The Rural Voice, 1979-09, Page 33Herb Gottschall
BY LISE GUNBY
There is a great sense of satisfaction -
that "all's well with the world" kind of
feeling - driving south and east of Seaforth,
passing fields of burnt -yellow wheat and
sleek emerald corn, barley fields gray with
tassels and the village of Staffa, comfort-
able under summer sun.
And turning south and east again,
there's something new, a farm with
different fields, different crops, and a
different farmer.
Herb Gottschall became a farmer two
years ago when he was 58. Originally from
New Jersey, he first encountered the rural
life when he was transferred to Stratford as
the manager of Novatronics, an industrial
electronics plant, and rented a farmhouse
near Mitchell.
Then. in 1977, he purchased 75 acres of
land in Hibbert Township in Perth County.
His former job and his new life are
totally unrelated, he said, "but I'd rather
be outside than inside."
He's no hobby farmer. He made his
decision to grow vegetables only after
talking with experts from Ridgetown
College and Guelph University, experts
from the agriculture offices, and experts
who are farmers.
They were all very helpful then, he said,
and if it hadn't been for the help of
neighbours and friends since, he wouldn't
have had a chance.
"I know very little at this point," said
Mr. Gottschall, "I can't see how I survived
last year, because I knew even less."
This is his second season. Last year, he
had 7 acres of cauliflower, 11/2 of broccoli, 5
of asparagus, 1 of squash, 33 of white
Farmer's gamble
paying off
In the June issue of Rural Voice our feature
on the future of farming stressed that highly
specialized crops will be more prevalent in this
area. Herb Gottschall, near Kirkton, has begun
his ow4 "experiment" with vegetable crops.
beans and 2 of corn.
The squash failed. Although pepper
squash will mature on time, he said, there
is too much already on the market. And
butternut is borderline, and without
enough time to fully mature, doesn't have
the best of flavour.
This year, he's planted 25 acres of white
beans, 25 of sweet corn, 12 of asparagus, 6
of cauliflower, 2 of broccoli, and 2 of
cabbage.
He's had problems, but problems that he
has plans to overcome. The biggest, and
one he shares with many others, is the
weather.
"I should have irrigation for these
crops," said Mr. Gottschall, "without it,
you're really at the mercy of getting rain at
the exact time you want it for vegetables,
because you're not digging deep enough."
Although it's good soil, the problem is
that the clay tends to crust. In a 20 year old
gravel pit adjacent to his house, he said he
is going to try digging for water. If he finds
enough, it will be a simple matter of a "big
pump and a pipe" to soften up the tough
crust of clay.
GREENHOUSE
He is also going to build a little
greenhouse, where he will start seeds, and
later transfer them to the field. There are
three advantages to this plan, he said.
Crusting of the soil will not prevent the
seedling from breaking through. He can
schedule his crop a week earlier or later,
giving him some flexibility, and the results
of dry periods can be minimized.
When he seeded cabbages directly into
the field this year, June 8, there was a
THE
heavy rain, which washed away some of
the seeds, and then a light rain only. The
plants, which normally emerge in 5 to 10
days "just sat there until they got some
moisture.'
During that time, he said, "the weeds,
of course, paid no attention to the fact that
conditions weren't right for the plants."
And weed control is difficult with veg-
etables.
With grain corn, for example, you can
use 24-D herbicide on bindweed, but with
sweet corn, the only way to clean out the
weeds is with a backpack and a spot
sprayer.
"If I can't beat this with transplants, the
vegetables are no good in this soil," he
said.
June 10 he planted the beans, and May
16 the sweet corn. Because they are
planted deep they are doing fine, said Mr.
Gottschall. The other crops, planted only a
quarter to half-inch below sthe surface, are
susceptible to dry weather despite the soil
capable of holding water.
"With normal crops, it's a tremendous
advantage to have soil that will hold
water", he said. The asparagus is also
planted deep. He's not sure how high the
yield will be in this soil as opposed to
more sandy earth in southern areas.
He's trying filberts, which grow on a
bushy tree, walnuts, and pecans this year.
The pecans died off, leaving "one little
survivor", but the walnuts, he said look
excellent.
"We'll see what happens ... 1 think
there's a chance for them,"
Mr. Gottschall has also planted a few
RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1979 PG. 31