The weeds got ahead of the lentils but the crop still turned out well, especially considering it was Roy Lawrence’s first attempt.
Lawrence, who raises cattle and grows forages, wheat and barley near Creston, B.C., added lentils this year to his small farm near the U.S.-Canadian border in southern British Columbia.
“We can grow anything,” he said.
Lawrence credited his region’s mild climate, good soil and long frost-free growing season for the ability to grow a variety of fruit, vegetable and cereal crops.
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He harvested about 1,000 pounds of lentils from his one-acre trial this year to use as seed on his farm. The rest of the crop will be sold within a local community supported agriculture project.
Lawrence found weed management a challenge because he avoids chemicals and inputs. As a result, the wild oats grew taller than the short lentils.
To solve this problem, next year he plans to cut the tall oats with his swather by setting the cutter just above the lentil crop.
He will also seed lentils into a clean field free of visible weeds.
This season, he planted in early May and swathed in mid-August.
Don Low of B.C. Agriculture said the Creston valley typically produces forages, grains and oilseeds.
Experiments with lentils failed in the 1980s because of fungal diseases from heavy morning dew common to the region.
He guessed that higher, drier land in the valley might be better suited to lentils.
For those introducing the crop, he suggests using good weed control and choosing varieties suited to damp conditions.
“Try it on a small scale to see if it works and take it from there,” he said.
Low believes tapping into local markets would offer advantages to area farmers growing lentils.
