Equipment for Harvesting and Cleaning My Seed Crop

Romaine Lettuce 

The seed pod heads of the lettuce will be progressively shaken off into a brown paper bag directly from the plant. Cleaning could also happen in small batches, put perhaps once a week as opposed to every couple of days. The seed does not need to be released from a shell but rather separated from the fluffy pappus' and any other debris from the seed head that made its way into the bag. The compressor would likely be too powerful for this light seed and chaff. So a small hand fan or even blowing across the seed would be effective. Another approach would be to screen the seeds through a series of stacking screens and lightly blow away fluff and chaff as the seeds and heavier debris fall through the screen set. 

To start out, I would like to purchase a set of versatile screens that slot together. As I become more handy I can select different grades of wire and work on constructing similar screens modelling the design of the set I purchased. Once I get into producing seed I would be selecting other small seed to work with that would benefit from the screens such as brassicas and ornamental flower seed. 

Image 1: Set of Seed Screens 

Source: www.strictlymedicinalseeds.com

Fava Beans 

Once the upper pods are formed and begins to dry the plants can be cut at the stem then raked down to the ground and collected into stocks to finish drying. The seed head stems can then be cut off and placed on a tarp in the field to be threshed. Some of the chaff can be removed by hand and the seed transferred into a bucket. In an sheltered area the seeds can be transferred a bit at a time into a new bucket in a single layer. Then cleaned by passing the air from an air compressor over the bucket to blow away the chaff. Since fava beans seeds are very large using a winnower or screens wouldn't make sense.

Investing in a moderately air compressor would be a good idea. It would not only help in cleaning seed but in removing dust from sheds and farm storage areas as well as pumping up bike, car and wheel barrow tires on site as well. I believe an air compressor can be used to clean fresh farm eggs as well which is a part of my big farm plan! 

Image 2: Portable Air Compressor 

Source: www.lrseries.com

Garden Pea 

Once the seeds are maturing, drying and browning on the plant the seed head stems can be cut and tied together and hung from the trellis that the peas had been growing on. Then threshed similar to the favas or in a bucket with my feet. 

Cleaning would occur in the exact same way as favas making the investment of buying an air compressor worthwhile. 

Ready to Harvest

Questions:
1. How will I know when my seed crops are ready?
2. What are the best harvesting methods for this crop?
3. What are the most appropriate tools/methods for harvesting the seed crop?


The key is to leave the seed pods on the plants for as long as possible. Allowing them to mature naturally. However, not allowing the seed pods to dry too much as there is some risk of them shattering all of over the ground.

Beans and peas are generally finished when they turn brown and crispy, and be left to fully mature and dry on the plant. The fava bean will turn even darker and will appear blackened when close to harvest. The seed pod will also loose some of its sponginess. The ideal to cut the crop is when the upper pods are fully formed but not entirely ripe. John Navazio recommends mechanically raking the fava crop into windrows and placing the crop into shocks for the final drying before threshing; then threshing in a stationary thresher in the field. I am not entirely familiar with a windrow and I would be tempted to thresh the seed in a buckets and stand on it to break the seeds away from the flesh as I have done with brassica seeds before.

The pea crop after browning and drying in the field will be swathed and then cured in a windrow for 7-10 days or until completely dry and easily threshed. Threshing by hand and foot with my small crop size would then be acceptable.

Lettuce seed maturation is indicated by the release of a grey and fluffy pappus that is sent out by seed. Lettuce seed generally has several seed harvests as the seed matures in stage.  Harvest can be accomplished by hand. Shaking the seed head into a bag is a good tactic since any seed that is not fully formed will not be dislodged and released into the bag.

Image 1: Pappus of a thistle (asteraceae family, same as lettuce) 

Source: wikipedia.org

Desired Traits and Selection Factors

A driver for saving seed from all these crops types are to create a higher level of self-sufficiency and reduce food production costs, adapt to this regional climate, to preserve a local seed stock and increase seed security in BC.


Desired traits that will drive selection for;

Romaine Lettuce

- Deep green colour
- Large leaves
- Soft yet crisp leaf texture
- Good flavour
- Slow to wilt once harvested

Garden Peas 

- Full pods
- Large seeds
- Good flavour
- Thin skin on pods
- Crunchy to eat

Fava Beans

- Full pods
- Large seeds
- Late flowering times
- Thin hull surrounding seed


In addition to these desired phenotypic traits the following functional traits will also be selected for;

- Slow to bolt
- Vigorous plants
- Disease resistance
- Pest resistance
- Upright plant stature
- Normal not mutated
- Dark green in colour
- Lots of flowering

Potential Diseases: Risk and Mitigation

Disease: Damping- Off

Crops Affected: Garden Pea, Fava Beans and Lettuce

Description: The rotting/decaying of seeds in the soil due to overly wet conditions. If the seedling manages to emerge it will be affected with the either the fungi pythium, fusarium or rhizoctonia.

Identification: Lack of seed emergence is a good clue the seeds are being affected. If the seedling becomes infected with the fungi upon emergence it will appear weak in the stem, can become blackened and will topple over and die at any point.

Threat Severity: In Burnaby the threat could be fairly severe with really wet shoulder seasons. However, the crop can be planted in late spring after severe wet conditions pass or the seeds can be started inside to avoid the conditions. The threat would be increased if the responsible fungi are present in the soil of the area - I am not sure about my site, but all my seeds did well in the soil this year.

Best Practices for Mitigation:

- Plant seeds in optimal conditions. Damp soil but not soaked and no heavy rains during seed germination time.

- Crop rotation.

- Seed indoors and transplant at the appropriate time. This way the moisture can be better controlled and you can choose to use a sterilized soil if your area is particularly wet with risk of presence of the dampening off fungi.

- Fungicide treated seeds are an option on conventional sites. For ecological sites like mine, there are a couple of options of this nature: Priming, pelleting, hot water treatment, plant and oil extracts, bleach disinfectant or biological seed treatment.

Testing Available for Disease in Seed?: I believe testing for fusarium is available. Not a bad idea to have seeds tested every once in a while or buy the initial seed from a trusted source that does have vigorous seed testing protocols.

Disease: Bacterial Blight

Crops Affected: Garden Pea and Fava Beans

Description: A bacterial infection of the leaves. The bacteria can overwinter in crop residue or in seeds and spread easily in favourable conditions (warm, wet and humid).

Identification: Starts as shiny green spots and increases in size, yellow discolouration may happen around the spot. Dead leaves will remain on the plant and pods may show dark red-brown lesions.

Threat Severity: Blight is quite a severe disease that should be avoided on the farm. It can live for many years and transfer between many plants.

Best Practices for Mitigation:

- Crop rotation.

- Infected plant residue removed from the farm completely.

- Don't allow leaves to wet for extended periods of time.

- Manage mulch and crop residue well.


Testing Available for Disease in Seed?: Yes. Tested and disease free seed is available.

Disease: Fungal Blight

Crops Affected: Garden Pea

Description: Very similar to bacterial blight in appearance but caused by fungi not bacteria.

Identification: Irregularly shaped purple or brown splotches on the leaves. Black lesions on the stem.

Threat Severity: Just as severe as bacterial blight and is a big problem if any level of infection becomes apparent on the farm. Fungal blight can survive for years and transfer between plants very easily.

Best Practices for Mitigation:

- Same as bacterial blight. Most diseases thrive in wet, humid and warm conditions. So, try to always keep plant foliage dry and ensure good air circulation between plants and leaves.

Testing Available for Disease in Seed?: Yes. Tested and disease free seed is available.

Disease: Powdery Mildew

Crops Affected: Lettuce, Fava Beans and Garden Pea

Description: Common group of fungi that are host specific. Many types of powdery mildew with many types of hosts. It does not need as wet of conditions as other fungal diseases so it is quite a bit more prominent in many regions.

Identification: Powered residue appearing of leaf foliage.

Threat Severity: Mildly severe. It usually happens in the later part of the season when the crop is mostly mature. The vegetables can often still be marketed at full size. However, if a severe infection the yield and fruit quality can be reduced. Powdery mildew is more of a threat in seed crops since they need more maturation and drying time on the plant.

Best Practices for Mitigation:

- Crop rotation.

-  Good cultural practices.

- Sufficient spacing for air circulation.

- Plant in full sun and avoid shade if possible.

- Topical spray for small infection sites. Use cider vinegar and water solution or use baking soda and water solution to spray.

Testing Available for Disease in Seed?: No... Powdery mildew is a systemic disease and cannot be transferred to other parts of the plant.

Disease: Botrytis Rot 

Crops Affected: Lettuce, Fava Beans and Garden Pea

Description: Leaves near ground can turn light brown and host grey-brown fuzzy growth of spores.

Identification: Lower leaves yellow and eventually the whole head starts to die. Watery brown decay develops on the underside of the head

Threat Severity: Pretty severe. Botrytis can live in crop residues, soil and seed stock for years.

Best Practices for Mitigation:

- Crop rotation.

-  Good cultural practices.

- Sufficient spacing for air circulation.

- Keep surface of plant beds dry by digging in drip irrigation to just water the roots.

- Can plant in raised beds.

- Plant in full sun and avoid shade if possible.

- Topical spray for small infection sites. Use cider vinegar and water solution or use baking soda and water solution to spray.

Testing Available for Disease in Seed?: Yes. Tested and disease free seed is available.


Fun Fact about Botrytis: Dessert wine is typically made from grapes that are infected with botrytis as it makes the grapes extra sweet! Not harmful to consume.

Seed Plan for my 3 Seed Crops

BLOG POST #6: 

Risk of Inbreeding Depression

Fava Bean - Since the Fava bean is mixed-selfing and crossing there is a higher risk of inbreeding depression than with the strict selfers.
Garden Pea & Romaine Lettuce  - Self pollinators so no risk of inbreeding depression.

Attract and Detracting Insect Pollinators

Since my selfers are not pollinated by insects it doesn't matter to them too much how many insects are present in the garden scape. My current garden has wild plants and hedgerows around the edges and has a beautiful flower garden that will attract an array of pollinators and insects the garden. Encouraging bio-diversity is important to keep the garden dynamic and natural. If I were growing an insect pollinated crop that easily crosses then I would need to increase the amount of isolation, perhaps with a netted tent and introduced controlled insect into the area.

My fava beans require visits from insects to be effectively pollinated therefore my flowers and level of wild plants in the garden will be beneficial to my favas!!


Population Size

For my self pollinators (Pea and Romaine) I will need to have seed from 20 good plants at the end of the day. So, my crop size for these 2 crops will be 50 plants each to ensure good roguing and to maintain genetic variability.

For the Fava beans I must have a higher population than the selfers to maintain good heterogeneity therefore saving about 40 plants after selection. Thus I will double my population size from the selfers to 100 plants to be on the safe size! Higher the population size the better!



Digram of crop plan to submitted soon. Thx.

Summer, Work, Life ...

It has been a while since I have last posted. Sorry! Life has gotten in the way of my reading and work on this course. From farming to research to kitchen managing to beginning a permaculture course things have been quite hectic.

I am working hard to catch up and my posts and assignments will be completed soon.

Loving the course, lessons and instructors! Great talk with Patrick, Camelia, Carolyn and Kayla via the webinar yesterday.

Be Well

Isolation Requirements for my Seed Crops

Specific Questions from the Seed Production Certificate Course by Canadian Organic Growers 

Blog Post # 5, Week 9

• What are the genus/species/cultivar names of each of these crops?

Common Name: Fava Bean

Family: Fabaceae 

Genus: Vicia 

Species: Vicia faba 

Cultivar: Vroma

Common Name: Garden Pea

Family: Fabaceae 

Genus: Pisum

Species: Pisum sativum 

Cultivar: Maxigolt 

Common Name: Romaine Lettuce

Family: Asteraceae 

Genus: Lactuca

Species: Lactuca Sativa

Cultivar: Coastal Star*

*Coastal Star is a "Plant Variety Protected" cultivar by Johnny's Selected Seeds. Therefore, this romaine will only be grown to save seed for my personal use next year.

• What are the recommended isolation distances for  the crop?

Vroma Fava Bean - 100ft from any other legume in the Vicia faba species 

Maxigolt Garden Pea - 100ft from any other legume in the Pisum sativum species 

Coastal Star Romaine Lettuce - 50ft from any other lettuce in the Latuca Sativa species

• What is the likelihood of cross-pollination with this crop?

Vroma Fava Bean - Fava beans of this species are capable of cross-pollination but must be within a 100ft of another fava bean to cross. 

Maxigolt Garden Pea - Primarily Self pollinating, cross pollination is unlikely. 

Coastal Star Romaine Lettuce - Self pollinating. Cross pollination highly unlikely. 

• Can you provide these isolation distances? 

Yes! 

My Vroma variety will be 100ft from any perimeter of the farm and I wont be growing any other variety of fava bean. 

The pea is described as primarily selfing which indicates some chance of cross pollinating so a 100ft isolation distance will be provided, and I can provide this. 

Lettuce needs 50ft from any other lettuce variety with Lactuca sativa, which is most of the common lettuces we eat. To be safe no common lettuces will be grown within 100ft of the seed crop. 

• What natural or artificial barriers exist that may reduce the isolation distance required? By how much?

The house, hedges and sheds can reduce the amount of isolation distances between crops. The 100ft distances with still be maintained from the perimeter of the property and structures will provide a purity safety net for my seeds. 

• What is growing nearby that might cross-pollinate with the crop?

The neighbours grow a variety of crops so we certainly want to keep the seed crops away from the perimeters of our farm land. It is somewhat possible that the seed crops could cross with a wild ancestor, but would need to be in the exact same species as the crop. I don't know of any wild Vicia faba or Lactuca Sativa in the Lower Mainland or anywhere else. Pisum sativum has a wild pea version but I have not seen any in the South Burnaby area. 

• What artificial/natural isolation methods will be used for  the seed crop? Explain and elaborate on how you will achieve this.

No additional isolation methods will be required other than what I mentioned above. The crops will be 100ft away from perimeter of the land and the hedges, house and sheds will provide extra protection from crossing.