News
Posted on September 2, 2025
Hostas are a staple in shade gardens and nurseries, known for their lush foliage and vibrant variegation. These perennials are loved by landscape professionals and home gardeners alike. But one virus continues to cause concern among growers: Hosta Virus X, aka HVX. This incurable plant virus has bee...
News
Sonja Heyck-Merlin 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Brian Eshenaur, Cornell University’s integrated pest management associate director, is grateful to the research community for providing New York State with a heads up about the spotted lanternfly (SLF) in 2014. Due to the warning and New York’s slow-the-spread strategy, the state successfully delaye...
News
Enrico Villamaino 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Fresh firs, sparkling spruce tips and buckets of birch logs – holiday greenery is a multibillion-dollar business blooming in a brief seasonal window. But behind the glittering garlands and picture-perfect porch pots lurks a hidden threat: pests, pathogens and problematic plants that hitchhike across...
News
Courtney Llewellyn 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Based on the number of poster presentations and sessions covering pawpaw at this year’s American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) conference, it appears the fruit tree is continuing to grow in popularity among both researchers and growers. It was great timing to build enthusiasm – the fifth ...
News
Sally Colby 
Posted on September 2, 2025
The official hurricane season for the Mid-Atlantic runs June 1 through the end of November. Some predictions say this tropical storm season might be bad, so there’s plenty of monitoring going on. The potential for dangerous flooding may increase if heavy rain falls on already soaked ground. Thankful...
News
Kelsi Devolve 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Becky Maden, the vegetable nutrient management specialist at UVM Extension, is passionate about maximizing plant growth and yield through proper nutrient management of the soil. Through Maden’s research, she has found that growers can produce nine times the total yield per square foot in high tunnel...
News
Courtney Llewellyn 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Like Debalina Saha, Ph.D., in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University says, successful Christmas tree production requires a good and effective weed management program. Christmas trees are grown on 350,000 acres across 15,000 farms in the U.S., resulting in $250 million in sales a...
News
Courtney Llewellyn 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Apples “breathe” while they’re growing, respirating through small, pore-like openings on the fruits’ skin, allowing for gas exchange between the apple and the atmosphere. These openings are called lenticels. Just like our skin, apples can have issues with their outsides, often with something called ...
News
Courtney Llewellyn 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Measuring in distance, Michigan and Israel are about 5,900 miles apart. However, when it comes to agricultural innovation, the two regions work together like good neighbors. At the most recent Great Lakes Expo , five different Israel-based businesses provided elevator pitches during “Smart Farming: ...
News
jkarkwren 
Posted on September 2, 2025
Despite being an industry that produces a lot of green, horticulture can be less than earth friendly. Consider the use of non-biodegradable polyethylene (PE) mulch, like that used in berry production. It gets even trickier for those trying to grow organic. Soil-biodegradable plastic mulches are not ...
News
jkarkwren, Laura Rodley 
Posted on August 6, 2025
Considering the quintessential summer meal of corn on the cob and tomatoes? People have been lining up to buy the corn and tomatoes at the landmark PineBrook Farmstand in Northampton, MA. “Corn is late this year,” said owner Sandy Jaescke of the farm that has been proudly serving the community since...
News
jkarkwren 
Posted on August 1, 2025
CAZENOVIA, NY – Poet Maya Angelou shared that “Lavender’s scent is a gentle reminder that beauty often whispers.” There were few whisperers as capacity crowds learned, danced, harvested, sat among the rows, ate and celebrated a bounty of purple at the 2025 Cazenovia Lavender Festival on Monica Cody’...
News
Laura Rodley 
Posted on August 1, 2025
It was a busy summer afternoon at Allard Farm as people stopped by to buy willows, hydrangeas, roses or vegetable plants, annuals and perennials. Located in Brewster, MA, the farm benefits from the high traffic of tourists and locals alike. The farm was started by current owner John Allard’s parents...
News
Enrico Villamaino 
Posted on August 1, 2025
This season might summon visions of summer vacations and sunbathing, but for Christmas tree growers, it signals sweat, strategy and survival. These hot, hectic months are a pivotal period in the production of picture-perfect pines. To deliver full-bodied firs in December, growers must diligently def...
News
Sonja Heyck-Merlin 
Posted on August 1, 2025
Christina Dodge provided some simple yet effective tips for building a motivated and committed workplace team. Dodge is a Maine Small Business Development Center business advisor. “The power of motivation is that motivation drives results and that shows up in increased productivity, better customer ...
Most Read
News
Laura Rodley 
September 2, 2025
Kate Miller Carl was serving customers Roundhill Orchard’s summer bounty of raspberries and blueberries on the last day of Western Massachusetts’ late...
News
Sally Colby 
September 2, 2025
Daren and Holly Koeppe have been growing agronomic crops, and more recently vegetables, near Sisseton, SD, on the farm where Daren grew up. Several ye...
News
Kelsi Devolve 
December 1, 2024
The Northeast Forest Farming Conference in Danby, VT, which took place earlier this year, introduced attendees to a wide variety of topics, including ...
News
Karl H. Kazaks 
December 31, 2024
CLIMAX, NC – This autumn, Faylene Whitaker was celebrated as the 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. In 2025, Whitaker Farms & Garde...