Organic Strawberry Production

Paul & Sandy Arnold

November 2013

Pleasant Valley Farm

Argyle, New York

PAUL & SANDY

FAMILY FARM ENVISIONED

BOTH FROM SUBURBIA

DRIVE TO BE SELF-EMPLOYED

ROBERT • Born in Nov 1992

• Age 20

• Now full-time local College-Computers

• Helps summers & Sat

Markets in Winter

• Great with

Equipment

KIM • Born Dec 1995

• Now 17

• Senior in HS & College

• Homeschooled

• Helps run farm 20 to 60

hours per week+

• Markets every

Saturday

• 5 Acres Mixed Diverse Vegetables

• ½ Acre Large Fruits

• ¼ Acre Small Fruits (Blueberries, Strawberries)

• Perennials & Herbs From Seed

• 3-4 Acres Cover Crops

• Sell at 3 local weekly farmers’ markets in summer & two Saturday winter markets

• Hay fields used by local Beefalo farmer

FRUIT & VEGETABLE CROPS

• Diversity of

Vegetable Crops

• Large Fruit: Apples, Pears,

Cherries, Plums

• Small Fruit: Blueberries, Strawberries

BENEFITS OF NO WEEDS • HEALTHIER CROPS

• FEWER DISEASES

• REDUCED INSECTS

• DECREASED FERTILIZER INPUTS

• INCREASED PICKING EFFICIENCY OF

CASH CROPS

• HIGHER CASH CROP YIELDS

• REDUCED IRRIGATION NEED

• INCREASED WORKER MORALE

• INCREASED PROFITS

• Organic Matter

• 100% Weed Control

• Moisture Retention

• Prevents Soil Erosion

• Keep Roots Cooler

• Clean Crops

• Disease Suppression

• Workers and crates clean

2006 JOHN DEERE 5325 67 HP

FIRST STRAWBERRY SYSTEM: MATTED ROW

Straw Mulch

• Purchased straw should be weed free and not have rye seed in it

• Straw is purchased and stored so we have it when needed

• Best to order early and secure the crop

• We request ours be cut prior to pollen

MULCHING CROPS

Spread out after fertilizer amendments/prep

SPREAD STRAW OR HAY MULCH 4-6” THICK ON AREA

MATTED ROW

• PLANT BARE ROOT STRAWBERRY PLANTS 12” APART APPROX MAY 1ST-15TH

• SUPPLEMENT EACH HOLE WITH COMPOST/NUTRIENTS IF NEEDED

• IRRIGATE

• PLANTS RUNNER AND FILL OUT THE AREA

• NO WEEDS

Matted Row

AUTUMN-ROTOTILL 2’ PATHS TO NARROW BEDS

COVER WITH WEED-FREE STRAW IN NOVEMBER

SPRING: RAKE STRAW INTO PATHS AS EARLY

AS POSSIBLE-WEED IF ANY

ROW-COVER TO PROTECT BLOSSOMS 1-3 LAYERS

SELL TO ALL THE WAITING CUSTOMERS FOR 4+ WEEKS—ALL VARIETIES

ANNUAL BED SYSTEM

• History

• Through the season of incorporating strawberries

• Soil and Bed Preparation

• Plugs vs Tips

• Planting and Management

• Marketing and Profit

• Soil Management and Crop Rotation

• Summary

HISTORY-CALIFORNIA SYSTEM CONFERENCE—TRY IT!!

ANNUAL BED STRAWBERRY SYSTEM

Mulch either Matted Row or Annual Bed

CHANDLER

VARIETY

A YEAR OF THE FIELD WITH ANNUAL BED SYSTEM

•Winter Rye or Winter Rye/Vetch In the spring

CAN CHOP OFF OR LEAVE ON THE FIELD

• Farmall 400 • Gehl

Flailchopper • Chop Hay

Fields or Winter Rye in Spring

PRIMARY TILLAGE

Chisel Plows

• Fast

• Better for soil

• 2 foot

• Every year

• Different

points

Turn under rye 2 to 3 weeks before planting cash crop seeds

Rye has an allelopathic affect on seeds—prevents seeds from germinating

Soil Tests • Take Annually to track

progress

• Pick a lab and stay with them — A&L Labs has great reference book

• Take sample same time every year

• Be accurate in sampling—Soil probe is a good tool to own

SOIL HEALTH

Soil Tests • Amend as needed or get

custom fertilizers (2 opinions)

• Know how to calculate what is needed

• Know crop needs (Knott’s Handbook)

SOIL HEALTH

• Each Lab is individual • Logan-extra

micronutrients • Extension-Resource

FIELD NOT NEEDED TILL SEPT 1ST

MAKE A DECISION ON THE FIELD: 1. PLANT A CASH CROP

2. PLANT A COVER CROP 3. CAN MAYBE DO BOTH

TRANSPLANTING OR SEEDING-CASH CROPS IN AND OUT QUICKLY

SPRING PLANT

• Lettuce

• Spinach

• Arugula

• Beans

OR…. COVER CROP SEED IN SPRING

BUCKWHEAT

• Summer • Smothers weeds • Bees love it

MAKE HILLS WITH 16” DISKS

FIRST SYSTEM FOR ANNUAL BED

2 PASSES TO MAKE LARGER HILLS

Plugs: 22 cents each + $150 shipping

PURCHASED PLUGS-3500=.13 ACRE

• Mulch as always

• Lay out using marker stick

• 2 rows per hill • 12” between

plants in row • Plant early

Sept

PLANT WITH COMPOST/SOYBEAN MEAL

IRRIGATE AND LET THEM GROW!

ROWCOVER ON WHEN 30’S OFF IN SPRING AT 10% BLOOM

ADD FERTILITY IF NEEDED IN APRIL—OFTEN FOLIAR

ROWCOVER FOR FROST PROTECTION

BEAUTIFUL MULTIPLE CROWNING-OPEN SPACING

HARVEST CLEAN WEED-FREE BERRIES

VERY PRODUCTIVE—HARVEST ABOUT 4 WEEKS

TRIALED OTHER VARIETIES—CHANDLER BEST

FEW DISEASES—TURN UNDER IN JULY

Pests • Clipper • Tarnish Plant

Bug • Slugs

WHAT WE DO NOW!!

RAISED BED SYSTEM

PROS & CONS

TIPS

• Per plant less $

• Greenhouse time

• Preparation time

• Better Quality

• Yields?

PLUGS

• Per plant more $

• Come ready to plant

• Quality issues

• Yields?

TIPS: $15 PER 1000 + $50 SHIPPING

TIP PRODUCTION

Lareault Nursery in Canada www.lareault.com

• Our own tips • Purchased tips

TIP PRODUCTION

Hook in

• Root Shield • Actinovate

Organic Soil Mix:

4 buckets (5gal) compost

4 buckets (5 gal) horticultural grade peat moss

1 ½ buckets of perlite

4# organic fertilizer 5-3-4

*Test soil mix for pH and salts and nutrients

*Test greenhouse water for pH

*Work with professionals if issues

GREENHOUSE

Winstrip Trays

• Winstrips: 72, 50

• Special orders only

• Very durable

• Great air circulation

• Direct Seed or Transplant into

• Contact us to get on the list for future trays if interested

GREENHOUSE

MISTING SYSTEM

Good

Investment

Efficient Inexpensive

HANDMADE POPPER

PREPARE SOILS

• Fertilize as

necessary

• Long term

SOIL HEALTH

BIO-TELO

• Corn based

• Saved weeding

• Reduced straw usage

• Warmed soil

• Breaks down

• Conserves water

• Comes 4’ or 5’

• .6 mil

• OMRI approval CLOSE!

New OMNI paper mulch?

RAISED BED/PLASTIC LAYER

• Basic Brand

• Adjustments

• Drip vs overhead irrigation

• Limited HP needed

NOW MULCHING

JUST BETWEEN PLASTIC!

Teagle Tomahawk

Round Bale

Chopper

KNOW YOUR SOURCE---NO SEED—TEST!

PROBLEMS--NO SEED—TEST!

CUSTOM CHUTE

EDGE

CUSTOM CHUTE

• Fertilizer

• Humates

• Compost Tea

• Biologicals

MYCORRHIZAE • Mycorrhizae.com

• Beneficial Fungi

• Not for Brassicas

WATERWHEEL GREAT FOR DIRECT AMENDMENTS

WATER WHEEL WITH NUTRIENTS IN TANK

Drip Irrigation • Uses less water

• Good for permanent crops like blueberries, raspberries, asparagus

• Long season crops under black plastic

• Requires filter

• Produces garbage and continual expense

• Hard to keep up in an extreme drought

• Great for tunnels

Overhead Irrigation • Uses more water • Gets seeds started • Requires filter

sometimes • More efficient at getting

transplants watered in • More expensive initially • Good for cover crops

IRRIGATION

IRRIGATION

Irrigation • Critical after

planting and all fall

• Again in spring • Berries need lots

of water • PLANTS NEED

THE WATER AROUND ROOTS TO ENABLE EXCHANGE OF NUTRIENTS

ROW COVER FOR WINTER

TYPAR-DEER VOLES-MOLES

ROW COVER FOR FROST PROTECTION 1-3

NETTING FOR BIRDS

TURN UNDER AFTER THE 4 WEEKS OF PRODUCTION—NO WEEDS!

WE USE THAT HIGH ORGANIC MATTER SPOT FOR OUR FALL LETTUCES. STARTING 8/1

ROTATION IS KEY

• Rotate families

• Break insect & disease

cycles

• 3-4 Year minimum

MARKET PREP IS OUR BIGGEST EXPENSE

• To manage it, we use a system to evaluate the workers and our techniques to see how we can

improve profit

• We want to know the total time it takes the employees to harvest, wash, and pack an item

to be sold at the market.

• We use a simple TIMING RECORD SHEET to figure this out…done only a few times each year.

.

$40 PER HOUR RULE +++

• We want each worker to be earning us

a minimum of $40 per hour while working on the harvest days!

• Example: Beans

An average picker can pick, wash & pack 25 pounds per hour.

At $3.50 per pound, the value is $87.50 per hour and falls within our limits for profitability.

Data gathered only 2 or 3 times each year during harvest day to get data on all crops

ITEM START END QUANTITY JOB DESCRIPTION TOTAL TOTAL VALUE

INITIALS VALUE TIME PER HOUR

BASIL-BAG @$7 3:15 3:45 12 bags pick/bag SH & TJ $84 1 $84

BEANS @ $4/# 10:00 11:15 30# pick TJ

10:00 11:15 38# pick PA

11:15 11:30 68# total wash,crate HR $272 2.75 $99

LETTUCE @ $2.50 7:00 8:30 150 Heads Pick, wash,crate-PA $375 1.5 250

BLUEBERRY @ 3.50 9:10 AM 10:40 AM 30 (1/2pts) Picking & to cooler TJ $105 1.5 $70

RASPBERRY @3.50 9:30 11:00 19 (1/2 pts) Picking & to cooler PJ $66.50 1.5 $44

All times for picking, washing,crating, bunching, etc. would be totalled then divided into total value.

Example: Basil @$7=$84 worth readied in 1 hour (2 workers 1/2 hour each), therefore $84/hour

Example: Beans Total of 68# readied in 2.75 hours; Value @$4/pound=$272; 272/2.75=$99

Example: Blueberries @ $3.50 =$105 worth picked in 1 1/2 hours, therefore $70/hour

Example: Raspberries @ $3.50 =$66.50 worth picked in 1 1/2 hours, therefore $66.50/1.5=$44/hour

Example: Lettuce Total was 150 heads readied in 1.5 hours by Paul only=$375; $375/1.5hr=$250 per hour!!

WHAT WE LEARN FROM THIS

• Who are the best workers for the task

• What crop is costing us the most to prepare

THEN:

• What can we change

• Who is chosen for future jobs

• What equipment is needed

HARVEST RECORDS

Seeding Date: 6/8/10

Field: Main

A Emu spinach 400’

(PJ #17)

B-C Bolero carrot 800’

(EW carrot plate)

Field: North

A-B Merlin Beet 800’

C Isar Y Bean 200’

(EW beet plate)

D Jade G Bean 400’

(Jang bean plate)

RECORDS • Very Important • Simple notebook • We would not

know what techniques and crops make us the

most profit if we didn’t keep records of them

$10,000 PER ACRE RULE

1998 Extrapolating out the gross value per acre:

Example: Strawberries

Income = 1789 pints @$3/pint = $5,367

Field Space = 6,900 square feet

Acres planted = 6,900/43,560 = .158 acre

Extrapolation:

$5,367/.158 = $33,968 per acre

*1998 Yield=13,350 pounds/acre

$20,000 PER ACRE RULE

2013 Extrapolating out the gross value per acre:

Example: Strawberries

Income = 2573 pts @$4.50/pint = $11,000

Field Space = 7,000 square feet

Acres planted = 7,000/43,560 = .16 acre

Extrapolation:

$11,000/.16 = $69,000 per acre

*2013 Yield=16,250 pounds/acre

FREEZING SECONDS FOR THE OTHER 48 WEEKS OF THE YEAR!!

THANKS AND HAVE A GREAT 2014 SEASON!

Alaska, Glacier 2011 Hawaii 2006