While shoulder-to-shoulder happy hours, tours and tasting room experiences were pre-COVID-19 signs of successful marketing, such packed-house activities may be less the norm as wineries and craft beverage businesses gear up for full retail once again. In a Penn State blog on COVID-19 customer issues...

Itersonilia perplexans , the fungus that causes Itersonilia (aka black) canker in parsnips can overwinter in dead organic matter, on living parsnip roots and in soils, and can infest seeds as well as plants. Some weed species are hosts of the pathogen. While the fungus does affect other umbelliferou...

Over the years, growers have asked me if it is safe to harvest asparagus in the summer, to gain a market at a time where there is no local asparagus on the market, and to bring them a higher price. To help answer this question, I conducted a three-year study in North Carolina. The study, conducted i...

A lot of attention is paid today to ensuring surfaces are safe and clean for humans – but what about the surfaces plants touch? They’re susceptible to a variety of diseases as well. Rosa E. Raudales, assistant professor of horticulture and greenhouse Extension specialist at the University of Connect...

In early June, Greg Jordan was scrambling around watering tender plants in the middle of the night to ward off damage from a late frost. Although he didn’t save them all, the effort was worthwhile. “My grandfather always said ‘Don’t complain – people don’t want to hear it,’” said Greg. “They get tir...

A new study released by the University of Washington and Stanford University reveals how climate change can negatively affect the ability of agricultural workers to safely operate in the field. Dr. Michelle Tigchelaar, a researcher at Stanford, decided to focus her study on this topic after she lear...

Although Christmas comes but once a year, a team of dedicated professionals works year round to ensure the health of New York State’s Christmas trees. On June 16, the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County (CCEDC) hosted an online informational meeting geared toward helping Christmas tree ...

Bindweed has been spotted in farm fields within New York’s Capital Region. The hard to control weed has roots that can grow 30 feet deep. These long tap roots absorb water reserves deep in the ground, stealing it from shorter-rooted cash crops. Dormant bindweed seeds have a hard coating and can pers...

Dig Deep Farm sits atop a sunny ridge on a slope of land in South China, Maine , that has been farmed for over 75 years. The property was once a dairy and vegetable farm called the French Family Farm– and still affectionately called that by locals. It is now home to a cooperative farming operation t...

Vibrant green healthy tomato plants and broccoli plants reach skyward. The air is perfumed with pansies ready to go in hanging baskets and lining tables. All the pansies, vegetables and other flowers, as well as bedding plants, are grown at the family-owned and run Twenty Acre Farm in Hadley, MA. Th...

Dr. Jill Sidebottom, North Carolina State University, has seen a lot of changes in Christmas tree production over the years, and said in changes yet to come, IPM will be more critical than ever. There are many definitions of IPM, but Sidebottom likes this one: IPM is a strategy for keeping plant dam...

It’s too easy to spot a group of farmers in a crowd: they’re often bent over or stand lopsided to compensate for back pain. Dan Neenan, paramedic director at the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, shares some tips to help farmers maintain healthy backs. “Nearly 80% of Americans exper...

When it comes to vegetable plant sales this season, it’s been a wild ride for greenhouse growers, retailers and suppliers alike. Suppliers are scrambling to find product for reorders and retailers are selling through early, only to be left with empty benches in their vegetable departments. The same ...

For as long as we have been growers, we have been trying to find ways to keep pests from our plants. One naturally-occurring product used as a pesticide was nicotine sulfate (for years marketed as Black Leaf 40), lethal to most crawling things that chewed in the garden. It has been banned for garden...

Known mostly as an airborne virus, COVID-19 is still a concern for many, even as states continue through their various phases of reopening. That means it’s still something both producers and consumers need to consider. Farm Commons, a resource that fosters the discussion and connections that build a...