Organic Vegetable Production

STOCKSCH 320

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Instructor: Renee Ciulla           Contact: rciulla@umass.edu

No textbook is required for this course

Course Overview 

By the end of this course, students will understand that successful organic vegetable production relies on more than producing vegetables; it requires managing money, people, and natural resources effectively. The assignments and reading material provide an overview of cultural practices for vegetables, pest, disease and weed control, greenhouse production and construction, irrigation practices, as well as harvesting and marketing techniques. Furthermore, material will cover specifics related to growing numerous common vegetables. Towards the end of the semester, students will consider their own “dream organic vegetable farm” plan and consider the equipment, scale of growing, vegetable varieties, accessing land, marketing, potential pests/diseases, etc.

Course Structure

At the beginning of every week students will be provided with required readings. There will also be Discussion Questions which students will post responses to in the Discussion Forum section of Blackboard. These responses are due by 7pm on the Thursday of that module’s week. To receive full Discussion credit for the week, students are also required to comment on at least on peer’s post by Sunday at 7pm. Additionally, Homework is due every Sunday by 7pm. The Final will be either a hands-on project or an academic research paper determined by the student’s interests in vegetable production and needs to be approved by the instructor.

 Grading

• Discussion Assignments: 40%
• Homework Assignments: 40%
• Final Project: 20%

Outline of Content

Week One

• History of Organic
• Key organic organizations to know about
• Can Organic Feed the World?
• Rodale Institute Vegetable Systems Trial
• Local vs Organic Vegetable Production
• Types of Agriculture
• Organic Certification
  • Overview of certifying vegetable farms
  • NOP
  • Sourcing organic seed

Week Two

• Hardiness Zones and Frost Dates
• Plant Families
• Composting & Nutrient Management
• Plant Nutrient Functions & Deficiency Symptoms
• Crop Rotation, Companion Planting & Intercropping
• Cover Crops

Week Three

• Soil Fertility
• Soil Tests (methods, sampling, interpretation and recommendations)
• Open-pollinated, heirloom and hybrid seeds
• Importance of organic seed
• Guidelines for starting seeds indoors
• Transplant production

Week Four

• Crop Production Budgets
• Weed Control
  • ID
  • Common Weeds
  • Cultivation equipment
  • Mulching and tarping
  • Weed management for organic farmers

• Wildlife & Pest Management

Week Five

• Insect & Disease Control
  • Scouting
  • Managing particular pests
  • Plant pathology overview
• Disease Forecasting

Week Six

• Season Extension
• Tunnel Construction
• Growing in Tunnels and Profitability
• Greenhouse maintenance
• Energy and greenhouses
• Case studies

Week Seven

• Growing Legumes, Brassicas and Cucurbits
  • Recommended soil fertility, varieties, growing/processing/harvesting tips, management options for weeds, pests and diseases

Week Eight

• Growing Lettuce, Corn, Carrot Family and Chard Family
  • Recommended soil fertility, varieties, growing/processing/harvesting tips, management options for weeds, pests and diseases

Week Nine

• Growing Onions, Garlic, Sweet Potatoes Asparagus and the Tomato Family
  • Recommended soil fertility, varieties, growing/processing/harvesting tips, management options for weeds, pests and diseases

Week Ten

• Irrigation Methods, Types, Supplies and Installment
• Drip irrigation basics
• Soaker hoses vs drip tape
• Drip irrigation in hoop houses
• Fertigation
• Energy efficient irrigation

Week Eleven

• Harvest & Post-Harvest
  • Vegetable harvest guide
  • Vegetable harvest efficiency (wash pack stations)
  • Equipment for post-harvest stations
  • Approved organic chemicals
• Storing Vegetables
• Marketing Vegetables
  • Direct marketing and value-added
  • CSA
  • Farmers Markets
  • Wholesale
  • Farm stands and PYO

Week Twelve

• Seed Saving
  • How to save seeds
  • Recommended isolation distances, pollination methods, etc
  • Seed saving equipment
  • Storing seeds
• Organic Plant Breeding
  • Introduction to on-farm organic breeding
  • Hand pollination of squash
• Reviewing Vegetable Farms
  • International
  • Northeast USA
  • Southeast USA
  • Midwest USA
  • Rockies USA
  • Western USA

Week Thirteen

• Working on Final Projects!
  • Students will choose either:

• Hands-on project related to the topics covered in class, accompanied with a write-up documenting steps of project with pictures, as well as short report related to topic (preferably with at least 1-2 academic references). Examples include: building raised bed, vermicomposting, building cold frame, starting microgreens, trial comparing two growing mediums or mulches,  etc
• OR
• Write a research paper on a topic of choice based on material that was covered over the semester. Length of report should be at least 8pgs, Times New Roman font style, size 12, double-spaced. Please include at least 10 references (4 of them academic, peer-reviewed articles) included in a Works Cited at the end of the report and properly cited throughout paper. Citations can be either MLA or APA, but please be consistent throughout.

If you prefer to write a paper, here are some topics to choose from:

1. Outline the major weeds faced by vegetable farmers in a particular region and what steps can be taken to organically manage them (or focus on one or two and go very in-depth).
2. Describe the most common diseases faced by organic vegetable farmers in a particular region and what steps can be taken to manage them following organic principles.
3. Research various pests faced by farmers and what steps can be taken to biologically control them.
4. Choose one of the issues presented to you by a farmer you spoke with or that you know, and research possible solutions (storage, CSA inefficiency, extreme dry or humid conditions, lack of consumer education, etc).
5. Season extension! Which vegetables are best for which regions and what can we do to increase the growing efficiency of providing local vegetables year-round despite cold winter temperatures?

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This class fulfills requirements for all three of the online programs offered by the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture in Sustainable Food and Farming:

• Online 15-Credit Certificate
• Online Associate of Science Degree
• Online Bachelor of Science Degree 

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