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Finalized NOP Ruling Coming Soon for Paper Pot Transplanters
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FINALIZED NOp RULING COMING SOON ON pApER pOT TRANSpLANTERS
BY JOHN HENDRICKSON
Anyone managing a diversified vegetable or flower farm knows that tools and equipment play an important role in making operations efficient and profitable. In recent years, there have been many developments to make various tasks quicker and easier on the body for vegetable and flower farmers such as: greens harvesters; innovative attachments for wheel hoes; steerable, tractor-drawn finger weeders; an expanding fleet of two-wheel tractor attachments; various innovations in hoophouse design and production, and new versions of the classic rear-engine cultivating tractor. One of the most revolutionary developments in appropriate technology for small and medium scale farms is the paper chain pot transplanter. (Full disclosure: the author of this article sells the paper pot transplanting system after discovering it in Japan and becoming the first farmer to use paper chain pots in North America in 2006.) The paper chain pot transplanting system is a unique, ingenious, and highly efficient means to transplant vegetables, flowers, and herbs. It is unlike any other transplanter used in the U.S. or Europe. It has no motor and is pulled by hand. It allows a single person to transplant hundreds of plants in less than a minute. This is accomplished while standing upright and eliminates countless hours spent kneeling, crawling, or stooping. The system relies on planting into paper pots that are connected in a chain. Because the pots are in a chain, they feed themselves through the transplanter and into a furrow created by the transplanter and then the transplanter closes the furrow.
ELEGANT SMALL FARM INGENUITY FROM JApAN
Nitten (pronounced “knee-Ten”), the Japanese company that invented the system about 40 years ago, was skeptical about whether their Chainpots would take hold in the U.S., having the impression that their little “Pull-Boy” (the original Japanese name for the transplanter) would be out of place on American vegetable farms – which they assumed were all extremely large and only using largescale equipment. They did not know about the burgeoning market-farm and local food trends. Sixteen years later, the paper chain pot transplanter is now widely used on market farms across the nation.
The Chainpot system excels at transplanting closely-spaced crops such onions, leeks, scallions, shallots, salad greens, lettuce, Salanova, spinach, kohlrabi, peas, beans, cilantro, dill, as well as a host of different cut flowers. It can also be used to transplant root crops such as beets, turnips, radishes, and even carrots (although the latter is a bit tricky). The paper chains are currently available in two-inch, fourinch, and six-inch in-row spacing to accommodate the needs of different crops. By seeding into every other cell (or via thinning), farmers can also plant crops that require more space such as broccoli, cabbage, and kale. A new Chainpot is being introduced later in 2022 that has 12-inch spacing – making the skipping of cells unnecessary. Less common uses of the system include crops such as corn and garlic. The paper pots are a consumable input as they go into the ground at planting and eventually decompose.
The small size of paper chain pot cells (1.25 by 1.25 inches) and the short in-row spacings make the system unsuitable for crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, or any other large transplant that needs wider spacing in the field. Nitten does also make non-chain paper pots that are an excellent option instead of using 1020 style trays. These pull apart and can be transplanted by hand or via a tractor-drawn transplanter. Like their chain pot cousins, these can go right into the field to decompose and utilize the same type of nursery tray. The non-chain paper pots are quite similar
A GAME CHANGER
Paper chain pots can have huge impacts on a small farm. It can turn chores such as transplanting onions from a multiday, grueling event into a quick morning task. On the author’s farm, onions, leeks, and scallions (crops that are often on the low end of the profitability spectrum) would have been abandoned because the labor to transplant them was just too demanding in terms of time and on knees and backs. Paper pot transplanting drastically reduced labor costs and turned alliums into a profitable endeavor.
Equally important to reducing labor time and costs, the paper chain pot system can ensure better and more consistent stands of crops that are traditionally direct seeded such as peas, beets, spinach, and cilantro. For example, spinach, which germinates poorly in warm weather, can be reliably transplanted at any time of year using paper pots. Consistent stands result in enhanced efficiency in all ensuing crop management activities from cultivation to irrigation to controlling pests because you are not wasting labor, time, and materials dealing with areas without a crop. Ultimately, solid stands of a crop result in higher yields per row foot and improved profitability. Transplanting vegetables, flowers, and herbs is a significant part of most organic market farms’ weed management strategy. Getting a jump on the weeds helps keep crops from being overwhelmed and makes cultivation easier and more efficient. Transplanting crops such as beets and spinach that might otherwise be direct seeded is another benefit that farmers using the paper chain pot system appreciate.
Over and over, growers report that paper chain pots are a “game changer” in terms of reducing labor time and costs, reducing or eliminating stoop labor, making weed management easier, and making their farms more profitable. One way the latter is achieved is by making it possible to plant and harvest one or two more high-value crops per season in hoop houses because that valuable growing space can be turned over more rapidly.
ADApTING GROWING SYSTEMS TO pApER CHAIN pOTS
There are several changes that adopting the paper chain pot systems requires. One is that the system is designed around the standard tray in Japan, which is approximately 12 by 24 inches. Paper pots do not fit in 1020 trays. Fortunately, the Japanese-style nursery trays are extremely durable and can last the lifetime of a farm. The author was all too grateful to forego the use of flimsy 1020 trays and
A more significant adjustment is transplanting time schedules. Because paper chain pots are small, crops generally need to be transplanted sooner lest root growth underneath the paper pots cause problems at transplanting time. Roots can become tangled with one another and reduce transplanter performance and the paper chain can break. This can cause some growers to worry about shortened windows of time for transplanting.
The reality is that transplanting windows are not reduced, just shifted earlier, because the plants do not require an established root ball as they are not being yanked from a plug tray – they are just riding into the ground. In fact, for some crops, such as peas, beans, and sunflowers, transplanting just as seeds are germinating is the optimal method. So, transplanting windows are essentially equivalent in length, just earlier. This can trigger another alteration in farm’s growing system: shifting seeding dates forward given the shortened days until transplanting.
Another quirk of the system is that the length of the paper chains is based on the size of the nursery tray and the in-row spacing of the chains being used. The two-inch-spaced chains are 46 feet long in the field, the four-inch-spaced chains are 89 feet, and the six-inch-spaced chains are 131 feet. On the author’s farm, bed length was altered from 100 feet to 90 to accommodate two of the two-inch spaced chains or one of the four-inch spaced chains per row.
To achieve the best results using the transplanter, field conditions are important. Loose, fine, level soil that flows well results in the best performance – a reality of any tool pulled or pushed through soil. If there are numerous clods, stones, or plant debris from a previous crop, plants may not be transplanted cleanly and require some follow-up attention. Extremely heavy clay soils and fields with lots of stones can be challenging, but there are many users of the system with such fields and they still enjoy labor savings from the paper pot system.
THE ROAD TO OFFICIAL AppROVAL FROM THE NATIONAL ORGANIC pROGRAM
Are paper pots allowed on certified organic farms? The author brought the first paper chain pot transplanter to be used on American soil back from Japan in 2006. As a certified organic farmer, he knew that he needed approval from his certifier – Midwest Organic Services Agency (MOSA). Staff at MOSA spent quite a bit of time making a determination. Paper is classified as a synthetic material given how it is produced and the myriad of components it may contain or include beyond simple wood (or other plantbased) pulp. In 2006, and continuing to today, the NOP rules do not say anything about the use of paper pots. The only two places in the NOP rules that reference using paper are that it can be used as mulch in the field and as a feedstock (carbon source) in compost. In both cases, paper (as it eventually decomposes) is being incorporated into the soil.
MOSA ended up granting permission to use the paper chain pots on the author’s farm based on their interpretation of the rule given that they and other certifiers had been allowing farmers to use paper or cardboard as a mulch and various types of homemade paper pots. As use of the paper chain pot system spread over time, other certifiers interpreted the rules differently and eventually there became an untenable situation with some farmers being allowed to use them while others were not. To resolve the situation, Small Farms Works petitioned the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to clarify and modify the organic rules regarding paper. Paper, being classified as a synthetic, is a complex, complicated issue. Consequently, it took three years for the NOSB committee to sort through all the issues, gather input from the organic community, draft and re-draft proposed rule language, and eventually vote on a rule regarding the use of paper-based planting aides. Small Farm Works worked throughout the process to promote a rule that met criteria acceptable to the organic community and allow smallscale farmer access to this revolutionary technology.
Such rule language was passed unanimously by the NOSB with requirements that paper pots (and any other paper-based planting aides) contain a specific percentage of bio-based (natural) ingredients and an upper limit on the percentage of synthetic material. The National Organic Program (NOP) is now working to finalize and codify that language. As soon as the rule regarding paper-based planting aides is in place, Nitten will be applying for an OMRI label for their paper pots. In the meantime, paper chain pots are permitted on certified organic farms, as they have been for the past three years while the petition and rulemaking was in process.
CONTINUED INNOVATION
Paper chain pots need to be durable enough to meet the needs of smallscale commercial farms. As a result, the paper pots can be a bit stubborn to decompose (the actual time varies based on many factors, including soil type, climate, moisture, organic matter, tillage practices, etc). Nitten has recently developed a paper pot with hemp fibers to address this issue and new developments are in the R&D pipeline.
At Small Farm Works, the hand-pulled transplanter, paper pot seeding tools, and other components of the system that used to be imported from Japan are now being made by partnering businesses in Wisconsin. Small Farm Works is proud to be helping create jobs in the local community as it works to help small and mid-sized farms become more profitable and enjoyable using innovative and appropriate technologies.
John Hendrickson is an organic farmer, educator, and small farm enthusiast. He owns and operates Small Farm Works, a small, certified organic vegetable farm in Wisconsin.
The paper chain pot system was originally developed in Japan for planting onions. Credit: John Hendrickson
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