Ironwood Organics

New to the world spuds. Wrapping up the 1st pass of the 2020 potato crosses. These were grown from true potato seed (TSP) from the 2019 season - which was an abysmal one! One big change for us is that we grew them in the greenhouse with a little drip tape irrigation. The impact was spectacular. Our usual yield for TPSs is 1-3 pea sized tubers. Greenhouse starts were more representative of year 2/3, and thus should shave 1-2 years off the development path. We started with 27...6 crosses and saved the best/ most interesting 27 crosses. Based on storage success, we’ll whittle these down to maybe 11 or maybe 17. These are the same potatoes from the June 24th post. #potatobreeding #truepotatoseed #yellowflesher See more

Last week the Ford government snuck through an assault on wetlands, cleverly disguised as an omnibus budget. We have been working with the Land Trust as an ecological demonstration farm - proving that farm, food and land restoration and conservancy can be mutually supportive. I know times are difficult for many, but donating to the future of land restoration is an investment that will outperform the markets! I’ve put their link in my bio. #Repost @tiwlt with @get_repost... We all know it’s better to give than receive. But what if we told you that this #GivingTuesday, you can give AND receive? Every $100 donation to a TIWLT project gets you a custom plaque on the TIWLT 4ever wall... plus a CRA approved $100 charitable receipt for use at tax time! Choose a project and start your legacy at https://tiwlt.ca/get-involved/support-glen-elbe/ #GivingTuesday #4ever See more

Do you believe in fairies? I noticed this drifting fluff in the air, but soon realized it had some directionality. Known as as fairy flies or fluff bugs it turned out to be a woolly aphid! To give you an idea of scale, the brown background are threads on my trousers. Like a lot of aphids, they are sap suckers, and the white fluff is made of exuded waxy filaments. Not only do the filaments help keep the aphid aloft, but the wax sheds water and resembles a bit of mold - great... defence against predators. Many specialize on a single plant species, but a good parasite knows better than to kill their host, so some species alternate between hosts each successive generation. When times are good, the aphids reproduce parthenogenetically, popping out live young (clones) to rapidly take advantage of the good times. ( upwards of six billion offspring by the end of a perfect season! ) It is during times of stress, frost or late autumn, that a winged generation of both males and females is produced. Travel helps boost the genetic diversity after a summer of cloning. Before freeze-up, they will lay eggs that will overwinter and the cycle begins again. #woolyaphid #fairyflies #parthenogenetically #biodiversity #predatorprey See more

Another good sunset to reflect a good day on the farm. Some predawn milling, cleaned heritage beans from yesterday’s harvest, threshed heritage soy trials, project work with students from Queens U (approved and socially distanced;-), and started potato cross documentation for the year before it gets out of control.... and all before 5 pm. #dusk #novemberheatwave

#Repost @col_gordon with @get_repost DÙTHCHÀS I recently came across a Gaelic word which appears to have no English translation: Dùthchàs.... It is a concept that expresses the connectedness and inter-relationship between land, people and culture. It is a "collective claim on the land which is reinforced & lived out through the shared management of that land. It is a right which is grounded in daily habits & activities & is bound up with relationships to others & responsibilities." This was the overarching worldview of the Gaels who looked at this simply to be the natural order of things. Clan James.com writes that when feudalism arrived in Scotland communal land holding came under direct threat, as feudalism operated on a system of ownership & inheritance alone. This system began to take hold in the Highlands as clan chiefs realized it was an attractive option for them and this, perhaps more than any other factor, was what led to the demise of the ancient Highland way of life. During the clearances the eviction of the tenants was seen as a direct violation of dùthchàs. BUT as this idea was never written down it held no legal significance and was ignored and easily swept aside. Variations of this pattern have been playing out and are still playing out on every patch of land on the earth. Interestingly, while there is no translation for Dùthchàs into English, it translates perfectly into Welsh: "Cynefin". Given that this appears to be an almost exact translation I'll leap to suggest that this was part of a universal "indigenous" worldview throughout the British Isles prior to feudalism. In our "indigenous" languages there are embedded concepts that we cannot fully understand with just English and through these languages there might be glimpse of worldviews more compatible to living in harmony with the natural world. Wade Davis writes "a language, of course, is not merely a set of grammatical rules or a vocabulary. It is a flash of the human spirit, the vehicle by which the soul of each particular culture comes into the material world. Every language is an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of spiritual possibilities."

Sandwich bread for tomorrow. This is why we do what we do - one of the reasons anyway. I’m sure the aroma of fresh bread will permeate my dreams of saturation, salivation, satiation and salutation. Good night. #farmermillerbaker #freshhearth

Not looking your best can be an advantage. For years I’ve searching prickly ash for the caterpillar of the Giant Swallowtail, a new climate change arrival. The caterpillar is a citrus eater and the bane of the Floridian citrus growers ( after hurricanes and early snow storms). Last week, thanks to the keen eye of @clairecoleski, I connected the dots, that familiar bird poop, is in fact a well camouflaged caterpillar of the Papilio cresphontes. There are 5 instars (developme...ntal stages) of which the early few fully resemble bird droppings. Swipe for the miraculous transformation. Now, to find a cocoon. #hidinginplainsight #giantswallowtail #climateadaptation #naturaldefences #farmbiodiversity See more

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe. St. Augustine I find it hard to believe that there are thousands of metres of mycelium strand hidden in the underworld of soil and fallen trees. There are parasitic fungi, beneficial symbiotic fungi, but the most common are the decomposers.... ..turning old forest into new forest. You could argue that soil grows in trees, and trees are made of carbon, and that ultimately red...uces atmospheric carbon. First we plant the trees, then we need to have faith that soil building will help save us from the worst of it. It being the ravages of climate change. #decomposers #nomorefungicides #carbonsequestration #soilbuilding See more

Scale is a relative thing, next to proportion. The relative immensity of our plight could always be worse. Imagine a night visit from this praying mantis if it was the size of an elk! #perspectiveuseitorloseit #prayingmantis ... #nocturnalworld See more

Starting late and finishing late is not always a bad thing. The fall rains have been kind to our spuds, and the declaration of La Niña should be the icing on the best potato year in a decade. The last of the potatoes are flowering, one modern variety has yellowed off but the rest are growing strong. The last pic is of the Tlingit potatoes ( last row next to where some of the winter wheats are going in later this week). The Maria’s Tlingit potato is a northern descendant of... the Ozette. Those came via up the Pacific coast from the native Makah people, who have grown them for centuries. Before that, from the Chilean Andes, which brings me to my point ;-). Higher altitude potatoes would have only set tubers once the days started getting shorter. At altitude, the snow would be so long to melt, that planting would not take place until mid-summer. Plants remember. #ozette #heritagepotatoes #tetraploid #TPS See more

so much depends upon a red wheel barrow... glazed with rain water beside the white chickens William Carlos Williams 1962 #timelesspoetry

Late season grain harvest can be a little ominous. The early drought in May/June got the spring weeds well established ( lambs quarter, pig weed, mustard and rag weed). On the right is what comes out of the combine. Even though the grain is dry, the moisture in the weed mass is moving quickly into the wheat seed. Basic seed cleaning involves three steps. The first (top left) is scalping; removing all material that is bigger than the wheat seed. The second is sieving (middle left) where material smaller than the wheat seed is removed. The remaining material contains the wheat, and other material the same size. The final step is winnowing, where an adjustable column of forced air removes material that is less dense than wheat seed, magically leaving what were after. (Bottom left) #organicgrain #seedcleaning

Wrapping up the spring wheat trials today. I figure that when I’m ready for a break from the heat, so is the old VW air cooled engine on the plot combine. In the picture are 4 of the crosses from the Participatory Plant Breeding Program through U of M, EAFO and Seed Change. Part of my negative roguing strategy (removing characteristics I don’t want) over the past 3 years was harvest late in the season. This naturally selected for stiff straw that will avoid lodging, reduce...d head shattering (dropping seeds before harvest), and on head germination which is related to the falling number (a measure important for malters and bakers). Just by sheer survival, the plants that were harvested had strong straw, no shattering, and a natural dormancy against premature germination. These traits are passed on and successively reinforced year over year. Next year we will focus on bulking up. #farmersavedseed #ppb #naturelselection #returntoresistance See more

Seed saving is infectious... and it’s something worth catching! Utrecht Blue is one of my favourites, originally from @prairiegardenseeds. Over the years there was a good deal of head scratching as to what it was; blue heads with black stiff barbed awns/beards, and a hulled kernel. I read today that the final identification is an emmer with the name Triticum dicoccum var. atratum. Google it and it’s in dozens of seed houses, hell it’s even on Amazon. It’s mostly sold as de...corative wheat for arrangements. I hope to get it bulked up and find a local dehuller and perhaps get it to market. #emmer #utrechtblue #utrechtbluewheat #seedsaving See more

What are the chances! Any Mahjong players out there? We try and squeeze in a few tournaments over the summer. Still getting to know the new 2020 card. Last week I got my first closed hand Mahjong. This means no jokers, no pickups, all pairs. #millersformahjong... #closedhands #mahjong See more

Another day has passed on the farm. Lucky I didn’t get my pot of gold harvested, but no excuses now that I’ve got the money shot ;-) #lateharvest

...ya just turn you back for 20 minutes Our second ‘conserved’ monarch emerged yesterday morning. This summer we’ve started rearing monarch caterpillars. Why? Overwintering numbers east of the Rockies have declined by more than 90 percent since 1995 and each season there is upwards to 90% morbidity rate during the egg/caterpillar phase. As we find caterpillars, we bring them into the bug hotel (built by @clairecoleski). We feed them fresh milkweed leaves daily, (husbandry...), until they form a chrysalis. When it turn transparent, we move it out side to complete the process. Within a few hrs, the butterfly emerges, pumps their wings full, dry, harden and then they are gone. The monarch represents millions of years of evolution: remarkable metamorphosis; a deep connection between soil mycelium, milkweed, and a resistance to heart stopping toxins called cardenolides; and a multi-generation mass migration. #monarchs #insecthusbandry #biodiversity #noneonicotinoids See more

If grain could pick their last day before being harvested, the Old Welsh April Bearded has picked a winner. Warm dry day, beautiful sunset with a wee rainbow, and a coming night sky full of the Perceid Meteor showers. Tomorrow we get the #hege fired up for the ripe spring wheat trials/bulks and then wrap up the winter rye with the Massey 35 PT. Hope to see the swallows dance around the combine, cleaning up the insects I kick up. Never a dull moment. #harvestseason #weatherw...indows #aprilbeardedwheat #winterrye See more

Cooler days are on the horizon. Is It time to stock up stone ground flour and rolled oats ( some assemble required )?.... or you could pick up our freshly baked granola ( made by @twig_and_fleur). Order on-line at the Gananoque Farmers Market. ( this week’s sales close today at 7pm for Thursday pickup @ganfarmersmarket) #granola #rolledoats #stonegroundflours... #localfood See more

What if you could only do your grocery shopping once a year -in summer? We received an order to supply a family with a year’s worth of wheat, rye, oats, lentils and buckwheat. The catch is they’re from Iqaluit in Nunavut, on the shores of Baffin Island. We delivered to Ottawa, then air lifted north. Ever think how much grain and pulses you eat in a year? Perhaps the best way to have secure access to freshly milled flour, is to do it yourself, or get to know your local mill...er ;-) #fooddeserts #homedelivery #homemilling #floursecurity #regionalmills See more

Food for thought. 8 years ago this week, the Canadian Government dispensed with the Canadian Wheat Board - another nail in the coffin of food sovereignty and security. In 2007, the Saskatchewan Wheat pool ceased operation, being absorbed by Viterra, then by Glencore International in 2013. In the US, the system of grain reserves was abolished in 1996, and by 2008, the reserves were depleted. In 2004, fires in the Russian wheat fields (drought) resulted in the cessa...tion of wheat exports. Egypt immediately felt the impact of higher food prices - a contributing factor to the Arab spring. During the Covid shut down, flour and yeast were hot commodities, when you could find them. Part of this was the lack of demand for Bakken crude oil, which freed up the rail system capacity to export wheat stockpiles. The tragedy in Lebanon has left them with a single month of wheat reserves. On August 27th,2020 (in Canada) there is a vote to consolidate the seed ownership to Seed Synergy an almagation of 5 seed companies. ...their goal is to create a regulatory structure that would prevent farmers from freely using their own seed, ensure that agribusiness corporations control seed breeding, and replace public-interest quality control measures with purely commercial mechanisms. -ww.nfu.ca - As we work the land, these are our big thoughts. Although we work towards the revival of historic wheat that is nutrient dense, good stone milling quality, that contributes to great tasting bread, our ‘climate ready agriculturale’ focuses on stable yields, despite volatile weather resulting from climate destabilization. The bottom line is that there is one opportunity each year to grow a crop. Failure and famine are dance partners. Diversity leads to stability, which creates resiliency and eventually sustainability. 2020 vintage - Winter Rose Red Fife. #climatereadyagriculture #foodsecurity #wheatsupply #wheatfragility #foodsustainability #seedlaw See more

If you go out into the woods today.... You’ve probably gathered by now that I am pro-biodiversity, pro-habitat conservation, but anti-invasive! On a bird walk late yesterday we spotted a few moths laying their egg condominiums. How a moth can generate egg masses larger than her body mass is beyond me. On realizing these were next years gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar), I returned today and found (and eradicated) about 10 moths and 60 egg masses. Their population explodes e...very 10 years or so, and next year may be the tenth. These were all in a 3-4 acre wooded area next to a wetland. A few were blending in on beech, but the vast majority were in wirey birch, on the underside of the trees natural lean, about 1-9ft off the ground. Egg laying is usually done by mid-September, so we’re on it in good time! Each egg mass can contain upwards of 1500 eggs. As the female build the mass, she plucks hairs from her abdomen, and mixes them with the eggs. This insulation will protect down to -30!! There are horticultural oils labeled for gypsy moth egg masses, or scrape them into a container and microwave for 2 min or soak in soapy water for 2 days. Think of the trees we’ll be saving. Keep your eyes peeled if you go out in the woods today ;-) #gypsymoth #invasivespecies #gooutinthewoodstoday See more

Plants with memories! A few years after we got our Pecans established (swipe), there was an end of May frost. All the foliage that had emerged were desiccated and dropped. Hope was failing when by late June, another set of leaves emerged. Since then, they never emerge until well into June. It’s as though they remember (perhaps collectively), and somehow took note of the day length, and maintained their winter dormancy until the coast was clear. It turns out, that’s probably... exactly what they did !! #epigeneticmemory #climatereadyagriculture #Repost @johninnescentre with @get_repost MATHS - Plants, like other organisms, use molecular memory to remember past events. Some of our researchers use maths to decipher how this epigenetic memory, as it is called in biology, functions as a whole to create and maintain stable memory states. How plants remember the cold has turned out to be an ideal system to study this and our research has shown how epigenetic silencing is fundamentally digital. As Professor Martin Howard explains, Fundamentally this system is digital for the same reason your computer is digital, because it needs to stably store memory over a long period of time. Link in bio to find out more Andrea Piacquadio #epigenetics #maths #appliedmathematics #plantstagram #molecularbiology #memory #digitaldoodle #digitalpainting