Post by canadamike on Oct 18, 2013 23:08:36 GMT -5
In the last 3 years, I have worked with a seaweed based fertilizing company...I have both worked with conventional and organic farmers. And also worked on some quite ''far out ''recipes. We have done a lot of R&D....with the government or else....
One thing is sure, seaweed based fertilization works amazingly. And it turns out that even in conventional, it reduces the impact of fertilizers by over 70%, meaning basically ,even if I much prefer organic, which I am but I need to make a living, it does not impact as negatively the bacterial life. Foliar feeding of liquid fertilizers means very little chemicals in the ground.
A nice way to reduce the impact of modern agriculture. By the way, there is a desire in the organic community here in Quebec to impact conventional agriculture to lessen its imprint on the land...
The picture here is from a 45 acres field of cucumbers. Quebec biggest cucumber producer said it was the most beautiful cucumber field he ever saw in his LIFE. It rurns out it was his friend's field and he was using fermented seaweed based fertilizer and foliar application.
This field was planned for a contract of 500 tons for a cannery. It produced a phenomenal 800 tons. Despite some drought and bad weather that had the other cuke fields in the area ( many guys pooled themselves together to get a big contract)produce poorly.
The same happened with many other crops like beans, the picture posted here is from what was left over in the field, the harvest was so big the farmer ( same guy than the cukes) did not have enough latino workers to pick, he had to hurry them in the raspberries, a high revenu crop. The summer raspberries produced a record crop, and the harvest lasted 8 weeks, as it did elsewhere north in central Quebec, with the largest small fruit producer in the region. He had to let go 30 acres of raspberries because his blueberries were producing record yields ( 20 pounds per plant instead of the more usual 8 in the mature bushes), and finally also let go the blueberries to concentrate his staff of pickers on strawberries.
He estimates he left 40% of the blueberry harvest in the fields. Just imagine the frustration of growing 113 acres of small fruits and letting almost half of it there. He sells to big grocery chains and buys from 4 other growers in the area. Their delivery of blueberries this year, given the weather, is 50% of the normal average, quite like most areas in Quebec. He his considering going himself in South America this winter to hire more people to pick and be present there to solve bugs in paperwork...HEHE!!!
[img src="i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn312/canadamike1/juillet2013etEacutericDupuis054_zpsb42b60c8.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
I cannot get this picture here, God knows why, but look it up...
These beans are what was left in the field because other harvests were calling for picking. We are talking acres here...
This is a 5 year blueberry plant. Around here, it usually gives 4-5 pounds per plant. This one acre field averaged 14 pounds.
One thing is sure, seaweed based fertilization works amazingly. And it turns out that even in conventional, it reduces the impact of fertilizers by over 70%, meaning basically ,even if I much prefer organic, which I am but I need to make a living, it does not impact as negatively the bacterial life. Foliar feeding of liquid fertilizers means very little chemicals in the ground.
A nice way to reduce the impact of modern agriculture. By the way, there is a desire in the organic community here in Quebec to impact conventional agriculture to lessen its imprint on the land...
The picture here is from a 45 acres field of cucumbers. Quebec biggest cucumber producer said it was the most beautiful cucumber field he ever saw in his LIFE. It rurns out it was his friend's field and he was using fermented seaweed based fertilizer and foliar application.
This field was planned for a contract of 500 tons for a cannery. It produced a phenomenal 800 tons. Despite some drought and bad weather that had the other cuke fields in the area ( many guys pooled themselves together to get a big contract)produce poorly.
The same happened with many other crops like beans, the picture posted here is from what was left over in the field, the harvest was so big the farmer ( same guy than the cukes) did not have enough latino workers to pick, he had to hurry them in the raspberries, a high revenu crop. The summer raspberries produced a record crop, and the harvest lasted 8 weeks, as it did elsewhere north in central Quebec, with the largest small fruit producer in the region. He had to let go 30 acres of raspberries because his blueberries were producing record yields ( 20 pounds per plant instead of the more usual 8 in the mature bushes), and finally also let go the blueberries to concentrate his staff of pickers on strawberries.
He estimates he left 40% of the blueberry harvest in the fields. Just imagine the frustration of growing 113 acres of small fruits and letting almost half of it there. He sells to big grocery chains and buys from 4 other growers in the area. Their delivery of blueberries this year, given the weather, is 50% of the normal average, quite like most areas in Quebec. He his considering going himself in South America this winter to hire more people to pick and be present there to solve bugs in paperwork...HEHE!!!
[img src="i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn312/canadamike1/juillet2013etEacutericDupuis054_zpsb42b60c8.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
I cannot get this picture here, God knows why, but look it up...
These beans are what was left in the field because other harvests were calling for picking. We are talking acres here...
This is a 5 year blueberry plant. Around here, it usually gives 4-5 pounds per plant. This one acre field averaged 14 pounds.