Permaculture in the Growing Mosaic Garden Obtaining Multiple Yields with Perennial Polycultures and Student Leadership Dilmun Hill Student Farm, Cornell University

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Permaculture in the Growing Mosaic Garden Obtaining multiple yields with perennial polycultures and student leadership Dilmun Hill Student Farm, Cornell University

2010 Report to the Towards Sustainability Foundation January 11, 2011

Michael Hoffmann Professor, Department of Entomology Director, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (CUAES) 241 Roberts Hall, Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255- 2552, [email protected]

Kenneth Mudge Associate Professor Department of Horticulture 13 Plant Science Building, Cornell University Ithaca, NY, 14853 (607) 255-1794, [email protected]

Dave Jacke Designer, Author and Teacher Dynamics Ecological Design 308 Main St. Suite 2C Greenfield, MA 01301 (603) 831-1298, [email protected]

Jeffrey Gardner Research Support Specialist Department of Entomology, Cornell University (607) 255- 3032, [email protected]

Rachel Brinkman Research Support Specialist Department of Horticulture, Cornell University (607) 342-2876, [email protected]

Melissa Madden Organic Farm Coordinator Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (CUAES) (607) 351-3313, [email protected]

Elizabeth Burrichter Plant Science, '12, Cornell University [email protected]

Hanna Broback Undecided, ’13, Cornell University [email protected]

Michele Fonzi Landscape Architecture, '11, Cornell University [email protected]

Introduction In 2008, the Growing Mosaics Garden (GMG) grew out of student interest in permaculture at Dilmun Hill Student Farm. Over the past three years and through the combination of an independent study project, successive student managers and the ideas of the farm Steering Committee, this new garden has evolved in complexity and scope. In 2010, Towards Sustainability Foundation funding provided for two student managers full-time in summer and part-time in spring and fall. Managers increased detailed design and record keeping over previous efforts, selected additional site appropriate plants and established the new Achillea Beneficial Insect study. By adding the Achillea study, 2010 student managers dealt with the challenging and practical issues of controlling research variables, securing technical support, caring for plants and developing effective data collection to ensure project continuity. In the spring new student managers set goals for the summer and fall. From March through May, managers reconsidered past designs and created a detailed layout including specific polycultures based on a species list that takes into account site limitations and plant function. Site design continues to focus on Dilmun students’ expressed goals by creating a diverse, beautiful, and welcoming garden where visitors can pick flowers and observe wildlife--specifically pollinators and beneficial insects. Please see the 2010 GMG planting plan in Appendix 1. Plant species selection also aimed at creating a cut flower garden and managers followed through with selling bouquets for events and on campus farm stands, and is detailed in Appendix 2, 2010 GMG plant polycultures. Long term goals for the project revolve around financial sustainability and continuity. Due to ongoing concerns about legacy heavy metals contamination onsite, the managers will continue to test food crops for metals in plant tissue so that hopefully one day the Growing Mosaics Garden will be an actual edible forest garden. Currently, managers continue to work with existing contamination by developing sales of ornamental crops. Another long term goal is a higher level of record keeping solidifying continuity. Long term data from this project is equally as important as the results from a single season, so evolving more detailed record keeping and increasing staff and faculty participation will help overcome the inevitable student manager turnover that is central to Dilmun Hill.

Project Outcomes of 2010 TSF Proposal Objectives General Objectives 1) Hire student managers to develop and manage Dilmun Hill projects and conduct effective outreach. Following are testimonials from the three successive student mangers for 2010. Each manager highlights the impact of her employment in the GMG on her short and long-term plans. Dilmun Hill exists primarily to support student learning and development through an experiential model, tying project outcomes to manager interpretation, experience and growth.

 Hanna Broback, Undecided ’13 Soon after mentioning my interest in permaculture and the Growing Mosaics Garden Project to the previous manager, Wren Albertson-Rogers, I began attending [Dilmun Hill manager] meetings in December of 2009. In the spring the other managers and I collaboratively researched plants and worked on combining them in polycultures; we recreated the raised beds and made new paths to get ready for planting. I learned so much from the other managers and from the farm. Communication was most central to the success of the management team and of the farm. By holding several different weekly meetings, and checking in with co-managers each day, I grew in my own ability to articulate problems and needs; to explain what was going on in my own and other projects; as well as to collaborate and resolve issues cooperatively. Out of this cooperation and communication came a meaningful community, which ensured the success of the student farm, and became the most important part of the Dilmun Hill experience for myself. 2

 Michele Fonzi, Landscape Architecture ’11 I started working on this project in the Spring of 2010 and right off the bat was working with the other managers to further develop the site. We spent most of our time researching plants and placing them in usable polycultures. Over the summer we worked hard to get as many plants in the ground as we could afford. We had very high success rates with these plants as most thrived in the nutrient rich conditions. The Fall came quickly and with it a long list of outreach opportunities for the GMG. I personally gave 15 tours and spoke in three classes. I love my job as a Dilmun Manager and I have met so many fascinating people through this opportunity. As a Landscape Architecture student I plan to continue to work with permaculture design upon my graduation in May 2011.

 Elizabeth Burrichter, Plant Sciences ’12 I first worked in the MacDaniel’s Nut Grove in the woodlot behind Dilmun Hill because of my interests in permaculture, which made for an easy transition to the Growing Mosaics Garden at Dilmun Hill. I immediately felt welcomed by the community that surrounds the farm and have found that doing research at Dilmun very well compliments my curriculum in CALS as a Plant Science major. I’ve been inspired by the interest people show in the garden and I hope to use what I learn in the GMG to one day manage my own land.

2) Strengthen Dilmun Hill as a demonstration site for sustainable agriculture and alternative farming and gardening systems, focusing on the use of multiple species with multiple functions to maximize yield in diverse systems. The updated design of the garden added diversity and allowed the managers to further experiment with creating functional polycultures (please see Appendix 2. 2010 GMG plant polycultures). The GMG as a whole focuses on cultivating perennials, using the diverse array of plants to create habitat for beneficial insects. Together, the GMG’s permaculture garden and the Achillea Beneficial Insect research provide a living classroom for permaculture, demonstrating some of the discipline’s conceptual system design tools and demonstrates permaculture as an alternative land use system. Student managers worked with Cornell staff and faculty to construct a curriculum for classes to utilize this unique, diverse and informative space.

3) Continue to provide diverse opportunities for community networking. The Growing Mosaics Garden and Achillea Beneficial Insect study serve as a forum for experiential learning. The following events took place in or surrounding the Growing Mosaics Garden:  May, 2010: Author and teacher Dave Jacke came to Cornell to host a permaculture workshop. Attendees were community members and Cornell graduate and undergraduate students wanting to learn about advanced permaculture design. Both teacher and participants evaluated the GMG and used the garden as the basis for the workshop.  August-October, 2010: Three courses each spent a lab period in the Growing Mosaics Garden. They toured the garden, and were able to learn about permaculture in context and also learn about agricultural research design in the Achillea Beneficial Insect plot. o HORT 1101, Introduction to Horticultural Science o HORT 2220 Practicing Sustainable Land Care o HORT/CSS/NRES Practicum in Forest Farming as an Agroforestry System  September, 2010: Dilmun Hill had a whole farm field day in September to welcome new visitors and show off the farm. GMG managers provided an activity in the Achillea plot to instruct visitors in a variety of insect collection methods.

 Weekly: Student managers facilitated the traditional Dilmun Hill work parties throughout the season to weed, edge, harvest, and plant bulbs.

Ongoing Objectives Alley Cropping, Coppice Management and Species Selection 1) Provide data to help consumers differentiate between nurseryry production systems and tree species for coppice management systems to produce substrate logs for forest mushroom production. In 2008, two independent alley cropping experiments were initiated on the current GMG site- one to compare ground cover management using bush hazelnuts, and the other to compare nursery production methods using maple trees. Hybrid hazelnuts as the woody component in an agroforestry system could produce a valuable oil crop. Although maple trees are valuable species for landscaping, and maple sugar production in the case of sugar maple, in this experiment the orriginal intention was to evaluate a maple coppice agroforestry system for production of substrate logs for forest mushroom production (shiitake). Because an important facet of these alley cropping experiments is to evaluaate polycultures with a range of various herbaceous perennials, tree rows were planted 20’ apart to facilitate intercrropping between each row.

The hazelnut experiment was designed to evaluate organic weed suppression strategies (mulch vs. cover crop/sod) on the one hand and winter control vole damagge (+/- plastic collars approximately 1” tall) on the other. These were applied in a 2x2 arrangement of these two treatment variables with 20 replicate seedlings per treatment. From the 2010 (third year) data shownn in Figure 1, it is apparent that seedling survival was nearly 95% for mulched seedlings with or without vole guards, compared to about 70% for cover cropped seedlings with vole guards, and only 50% for cover cropped seedlings without vole guards. Among the surviving seedlings, neither weed suppression method or vole collars had a significant eeffect on plant height or diameter (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Survival of hazelnut seedling grown under two weed management systems and either with or without vole protection collars.

Figure 2. Effect of weed management strategy and with or without vole protection collars hazelnut seedling height and basal diameter.

The maple experiment was designed to compare two nursery produuction methods and two different maple species (Sugar maple, Acer saccharum; and Red maple, Acer rubrum). The 2 nursery production methods included a proprietary process called Root Production Method (RPM), compared to conventionally field grown (bare root) seedlings, with each species coming from the same seed source. For each experiment the treatments were applied as a 2x2 complete factorial, with 20 replicate seedlings for each treatment. Red maples grew significantly more than sugar maples (Figs. 2 and 4), which is not surprising since the former is known to grow faster than sugar maple and especially on the poorly drained soil at this site. Red maples are tolerant of a wider range of soil conditions, including poor drainage. Seedlings of either maple species grown by the RPM method grew (as measured by height and diameter) significantly more than conventionally field grown seedlings (Figs. 3 and 4). These findings are in agreement with the results of the few other studies that have been reported comparing RPM with non RPM trees. Baseed on only 3 years of data this study supports the claims made by the company RPM Ecosystems and suggest that the RPM production method could be a valuable for site reclamation and other re-forestation projects. A critical question that remains to be answered is the long term (5-10+ year) performance of RPM trees comparred to conventionally grown trees, especially considering that RPM trees cost 3-5 times more than conventionally grown seedlings.

Figure 3. Effect of nursery production method (RMP vs. Non RPM) and maple species (Ar = red maple; As = sugar maple) on height of alley cropped seedlings after 3 growinng seasons.

Figure 4. Effect of nursery production method (RMP vs. Non RPM) and maple species (Ar = red maple; As = sugar maple) on diameter of alley cropped seedlings after 3 growing seasons.

2) Maintain alley cropping as a complement to the existing forest farming (MacDaniels Nut Grove) and vegetable crop farming systems at Dilmun Hill for agroforestry research, education and outreach. Over the past two years, two student-led projects designed and impplemented vegetable and fruit research projects in between the tree rows established in Blocks 3 and 4 with TSF funding in 2008. The Growing Mosaics Garden is one, and the other is the Soil Best MManagement Project (BMP). In 2010, the student managers for the BMP project established 3 100’ raised beds in Block 3 to investigate production options for heavy metal contaminated soil. The GMG permaculture garden utilizes the reminder of Block 3, and by adding the Achillea study to Block 4, students now manage 2 of the 3 blocks containing tree rows, which were undere -utilized prior to 2008. Outreach opportunities grow in tandem with the increased use of the space, including expanded teaching by managers in Cornell classes and public events. Please see Appendix 3 for a map of the site.

Polyculture evolution in the Growing Mosaic Garden 1) Explore the functionality and profitability of edible, medicinal and ornamental polycultures. In 2010, student managers experimented with several polycultures to determine mutual benefit. Managers also moved plants around in the garden to encourage diversity within each of the flower beds. Students used a polyculture spreadsheet (see Appendix 1) to evaluate all the plants in the garden, including harvestable parts, seasonality and their ecosystem functions. Testing for heaving metal contamination continued to ensure edibility of the garden’s harvest. Levels of both lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) were below levels of concern as reported in the 2009 and 2010 reports for the BMP project. Growing Mosaic Garden Strawberries 0.05 0.045 0.04 0.035 0.03 0.025 Pb mg/kg 0.02 As 0.015 0.01 0.005 0 Strawberries

2) Stimulate collective input and research to provide the community with a beautiful educational sanctuary. The polyculture worksheet (Appendix 1) did and will continue to act as a way to compile information about the benefits of the GMG. The managers established the Achillea plot in early summer and experimented with several collection methods throughout the season. Through presentations and tours to visiting classes and work parties, dozens of students and community members were able to learn about permaculture in the GMG and help maintain both Blocks 3 and 4. Use of the site as a site for experiential learning is invaluable.

New Objectives Achillea Beneficial Insect study in the Growing Mosaic Garden 1) Compare the ability of various yarrow species to harbor beneficial insects. In the 2010 season, the yarrow (Achillea spp.) plants were established (see Appendix 4) and some preliminary data was collected by using the sweep net and beat-board methods to gather insects. Managers had difficulty identifying the parasitoids they collected. This past season, student managers trialed different insect collection methods and refine them for next season. 2011 managers will receive a New Manager Guide with detailed collection information and will be assisted by faculty in the Department of Entomology (Richard Hoebeke) and IPM Specialist Abby Seaman. More accurate data will inform better conclusions about the insects that the managers collect from the yarrow plants, with the help of a new faculty and staff advisors.

2) Summarize data to inform practitioners of the roles yarrow can play in Northeastern perennial polyculture systems by identifying and documenting the relative attractiveness of different cultivars to beneficial insects. 2010 was an establishment year for the Achillea study. The plants were very small for most of the season, not reaching their full size until the end of the summer. A combination of inadequate collection methods and a lack of required expertise prevented the managers from making conclusions based on the data collected. They had difficulty identifying parasitoids and timing data collection. While not ideal to a research setting, these experiences are part of the learning process at Dilmun. 2010 managers refined the 2011 TSF proposal to provide more support for identification and collection.

Budget Summary Category Description Total Salary 2 PT student positions-Spring 1130 1 PT student positions- Fall 700 2 PT student positions- Summer 5600 Materials Plant material 907.26 Trellis lumber, fasteners 490 Outreach Dave Jacke consultation 26 Co-host Dave Jacke public event 147 Other events 90 Total Direct Costs 9090.26 Indirect Costs 909.026 Total Costs 9999.29

Next Steps for the Growing Mosaics Garden

Goals Means

Improved continuity Make record keeping part of the managers' job description

Improved profitability Continue to test crops for edibility, expand ornamental sales

Continue to explore polycultures Expand the GMG

Better define the benefits of on-farm diversity Add kale to Achillea study

Resources Literature Byczynski, Lynn. The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers

Colley, M.R. and Luna, J. M. 2000. Relative Attractiveness of Potential Beneficial Insectary Plants to Aphidophagous Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae). Environ. Entomol. 29(5): 1054-1059.

Cowgill, S. E., S. D. Wratten, and N. W. Southerton. 1993b. The selective use of floral resources by the hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus (Diptera: Syrphidae) on farmland. Ann. Appl. Biol. 122:223-231.

Flint, Mary Louise. Pests of the Garden and Small Farm: A Grower's Guide to Using Less Pesticide. Second edition.

Jacke, Dave, and Eric Toensmeier. Edible Forest Gardens. Vol. 1 & 2. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2008.

Landis D.A., Wratten S.D., Gurr G.M. (2000) Habitat management to conserve natural enemies of arthropod pests in agriculture. Annual Review of entomology, 45, 175-202.

Patt, J. M., G. C. Hamilton, and J. H. Lashomb. 1997. Foraging success of parasitoid wasps on flowers: interplay of insect morphology, floral architecture and searching behavior. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 83: 21-30.

Pontin, D. R., Wade, M. R., Kehril, P. and Wratten, S. D. 2005. Attractiveness of single and multiple species flower patches to beneficial insects in agroecosystems. Annals of Applied Biology.

Vaughan, Mace, Shepherd, Matthew, Kremen, Claire, and Black, Scott Hoffman. Farming for Bees: Guidelines for Providing Native Bee Habitat on Farms. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland Oregon. July 2007.

Wackers, F. L. "Assessing the Suitability of Flowering Herbs as Parasitoid Food Sources: Flower Attractiveness and Nectar Accessibility." Biological Control 29 (2004): 307-14.

People Graceful Gardens: Amanda and Mark Shenstone. www.gracefulgardens.com

The Plantsmen Nursery http://www.plantsmen.com/index.php?page=home&sid=epko5e7b2pc8r2thhtv26es871

Cayuga Landscaping: www.cayugalandscapes.com

Websites Plants for a Future Database: http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/find_use?AREA=N.+America(NE)&CAN=rng

Workshops/events Pollinator Short Course. Natural Resources Conservation Service. Big Flats Plant Materials Center. Big Flats, NY. 23 September 2010.

2010 Northeast Regional Meeting. Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Cornell University and Ithaca-area farms. Ithaca, New York. 19-20 July 2010

Appendix 1. 2010 GMG planting plan.

Appendix 2. 2010 GMG plant polycultures.

Symbol # Botanical Name Common Name Family Beauty Income Native P/A Composition/Habit Season

16 Echenacia purpurea coneflower Asteraceae late summer, fall cut flower, tea yes p clumping, herb

16 Rudbeckia hirta Blackeyed susan Asteraceae late summer, fall cut flower yes P spreads 32 Delphinium spp. Larkspur Ranunculaceae Late spring-late cut flower ? P for 2-3 yr. summer

8 Lobelia Indian Tobacco Campanulaceae summer Cut flower yes P

8 Lupinus polyphyllus Lupine Fabaceae may and june cut flower no P HyAr 3 Hydrangea Hydrangea Hydrangeaceae May to July cut flowers yes P arborescens 8 Thymus serpyllum mother of thyme Lamiaceae early summer herb no P LaSt 8 Lavandula stoechas Lavender Lamiaceae late spring-late cut flower, no P clumping, herb summer herb, tea 16 Monarda didyma Bergamot, Beebalm cut flower yes P clumping, spreads

24 Scabiosa columbaria Pincushion flower Dipsacaceae Late summer/ cut flower yes p upright mounding early Fall SiMa 16 Sidalcea malviflora Checkerbloom summer cut flower yes p upright, mounding

4 Veronicastrum culvers root Scrophulariaceae early-mid cut flower yes P virginicum summer, one month 4 Achillea millefolium Appleblossom Yarrow Asteraceae spring, summer, cut flower yes P fall 10 Origanum vulgare oregano Lamiaceae mid- late herb, cut naturalize P summer, fall flower d Trifolium pratense red clover Fabaceae cut flower Trifolium repens white clover Fabaceae AnTi 16 Anthemis tinctoria yellow chamomile Asteraceae cut flower, no P or A dye, potpourri, tea

Appendix 2, cont’d. 2010 GMG plant polycultures.

Symbol # Botanical Common Height/Width Root Fertility Habitat Season/Position Notes Name Name of Yield

16 Echenacia coneflower 3-4' tall, 1-2'wide taproot meadow, zone late summer, fall, purpurea 3-8, invertebrate flower,root, leaf shelter 16 Rudbeckia hirta Blackeyed susan 12-15" zone 3-5 32 Delphinium spp. Larkspur 1-2' requires Butterflies/bees Finicky (Craig Cramer); toxic as additional polliate, food edibles; staking for tall hybrids. Need fertility plants for compost added during season for best Eurpoean performance. Lepidoptera

8 Lobelia Indian Tobacco 1-2' fibrous does well in attracts mid-late summer native soil pollinators 8 Lupinus polyphyllus Lupine 36-60' zones 4-8 Requires additional care after cutting HyAr 3 Hydrangea Hydrangea 3-5' arborescens 8 Thymus serpyllum mother of thyme 18" LaSt 8 Lavandula Lavender 18-36' large requires zones 5-9 can be dried, late antisocial stoechas spreading pruning spring, or late summer 16 Monarda didyma Bergamot, 24-48' spreads requires zones 4-9 Beebalm pruning 24 Scabiosa Pincushion flower 24"-36" fibrous columbaria SiMa 16 Sidalcea malviflora Checkerbloom 23-29" fibrous does well in attracts summer native soil pollinators 4 Veronicastrum culvers root 12-18" virginicum

4 Achillea millefolium Appleblossom 1-2 feet Yarrow 10 Origanum vulgare oregano 12"

Trifolium pratense red clover 12" nitrogen Trifolium repens white clover nitrogen AnTi 16 Anthemis tinctoria yellow chamomile 18" Dynamic accumulator

Appendix 2, cont’d. 2010 GMG plant polycultures.

Symbol # Botanical Common Name Family Beauty Income Native P/A Composition/Habit Name Season

8 Pycnanthemum Mountain Mint' Lamiaceae summer, early cut flower, yes P pilosum fall herb, tea BaAu 4 Baptisia australis Blue wild Indigo Fabaceae early summer cut flower, dye yes P

2 Gypsophila elegans Baby's breath Caryophyllaceae late winter- cut flower no P early fall 8 Campanula Carpathian Campanulaceae all summer minimal cut no P mounding carpatica bellflower flower Apios Americana Groundnut Fabaceae cut flower, yes P edible tuber 4 Cornus racemosa Grey Dogwood Cornaceae all year cut yes P flower/branches

4 Arctostaphylos Massachusetts Ericaceae all year yes P ground cover 'Massachusetts' Kinnikinick Bearberry 8 Hibiscus Rose mallow Malvaceae cut flower yes P moschueutos 8 Centaurea montana Bachelor's Button Asteraceae mid-late cut flower P summer Veronica spicata Veronica Scrophulariaceae June-August cut flower, no P herbaceous "sightseeing" medicinal and tea Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos Asteraceae summer-fall cut flower no A herbaceo us

Appendix 2, cont’d. 2010 GMG plant polycultures.

Symbol # Botanical Common Height/Width Root Fertility Habitat Season/Position Notes Name Name of Yield

8 Pycnanthemum Mountain Mint' 18-24" pilosum BaAu 4 Baptisia australis Blue wild Indigo 2' nitrogen

2 Gypsophila Baby's breath 12-18" taproot elegans 8 Campanula Carpathian 8-12" carpatica bellflower Apios Americana Groundnut

4 Cornus Grey Dogwood all year: branches, racemosa berries

4 Arctostaphylos Massachusetts 'Massachusetts' Kinnikinick Bearberry 8 Hibiscus Rose mallow moschueutos 8 Centaurea Bachelor's montana Button Veronica spicata Veronica 2.5' tall/1' attracts bees, June-August, flowers "sightseeing" spacing butterflies, birds

Cosmos Cosmos 1-2'/2-3' taproot summer-fall Growing cosmos is as close as any of bipinnatus us will ever come to actually causing a cosmic event self-seeding

Appendix 3. Blocks 2, 3 and 4 at Dilmun Hill – on page 15.

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( Tower Rd. Tower n u m l i Kenneth W. Mudge Kenneth W. Melissa Madden Location Map Location D Options for Agroforestry Developing and Research: Agriculture Alley Cropping

Appendix 4. Achillea Beneficial Insect trial layout.