Organic Gardening and Farming

1. Crops in the Garden
and on the Farm
Soils 101
Organic Gardening and Farming
Kristy Borrelli
March 1, 2011

2. Outline
• Important Plant Products
• WA State Crops
• Different types of crops
1) Agronomic
2) Horticultural
3) Agroecological Practices

3. Important Products from Plants

4. Food
• Primary types of plants for food
– Cereal crops (grains)
– Roots/tubers
– Oil crops
– Sugar
– Fruits and vegetables

5. • Textiles
• Wood
• Energy

6. • Drugs
• Turf
• Aesthetics

7. Washington State Crops

8. 2008 WA Ag Market Values
• 32.5% of area in WA = Agriculture
• Total = $5.4 Billion
• Field Crops = $2.8 Billion
• Fruits and Nuts = $2.0 Billion
• Commercial Vegetables = $475 Million
• Specialty Products = $423 Million
• Berry Crops = $153 Million
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Washington/Publicatio
ns/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/annual2009.pdf

9. Top 10 WA Ag Commodities
(cultivated plants)
1) Apples - $1.3 Billion (value of production)
2) Wheat - $1.0 Billion
3) Potatoes - $ 693 Million
4) Hay (all) - $ 588 Million
5) Nursery & Greenhouse - $ 321 Million
6) Cherries (all) - $297 Million
7) Hops - $256 Million
8) Grapes (all) - $297 Million
9) Pears (all) - $171 Million
10) Sweet Corn - $ 141 Million

10. WA Crops Ranked #1
US Production
• Red Raspberries 91.7 %
• Hops 77.3 %
• Spearmint Oil 74.7 %
• Apples 57.3 %
• Sweet Cherries 46.1 %
• Concord Grapes 45.6 %
• Peppermint Oil 40.6 %

11. WA Fun Facts!
• WA potato growers have the highest yields in the
US (produce twice as many lbs acre-1 than ID)
• Whitman Co. produces more wheat than any
other county in the US and is 2nd in barley
production
• WA Apples sold in all 50 states and 50+ countries
• WA is 2nd only to CA in the number of Ag
Products it produces – over 230!

12. What Plants do you Grow?

13. Crops
(Crop: any plant used for human needs)

14. I. Agronomic Crops
• Agronomy – The specialization of agriculture
involved in the production of field-grown
crops (grain, fuel, animal feed, fiber)
• Relatively low input during crop life cycle
• Usually harvested dry or left to dry

15. 1) Cereal Grains
• Any member of the grass family whose seed
is harvested for food or feed
– Used as a source of carbohydrates
– Rice and wheat are the primary staple food
crops grown worldwide
• Ground and/or processed before use
• Usually annual crops

16. • Examples:
Wheat Corn
Rice
Barley

17. 2) Legume Grains
• Grains from the bean family (e.g. Pulses)
– Legume crops harvested for edible dry seeds
– Excludes fresh peas and beans, oil seeds and legume
forages
• High protein and amino acids (20-25% protein by weight)
– A main source of dietary protein
• Often used in crop rotation
• Usually annual crops

18. Examples:
Garbanzo beans
Lentils
Dry Beans (Pinto, Black, Navy) Ground Nuts

19. 3) Oil Crops
• Common families Mustard, Bean, or Aster
• Oil extracted from seeds for human or animal consumption
or for industrial purposes
– Some crops can produce both (eg: canola)
• Oils from plants replace animal fats and oils
• After crushing seeds for oil, seed meal is sometimes used
as animal feed
• Usually annuals

20. Examples:
Peanut, Sunflower, Safflower (food)
Canola and Camelina (biofuels)
Camelina
Sunflower
Canola
Safflower Peanut

21. 4) Fiber Crops
• Come from various plant families
• Stems and leaves used for textiles
• Cotton has fibrous flowers
• Polysaccharide (Cellulose) structural components are
the desired product
• Usually annual
– Cotton is a perennial in tropics but grown as an annual in
the US

22. Examples:
Sisal
Flax
Bamboo
Cotton
Hemp

23. 5) Forages
• Usually from grass and bean families
• Grown for vegetative stems and leaves to feed
livestock
– Singly or mixed varieties
• Fed directly through grazing rangeland or
pastures or harvested as hay or silage
• Usually Perennial

24. a) Forage legumes
Alfalfa Vetch
Alfalfa Hay

25. b) Forage grasses
Orchardgrass
Bromegrass
Timothy

26. 6) Specialty Agronomic Crops
• Various families
• Unique crops (fairly recent)
• Usually develop based on market need/value
• Often perennial

27. • Examples:
Mint
Hops

28. II. Horticultural Crops
• Horticulture – The study of “garden crops” such
as fruit, vegetables, and ornamentals
– AKA: Ornamentals and edibles
• Utilized in the living state
• Water is essential to quality
• Post-harvest care is necessary

29. 1) Fruit Crops
• Edible, fleshy portion of a plant whose
development is associated with the flower
• Often from a woody tree or shrub
• Usually Perennial
– Establishment takes time and management
• Often from the rose family but also heath, grape,
citrus

30. a) Tree Fruit and Nuts
Oranges
Almonds Apples
Cherries

31. b) Small Fruit and Berries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Grapes

32. 2) Vegetable Crops
• Edible portion (i.e. root, stem, leaf, fruit, seed,
etc.) of a herbaceous plant.
• Vegetables are not produced by woody species
• Usually annual crops
• Found in various families

33. Examples:

34. 3) Flowers
• Marketed for bulbs, seeds or cut flowers
• Various families and varieties
• Perennial or annual
• Bedding and Landscaping
• U-pick Flowers a niche market for local growers

35. III. Agroecology
• Agroecology- An ecological approach to
agriculture concerned with the ecological
impact of agricultural practices
• Diversifying cropping systems with multiple
crops
• Greater focus on habitat and natural cycles

36. Main Purposes
1) Substitute biological inputs for outside
resources (e.g. nutrients and pesticides in
organics)
2) Conserve and prevent degradation of natural
resources from farming

37. 1) Crop Rotations
• Alternating cash crops annually
• Conserves soil moisture in dry areas
– May include a period of fallow
• Increases soil fertility (if legume is
incorporated)
• Breaks disease and pest cycles
• Usually a 2 to 3 year rotation

38. Biological Nitrogen Fixation
A method used by legumes to obtain gaseous
nitrogen (N2) from the atmosphere and
convert it to plant useable forms of N (e.g.
NH4 and NO3)
Requires symbiosis with Rhizobium or
Bradyrhizobium bacteria.

39. 2) Cover crops
• Usually grasses or legumes in pure or mixed
stands
• Not the primary crop, rarely used for market
• Planted after harvest or alternating years
• Killed and incorporated = Green Manure
• Grown directly w/ other crops = Living Mulches
• Must be tailored for individual systems

40. Benefits of Cover Crops
• Reduce soil erosion/cover soil
• Improve soil structure
• Enhance soil fertility
– Increase SOM
– Legumes can fix N biologically
• Suppress weeds, insects and pathogens
• Can attract beneficial insects
• Can improve crop yield

41. Living Mulch

42. Green Manure

43. 3) Polycultures, Companion Planting
and Intercropping
• Growing two or more crops simultaneously so
plants can benefit from each other
• Mixture of legumes, cereals and vegetables
• Plant architecture and chemical compounds
• Variable arrangement of plants
• May include animals (integrated systems)

44. Companion Planting

45. Intercropping

46. 4) Agroforestry
• Agroforestry – Integration of trees with food
crops and pastures
– Optimizes ecological and economic interactions
– Can be for timber or products
– http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/agrofor.pdf
– Agroforestry in Minnesota: A Guide to Resources
& Demonstration Sites, UM Extension

47. Questions?