 612 row feet, and will be planted every 8 feet, for a
total of 76 trees. Trees will be trained in a central leader system, and a variety of cultivars
will be grown, such as Bartlett, Moonglow, and Seckel, in order to have continual harvest
into the fall.
Peaches will be planted at eight foot spacing, accounting for 76 trees. Peaches
will be grown on Lovell rootstock trained in an open center system and managed with
winter and some summer pruning.
Unfortunately, the Michigan’s climate makes growing organic tree fruit a
challenge, as there are an abundance of disease and pest issues. One of the most common
diseases on pears and apples in Michigan is fireblight. Fireblight is a bacterial disease
cause by the bacteria Erwinia amylovora. Fireblight infections, if not controlled, can
quickly spread to neighboring trees. In order to control fireblight, resistant varieties
should be used, and all cankers should be pruned off in the winter. Cankers must be
removed because this is the sight of most infections.
Weeds in the tree fruit will be managed through cover cropping. The orchard floor
will have a thick layer of clover over it, suppressing weeds and also helping with disease
and pest management.
Plumb Curculio is an insect pest that burrows into the apple, lays its eggs, and
causes the apples to abort or drop to the ground. While it is hard to manage, strategies
will include the removal of dropped apples, either through hand labor, or with hogs.
While there won’t be any hogs living on the farm, an outside source of feeder pigs would
be welcome to graze through the orchard for a day to eat the dropped apples.
When the trees are established, compost will be added to the holes. This will give them
an initial boost and inoculate the soil to increase its biological activity. If the plants show
signs of nutrient deficiencies, like chlorotic leaves, then additional compost or fish
emulsion will be added in the subsequent years. The trees will not be irrigated. This will
reduce costs and force them to put down deep, strong roots.
Small Fruit Production
Full Circle Community Farm will be growing a substantial amount of berries for
its members. There will be one bed of berries going around the annual vegetable area
which will be 18 feet wide and 1205 feet long. This berry bed will not be irrigated but
will still produce more than enough for all 44 of the members.
There will be 600 raspberry plants in the bed, with 300 plants bordering each
quadrant of the vegetable plot. One quadrant will be 'Boyne' variety, which fruits in the
summer, and the other quadrant will be 'Redwing,' which produces canes during the
summer and the fall, but has improved quality during the fall crop. The latter variety will
be pruned to insure no fruit is allowed to set during the summer to provide a quality fall
crop. In this way, there will be fresh raspberries available throughout the growing
season.
In the other two quadrants there will be blueberries. Both quadrants will be the
cultivar 'North-blue,' which is a mid-high variety and will be able to withstand colder
winters and still produce an abundance of quality fruit. The spacing on mid-high
blueberries is the same as the spacing we chose for the raspberries - two foot spacing.
We will have 600 blueberry plants, which will produce a large amount of blueberries for
our members.
Soil management in the small fruit area will be minimal. Before the canes and
bushes are planted, 20 tons per acre of compost will be applied. In the raspberries, an
application of lime will be added to lower the pH to about 5.2. Once planted, there will
be minimal hand cultivation under the plants and a strip of clover cover 7.5 feet wide on
either side of a three foot strip in the center, where the berries will be planted.
The berries will be harvested by hand. They will be taken home immediately by
those who pick it primarily, but the surplus will be packed into pints and sold at the
roadside stand. Since berries do not keep very well, we will have to sell the berries the
day we pick them.
Raspberries and blueberries have a few disease problems we may encounter. The
first of these, fruit rot on raspberries, produces a gray mold on the fruit which renders the
fruit unmarketable. To combat this, we will use proper pruning methods on our berries
which can reduce the secondary inoculums of many fungal diseases, as well as pick and
discard infected fruit. For blueberries, the primary problem is more with pests, namely
blueberry maggot, than with diseases. To combat blueberry maggot, we will use sticky
traps to trap the flying adults. For birds we will set up a series of aluminum pie pans and
eye balloons to scare them away and discourage them from eating the fruit.
Postharvest Handling and Storage
In regards to apples, the preferred cooling method is forced air/hydrocooling. The
optimum temperature ranges from thirty to forty degrees Fahrenheit, dependent on the
variety. The temperature at which it freezes is twenty-nine degrees Fahrenheit, with a
humidity of ninety to ninety-five percent. The storage life for apples ranges from a month
to a full year after harvest. One of the most important aspects of apple production is postharvest handling. Apples should be harvested when mature but yet not fully ripe for
maximum quality.
An example of how we would handle berry storage is the example of blueberries.
The preferred method for preservation is forced air cooling, with an optimum temperature
of thirty-four degree Fahrenheit. The freezing temperature of blueberries is twenty-eight
degrees Fahrenheit. The optimum humidity for this being ninety to ninety-five with a two
to three week storage life unless we freeze them.
In regards to the post-harvest handling, Asparagus can be kept for 3 weeks at 36
degrees F. It is subject to chilling injury if kept at 32 degrees F for more than 10 days.
Provide high humidity to prevent shrinkage by placing asparagus butts on wet pads,
packaging spears in perforated plastic bags, or misting spears with cold water. Keeping
spears in pans of cold water for too long may cause nutrient leaching or microbial
infection. Pack asparagus vertically into shipping containers with ventilation slats and
absorbent pads that go under the spear bases or perforated plastic bags stored vertically.
Asparagus spears will bend, especially at high temperatures, which is especially
noticeable if spears are packed horizontally. Vented packaging allows for dissipation of
ethylene gas produced by the spears, which can cause toughening and bitterness.
In regards to leafy green production such as lettuce, in general, response is best to
storage temperatures of 0° to 1°C (32° to 34°F). Freezing must be avoided at all costs.
For temporary storage, a temperature of 0° to 2°C (32° to 36°F) and a relative humidity
of 90 to 95 percent are recommended.
Labor
The labor at Full Circle Community Farm will be primarily composed of memberworkers doing most of the work. There will, however, be a paid intern and a salaried
farm manager. These three will work together to make the farm happen. They will be
divided into three different realms of responsibility: tractor work, planning, ordering,
monetary concerns, and irrigation management will be the responsibility of the farm
manager, who will direct the paid intern, who will in turn direct the worker-members.
The paid intern will be expected to be knowledgeable in all of the crops and systems of
the farm, be able to work hard and provide a good example for the worker-members as
well as provide direction for them in each task. Designating and prioritizing tasks will be
the responsibility of the farm manager. The worker-members will do the weeding,
harvesting, and other maintenance of the crops as well as enjoy the bounty of their labors.
There will only be one residence on the farm. The modular home that is already
on-site will house both the farm manger and the intern. This intern residence will be a
part of the pay package for the intern. Besides room and board, the intern will be paid an
amount equal to a $300/week stipend, the money to pay for which will come from the
member payments as well as the sales of excess produce. There will be no benefits for
the intern, and initially none for the farm manger, though once the farm is off the ground
and running at a profit there is a possibility for such.
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