The Rural Voice, 1981-02, Page 9Acres of ripe sunflowers hang their heavy heads on the Gascho farm, just west of Zurich.
he ever replaces his original attachment,
he will space the wooden fingers a bit
closer together, two or one -and -a -half
inches apart, rather than leaving the
three-inch gap of the prototype.
Any self-propelled combine can be
used for harvesting, Mr. Gascho
maintains. "Lower the wind pressure,
slow your cylinder down to the slowest
setting you can get, about 400 turns a
minute", is his advice. "When the heads
are dry, it's very easy on the combine.
The heads come out almost intact, and
seedless."
The seeds are cleaned and packaged at
the farm, then sold to his regular
customers, as well as feed mills and pet
stores, in London, Exeter, Grand Bend
and as far away as Detroit. One lady in
the Pinery has ordered 700 pounds to
stock her bird feeders this winter, and a
retired gentlemen in Exeter has placed a
500 -pound order for the lucky birds and
squirrels in Exeter's Riverside Park.
After the harvest the woody stalks are
left in the field, helping to prevent
erosion, and holding the snow to ensure
adequate moisture the following spring.
There is little problem with voluntary
growth; birds and mice clean up most of
the fallen seed, and the odd plant that
pops up the next year is easily removed
by hand. The sunflower ground is disced
when the land is again workable, the
now -brittle stalks releasing back into the
topsoil the rock minerals and nutrients
that were brought up while the sun-
flowers were growing.
Bsides selling birdseed, popping corn
also provides "a little extra income in the
winter." Mr. Gascho sold 2,000 pounds
last year and with three acres in popcorn
at present he hopes to triple that
poundage this year. He can shell 800
pounds in an evening in an antique corn
shelter in the basement. His White Cloud
popcorn is white, hull -less, and, course,
open pollinated so that he can save his
own seed.
He grows a variety of crops on his 100
acres, 85 of which are arable. He never
sows the same crop in the same field for
two consecutive years. "I'm trying to
outsmart the bugs by switching around",
he says with a chuckle.
A founding member of "Natural
Farmers of Ontario," Ken Gascho
advocates working with nature instead of
against it. He has not used herbicides for
15 years. Six years ago he began his own
soil conditioning program by rotating all
crops, seeding grain fields into clover and
plowing under whether or not he has
taken off any hay, using natural fertilizers
like manure and rock phosphates, and
letting the earthworms create natural
nitrogen. He uses his own seed for
grains, beans and grasses.
"I couldn't continue on in the direction
I was going, using more and more
fertilizer, and it worked so good 1 was
sold on it. Finally it became a very
expensive deal. 1 decided it was time to
slow down, retrieve, go back", he
explains.
As an example, he tells of one bad year
for beans, when the yield on both his
farm and a neighbour's was 14 bushels an
acre. The other farmer lost money, as his
harvest didn't even cover the cost of his
seed and fertilizer. Ken Gascho made al
little profit, as he had no expenditures for
either.
"I like to have birds around", he says.
"That's the secret of not using
pesticides. 1 haven't sprayed my cherry
trees for 15, 16 years. The birds eat up
most of the harmful insects, and right
now the warblers and kingbirds are
searching the branches for cocoons."
Mr. Gascho is his own best customer.
He will soon start bringing in about 50
pounds of sunflower seeds a week, mix
them with corn and grain, and begin
feeding the cardinals, chickadees, blue -
jays, evening grosbeaks, chipping and
tree sparrows, and any other birds who
w ish to dine at one of the many feeders on
the Gascho farm.
Ever since moving to his farm 31 years
ago, he has been planting trees, enticing
the birds to work in partnership with him
in insect control. Fruit trees surround the
house, evergreens act as windbreaks and
field dividers, willows wave beside the
ditch, and the woodlot also provides fuel
for heating and cooking. He has created a
little park not far from the house, and
throughout the summer hosts Sunday
school picnics, young people's groups
and adult fellowships, or just stops for a
few minutes to admire the pond with its
little island and bluegill bass, the ball
diamond, the volleyball court, 'Ilse
horseshoe pit, the marten house, and the
beckoning benches under the trees.
Ken Gascho could be excused for
sitting down for awhile,to contemplate his
handiwork and watch the sunflowers
grow.
THE RURAL VOICE/FEBRUARY 1981 PG. 7