2018 Year-End Report

As the 2018 growing season comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your financial support and to provide you with a year-end report so you can see what your donation helped accomplish.

2018 was a very productive year.  Thanks to a mild spring and few late frosts, we had a record fruit crop.  Over 48,000 pounds of peaches, apples and pears were harvested.   We also a beautiful crop of green chile. The pods were large, meaty and hot.  The tomatoes also did better than in 2017.  Between late July and early September, we had a heavy crop of large, blemish free tomatoes.  Unfortunately, in late August when the temperatures were hot and we were receiving our summer monsoon rains, the tomato plants were attached by a fungus (we believe the fungus was Septoria Leaf Spot Fungus). By the end of September, the plants were dead.

We expanded the gardens by 1/2 acre, had a record harvest and we passed the 70,000 pound mark for the first time. Two graphs are provided below. The first graph shows our harvest totals from 2010 – 2015. The second compares our major crops from 2012 -2015. Thanks to a long growing season, a good fruit crop and many generous property owners who donated land and allowed us to glean fruit from their orchards, this year’s harvest was 70,174 pounds…and the season is not over yet. We still have several hundred pounds of broccoli and cauliflower to harvest between now and Thanksgiving.

What went well

1. Long growing season: Our first hard frost did not occur until the 1st week of November.  That is approximately two weeks longer than usual.
2. Increase in volunteer hours:  Besides Seed2Need volunteers (Sandoval County Master Gardeners and the general public), we hosted nine Eagle scout projects – three to plant the gardens, five to glean fruit and one to clean up the gardens at the end of season.  In addition, we received help from several Corporate volunteer groups such as Heads Up Landscaping and CarMax, three large church groups, boy and girl scout troops, and students from Bosque School and Albuquerque Academy.   We sincerely appreciated the help.
3. Squash bug Control: In 2014, we planted squash and cucumbers twice and every seedling was killed by squash bugs before it was 1″ tall.  In years past, we have tried several ways to control squash bugs – companion planting, trap crops, diatomaceous earth, pesticide – but nothing has worked.  This year, instead of trying to control the squash bugs, we focused on preventing them from reaching the plants.  We covered all of the squash and cucumbers with row cover and did not remove it until the plants were full grown.  Of course, squash bugs eventually moved in and killed the plants but not before we harvested over 14,000 pounds of squash and cucumbers.In 2016, we plan to take this one step further.  In July, we will plant squash and cucumbers in a second garden on a different piece of property and cover the plants with row cover.  By the time squash bugs kill the plants in garden #1, the second garden should be ready to harvest.

4. Herbicide damage. In 2014, we spread manure on one garden and the plant growth in that garden showed signs of herbicide damage. We sent plant samples to NMSU and they confirmed our suspicions.  Further research pointed to herbicide damage caused by using manure from animals that ate hay harvested off of a pasture treated with a broad leaf herbicide such as picloram, clopyralid and aminopyralid. Click here for the pdf.

An article published by Clemson University reported that spreading activated charcoal on a contaminated field would deactivate the herbicide so this spring we spread activated charcoal on this garden and it seemed to work.  We had very few plants that showed signs of herbicide damage.  The ones that did were on the outside edges of the garden so it is likely that we simply missed a few spots.

What did not go well / New learning opportunities

1. Tomato Size/Harvest. Despite having a longer growing season and a record overall harvest, the 2015 tomato crop was disappointing.  Our total tomato harvest was approximately 30% less than in 2013 and 2014, the tomatoes were smaller and there were fewer tomatoes on the vines.  At this point, the cause is unknown.  Potential causes and solutions will be researched this winter…a new learning opportunity.

Preparations for 2019

For Seed2Need volunteers, this project has become a year-round endeavor.  We have a young Eagle scout candidate and his team of volunteers coming November 14 to clean up the gardens and put equipment away for the winter.  We  start ordering seed and gardening supplies in January, prune fruit trees in February and start the tomato and chile seed at the end of March.  In April, we till, reinstall the irrigation system, transplant seedlings and lay plastic mulch. In May we plant and the cycle starts all over again.

One of our volunteers, a retired teacher, compared May to going back to school in the fall…it becomes a time to catch up with old friends.  That is what I love about this project.  It sprouts lasting friendships as well as vegetables.

Thanks again for supporting Seed2Need and for helping us provide fresh fruits and vegetables to the families in our community facing food insecurity. We appreciate your support and participation. We will be looking forward to another record breaking garden season in 2019.

Best wishes for a joyful holiday season,

The Board of Directors and the volunteers of Seed2Need