As Jason Townsend notes on his farm’s website, humans have been actively involved in agriculture for over 10,000 years. During that span, some things have changed and some things have stayed the same. One thing that needs to remain a constant is excellent soil health, and in that regard, he and his ...

Ben and Stacey Waterman own and operate Waterman Orchards in Johnson, VT. The U-pick and wholesale fruit operation includes four acres of highbush blueberries, a four-acre apple orchard and an acre of strawberries. Though not certified organic, the farm is managed organically. In the last of the Spr...

Domestic labor, foreign labor and the horticultural industry Anxiety is the feeling of fear or apprehension about what’s to come. Its symptoms often arise when it seems like things are out of your control – during a global pandemic, for example, or in the long recovery from it. According to the Purd...

The state of the horticultural industry explained during Cultivate‘21 “After fighting together to remain essential, we proved we are,” stated Ken Fisher, president and CEO of AmericanHort at this year’s State of the Industry presentation. A full auditorium of those in horticulture showed their agree...

August means back to school time for much of America. And back to school – especially post-pandemic – means teachers and students will also be heading back out on field trips too. Fortunately, those who have experience are willing to share their wisdom, like Debbie Sebolt of Nickajack Farms in North...

The temperatures were in the 90s as Sinclair Adam guided us through his trial gardens at Penn State’s Southeast Research station in Lancaster County, a mecca for gardeners, horticulturists and greenhousers. The usual suspects were present. “Mainly Selecta, Ball, the big contributors in the container...

In a partnership that will benefit both growers and consumers in eastern North Carolina, a project that focuses on Christmas trees grown in the Tar Heel State is on schedule for implementation this autumn. A grant was awarded last year by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to create ne...

The ultimate goal of the poinsettia grower is beautiful plants, free of insects and disease. However, that doesn’t happen without careful monitoring and planning. Doug Barrow, biological control advisor with BioWorks, said that in addition to being highly effective, biological control agents (BCAs) ...

Why sell holiday décor? “Joy!” was the simple response from Caroline Puller, the vice president of visual design at Seasonscapes. “It’s about the ‘wow factor,’” she added. Puller was the presenter of “Providing Holiday Décor and Making it Profitable” at this year’s Cultivate’21 expo, and she said sh...

With summer vacation well underway, and people desperate to start traveling again, farms hosting tours and overnight stays are likely filling slots quickly – if they’re not already booked up for the rest of the year. But those participating in agritourism in 2021 are dealing with an entirely new lan...

Many years ago, I visited Rodale Institute. It seemed at that time the terms sustainable and organic were used interchangeably and denoted a range of meanings from a very strict personal farming philosophy/lifestyle to a marketing strategy and everything in between. It was also a time of some discor...

By design, my bouquets are not the largest or lushest, but the flowers consistently last five to seven days. I practice a strict set of protocols designed for maximum vase life. It starts with choosing the right varieties to plant. Looking around farmers markets, I don’t have a direct flower farmer ...

The IPA train keeps a-rollin’ for brewers – as does consumers’ desire for unique flavors and locally sourced ingredients, including hops. However, the more sustainably-minded sippers and brewmasters might be chagrined to learn that nearly three-quarters of the hops plants used in beer making end up ...

Establishing a competitive price for your product remains an important part of any business plan. Strategies call for shopping the competition to gauge how your product stacks up against other like goods. Doing so gives you valuable information to help build a complete picture of what others are cha...

Sprague’s Nursery and Garden Center has seen plenty of changes since it was established in the 1940s. Melissa Higgins, who operated the retail portion of the Bangor, Maine, business for 10 years before making a switch to the wholesale division, said the original owners of the garden center began by ...