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Our Nature is Organic
Winter 2013 – 1
2 – Winter 2013
The Canadian Organic Grower
www.cog.ca
The
Canadian Organic Grower
D EPARTMENTS
F EATURES
Editor’s Corner ..................... 4 The winds of change
Biofungicides ............................................................... 6
Letter to the Editor ............... 5 In memory of ... .................... 8
Stuart McMillan explores the growing opportunities to effectively use biological controls in organic crop production.
The three R’s of fertility ............................................ 10
COG Publications ................ 22
Av Singh urges us to better understand our farm fertility cycles and to close the loop using Nature’s gifts.
Classifieds ........................... 29
GM alfalfa threat intensifies ...................................... 14
The Last Word ..................... 30 He’s not just happy to see you
Thinking like a plant ................................................. 16
Lucy Sharratt sounds the alarm as the biotech industry tries to introduce GM alfalfa in 2013. David Greenberg talks about his unique way of farming.
Organic livestock health remedies: sugar ................. 18 Dorothy Marshall gives examples of wounds healed by the use of common (organic) table sugar.
Bee-vectored biocontrol ............................................. 24 Kimberley Fellows shows how using the natural mobility of bees can save producers money as they carry natural biocontrol agents.
Visit the new
Canadian Organic Grower website and share with your organic farmer networks: magazine.cog.ca Contributors: Kimberley Fellows, David Greenberg, Robin Guard, Jordan Marr, Dorothy Marshall, Anne Macey, Stuart McMillan, Lucy Sharratt, Av Singh, Elizabeth White Special thanks to: Emma Bocking, Jacqueline Fisch and Lily Pepper for their contribution. www.cog.ca
Our Nature is Organic
Winter 2013 – 3
The
Canadian Organic Grower Editor Beth McMahon editor@cog.ca Advisory Committee Roxanne Beavers, Matthew Holmes, Anne Macey, Stuart McMillan, Gwen O’Reilly, Av Singh, Elizabeth White Advertising contact COG office (see address below) or ads@cog.ca Subscriptions / COG Membership www.cog.ca Production Karyn Wright, Foxboro, Ontario The Canadian Organic Grower is published by: Canadian Organic Growers (COG) 39 McArthur Ave, Level 1-3, Ottawa ON K1L 8L7 T: 613-216-0741 1-888-375-7383 F: 613-236-0743 office@cog.ca www.cog.ca COG Board of Directors: Daniel Brisebois, Rochelle Eisen, Janine Gibson, Geneviève Grossenbacher, Sheila Hamilton, Tony Marshall, Tegan Renner, Vlad Skotar The editor cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of COG. Editorial content may not be reproduced without permission. ©
Canadian Organic Growers, Inc. ISSN 1710-761X The Canadian Organic Grower Publications Mail #4076 8546 Cost per issue: $9.00 Volume 10, Number 1 Winter 2013
Cover photo credit: Shannon Jones, Broadfork Farm, NS Cover design: Beth McMahon
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EDITOR’S CORNER The winds of change Adaptability. Sustainability. Resilience. Each word will resonate with an organic grower’s spirit and should too be reflective of the organic grower (and eater’s) organization. Over the last 15 months as Executive Director of COG, I have worked with the board to help identify our organization’s critical challenges and possible solutions. Some have been easy (changing phone/fax service providers) and others not so easy (cutting the COG magazine budget and staff). Now, the most difficult decision has been to cut my own position of Executive Director. This decision is not coming with haste, but with true reflection and contemplation. It is based on the history of COG (started by a 16-year old in Toronto in 1975), the funding environment in Canada (difficult), and the greater organic food movement in Canada (energized!).
COG is now returning to a more horizontal organization. COG—as a reflection of its first 23 years—is now returning to a more horizontal organization. Over the coming months,we will be implementing a shared management model with our staff in the national office, and increasing board volunteerism and leadership roles (rather than a policybased board). Already, there is excitement for this new model, and optimism that it will provide The Canadian Organic Grower
greater opportunities for participation from the many voices of the organic movement. Ultimately, it will assist COG in achieving financial sustainability as Canada’s organic charity. Personally, I will step down as COG’s Executive Director on March 31st. Though I will be moving to an “off-farm job,” I will continue as COG’s voluntary magazine editor; I also plan to submit my name for the board elections at the Annual General Meeting (May 4), and encourage anyone who wants to get involved in COG’s future to also consider putting your name on the ballot. More information on the nomination process can be found on page 29.
I encourage anyone who wants to get involved in COG’s future to consider putting your name on the ballot. I have been involved with COG for more than 10 years now, and more than ever, I understand that our organization is essential to the spirit of the organic community in Canada. As a charity, we welcome anyone who wants to support and belong to the organic family. Moving forward, I encourage you to make COG one of your priority charities, a place for volunteerism, and to tell friends about COG and our efforts. Together, we will change our world. —Beth McMahon beth@cog.ca
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TOMÁS NIMMO WINS COG AWARD TORONTO: Tomás started in the organic food business in the mid-seventies— from the back of a pick-up truck with a bushel of carrots, he soon found himself part of the movement to bring local organic food to the retailer environment. Working with the budding organic sector fuelled his entrepreneurial spirit and his appreciation of meaningful work, leading to more than 30 years involvement with the Guelph Organic Conference. Tomás Nimmo, a proud COG member, is a true organic pioneer in the phenomenal success of the organic community. See more highlights from the COG Toronto Conference: www.cogtoronto.org
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Success at farming comes first from hard work well done, and then from smiling creativity and finally from a good neighborhood ... Small Farmer’s Journal a great wide neighborhood of like-minded folks helping one another and always as close as the issue in your lap.
Seed Crops Buildings Livestock Equipment Markets People Ideas
Small Farmer’s Journal PO Box 1627, Sisters, Oregon 97759 541-549-2064 800-876-2893 www.smallfarmersjournal.com
Our Nature is Organic
Winter 2013 – 27
Established 1999
H E A LT H Y
ORGANIC
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Winner of the Ottawa Consumers’ Choice Award 3 years in a row. 1230 Wellington (at Holland), Ottawa
613-729-5973 www.thetablerestaurant.com
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The Canadian Organic Grower
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CLASSIFIED ADS TERRA EDIBLES Certified organic and organicallygrown seeds for heirloom, unusual and rare vegetables (120+ varieties of tomatoes), herbs and flowers; since 1992. Also special gift items (Canadianmade lavender products, organic teas, Seeds for Survival and more). For a free catalogue, contact: 613-961-0654; or Box 164, Foxboro ON K0K 2B0. Order by mail or online at www.terraedibles.ca the Village Green www.thevillagegreen.ca ORGANIC FARM FOR SALE North of White Fox, Saskatchewan, 480 acres of lush pasture, woodlands and cultivable acres ideal for organic livestock and/or hay production, eco-tourism or recreation. Improvements include a move-in ready, 1400 square foot house, perimeter and cross-fencing, well, new water and sewage systems, power and telephone. Contact: theduchess_gaylynn@hotmail.com CERTIFIED ORGANIC SEED CORN Most maturities available. Also certified organic forage seeds. Contact Doug at 519-655-2570 or dshirray@gmail.com for more information.
DURHAM FARM WITH POND 99 acre farm, rolling hills, organic possibilities, 55 acres workable, bush, trails and trilliums, 3 bed house, bank barn in valley with pond, whispering pines. New windows, roof, 3 car garage. $599,000. Mike Brown, Broker 519-843-1365 SPROUT GROWER Are you concerned your food does not contain all the vitamins and minerals you need? Did you know sprouts are considered nature‘s Super Food? This simple sprouter grows edible organic sprouts in 24–48 hrs. Cathy’s Crawly Composters — More than just worms. 1-888-775-9495 www.cathyscomposters.com FOR SALE: ORGANIC SAINFOIN SEED Called “Healthy Hay” in Europe (sainfoin.eu). An ancient, nonbloating, nutritious, low input, perennial forage loved by all animals. 1820 reference books claim it makes the best flavoured dairy products. 306-739-2900; jhusband@primegrains.com; primegrains.com/primesainfoin.htm
FOR SALE Manure compost for sale from During Farms Ltd., located in Alliston, ON. Compost is approved for use in organic agriculture by ECOCERT. For more information, please call 705-435-9197 or cell 705-623-2940. IRRIGRO(TM) DRIP IRRIGATION Containing durable DuPont Tyvek, faucet-fed or gravity barrel allows for organic manure and compost tea fertilizers. Non-clogging. Satisfaction guaranteed–organic growers love our system. Made and sold in Canada! 1-877-477-4476 info@irrigro.com www.irrigro.com FIELD MANAGER, SOILED REPUTATION, SEBRINGVILLE, ON An organic vegetable farm selling throughout SouthWestern,Ontario. Duties: field related duties, filling orders, deliveries, inventory, farmer’s market, crew supervision. Requirements: strong background/experience in growing, harvesting, and field management, excellent organizational skills, driver’s license. johnfam@quadro.net
THE GREEN DOOR Ottawa’s acclaimed vegetarian restaurant 198 Main Street 613-234-9597 Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 till 9:00 Monday closed Ever wonder how we make our food so good? You’ll want to download our information pamphlet. www.thegreendoor.ca www.cog.ca
Our Nature is Organic
Winter 2013 – 29
THE LAST WORD He’s not just happy to see you As someone with an urban upbringing who came to farming as an adult, I think I’ve adapted quite well to a lot of farming tasks the city failed to prepare me for. Inevitably, to keep my self-congratulations in check, I encounter requirements of the job that remind me of the fundamental gaps between me and most veteran farmers.
I’m slowly becoming a good farmer, but my landlord’s proficiency still dwarfs my own. For example: We have gophers on our 25-acre veggie and hay farm. They’re licentious burrowers that breed vigorously and so, if we wish to avoid our hayfield taking on the consistency of Swiss cheese, we have to trap them. The only effective trap, a lethal one, consists of a black cylinder containing a wire noose on a spring-loaded hinge. The gopher’s burrow is uncovered and the cylinder inserted. The cylinder admits light through a hole in its protruding end; when the irritated gopher comes up to rebury his entrance he trips the noose and meets a quick end. Our farmer-landlord is the farm’s resident gopher warden, and checks the traps daily when populations are high. He’s often in the middle of a patrol when he finds one, and since his dogs delight in such snacks, he will 30 – Winter 2013
by Jordan Marr
pocket the gopher until he’s back at the house. Only sometimes he forgets about the gopher. Forgets, that is, until some time later when he reaches down to retrieve his keys and wraps his hand around a stiffened rodent. And if that doesn’t happen until after ten, well, my landlord drinks his coffee with a dead gopher in his pocket. I just learned of this—of the pocketing and the occasional forgetting. My landlord mentioned it offhandedly one day, chuckling as he described his surprise at such incidents. Now, just what is the proper reaction to a statement like this? I would be jumping out of my pants upon such a discovery. But then, there’s no way that problem could arise for me. I can say with a high degree of confidence that a dead rodent will never be found among the contents of my dungarees. This is just one of many examples of my previous sensibilities and aptitudes refusing to go quietly, as I try to replace them with the ones required of my new vocation and lifestyle. Most, including my squeamishness about stuffing dead animals in my pants, have no negative effect on the quality of my work. But some of them do. There is a basic literacy to farming that, like many other forms of literacy, is much harder to master if you don’t start very young. If there is a larger implication to what I’m saying, it has to do with the fact that a lot of farmers’ children are choosing not to continue farming because of the challenging economics involved. And, to the extent that they’re The Canadian Organic Grower
being replaced by more optimistic (or naïve) people like me, the overall standard of farming will drop for as long as it takes us to become really proficient. I’m slowly becoming a good farmer, but my landlord’s proficiency still dwarfs my own. Incidentally, I just googled the rodents in question because I wasn’t sure they really were gophers. Turns out that they are. This particular species’ common name, according to Wikipedia? Pocket Gophers.
Jordan Marr started his farming career as an apprentice on farms in Nova Scotia and Vancouver Island. He currently operates an organic market garden at The Homestead Organic Farm in Peachland, B.C. with his partner Vanessa. He publishes a blog about small-scale farming innovations and other good ideas for farmers called The Ruminant and he also produces The Ruminant Podcast, which focuses on knowledge transfer to farmers. TCOG
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Winter 2013 – 31
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