In 1996, Bernie Szarek and his family started growing greenhouse plants. Each year, they put their earnings toward a new greenhouse. “We’re up to eight greenhouses now,” said Bernie’s wife Denise. “In the beginning, Bernie grew nursery stock, bedding plants and hanging baskets and sold wholesale to ...

On Oct. 25 this year, at Linvilla Orchards near Media in southeastern, PA, workers were busily picking large red, ripe strawberries. A 26 degree frost had killed nearby tomato plants the night before, but the Seascape day-neutral strawberries, protected overnight by a floating row cover supported by...

“How tough can it be to grow Christmas trees?” Eric Watne said. He has learned a lot during the past eight years as co-owner of Clark Farm in Tiverton, RI. He has also become president of the Rhode Island Christmas Tree Growers Association. Taking over a neglected Christmas tree farm was a challenge...

On bright, fall weekends through late November, Crumland Farms will host thousands of guests. Some visitors are youngsters and anxious to select the perfect pumpkin from the farm’s pumpkin patch, while others are prepared to be frightened in one of several haunted features. Crumland Farms was origin...

Tom Childs was looking for an alternative method to heat his greenhouses, and the answer came in the form of a new building, a new tractor and a very large boiler equipped with electronic controls. “I’ve always been interested in energy,” said Childs, of Twin Springs Fruit Farm in Orrtanna, PA. “Mik...

At the 2013 edition of the Penn State Extension Flower Trial Field Day much of the setting was typical for the event, but there were also a few changes. The most notable change was inspired by an alteration to the road by which everyone accesses the extension grounds. The township had straightened t...

Growing strong, the Wojnar family farm has been taking root on an abandoned piece of land in Saunderstown, RI. The farm, once over run with weeds and trees is now plowed, planted and buzzing with activity. Two brothers, Josh and Adam, and their father Mike are the backbone of this family business. T...

Not long after thousands of reenactors and visitors came to Gettysburg, PA for the 150th anniversary of what many consider the turning point of the Civil War, another group of visitors came to the region for an entirely different reason. The International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA) held its annua...

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT Research Assistant Lowbush Blueberry Disease Program School of Biology and Ecology The research program for plant disease on lowbush blueberry is looking for a Research Assistant to conduct and support lowbush blueberry research. Tasks include implementing and documenting results of...

Customer complaints can be a real pain for management and employees to deal with. Does a method exist that effectively handles complaints? Yes it does, according to Ann Lofgren, Senior Trainer for the Zingerman family of companies in Ann Arbor, MI. Her words are given extra weight because Zingerman’...

Every flower harvested by Mike and Polly Hutchinson at Robin Hollow Farm in Rhode Island is the result of many years of dedication with both hands firmly in the dirt. Their well-blooming farm spreads over four acres. Robin Hollow Farm has created a specialty crop of flowers, both cut and potted. The...

GLEN ALLEN, VA — Finding new markets can be one of the biggest challenges for a small nursery looking to expand its business. But for A Thyme To Plant, a wholesale herb and vegetable operation owned by Stan and Nicole Schermerhorn in central Virginia, businesses having been seeking them out in recen...

Dwight Baugher walks through a six and one half acre, 30-year old block of Montmorency cherries and says the fruit growing there isn’t enough to supply what his customers will purchase. Although he admits that’s a good problem to have, Dwight would like to be able to grow enough for all who visit th...

NORTH GARDEN, VA — On May 11, close to 40 people gathered at Vintage Virginia Apples outside of Charlottesville to attend a day-long Organic Orcharding 101 Workshop. The day’s keynote speaker was Michael Phillips, who (together with wife Nancy) operates an herb and apple farm in New Hampshire. Phill...

Teresa Summers grew up on her family’s dairy farm, studied dairy science at Virginia Tech and had plans to return to the family farm. But the dairy herd was sold, and instead of returning to the farm, Teresa ended up working in the food industry. She recalls that in 1993, she read about a Florida fa...