Emily Holmes’ parents John and Elaine Olsen planted a 500-tree apple orchard in 1983; 35 years later their apple orchard has grown to 1,700 trees growing over 48 different varieties of apples. “When they started out in 1983, it wasn’t like this. They had a tiny farm stand, no trees and no cider pres...

The pop diva Whitney Houston sang “I believe the children are our future/Teach them well and let them lead the way.” This month, Country Folks Grower is introducing its readers to some of the youth that will be leading the way in the field of horticulture in the near future. The two “Grower Sprouts”...

Penn State Trial Garden Advisory Board Chair Andy Brown told Country Folks Grower that “Still the number one item out there in terms of units is calibrachoa [also called million bells]. It has an extremely wide color line, an incredible variety of colors, anywhere from solids to bi-colors, and it do...

Casey Vandervalk admitted that he didn’t know anything about growing Christmas trees when he and his wife Sue planted their first trees in 1984. “I planted Norway spruce,” said Casey, adding that he purchased young trees from a nursery in Maine. “We didn’t really know what we were doing.” Casey said...

It’s time for a refresher from biology class: you remember that animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. You remember that plants use carbon dioxide in photosynthesis and release oxygen. But do you remember what the air around us consists of? The air we breathe is only about 21 percent oxyge...

By Melissa Piper Nelson In a growing season complicated by wild weather laced with torrential rain, hail and heavy winds, the watchword continues to be hyper-vigilance when scouting for horticultural disease symptoms, advised Dr. Carla Burkle, Penn State vegetable production specialist and horticult...

“Information is power!” stated Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Lamb, NYS Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, Cornell. Lamb was leading a “Creating an Integrated Pest Management Plan” program in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County at Norwich, NY. Brian Eshenaur, NYS IPM, pla...

Jeff Owen, North Carolina State University Extension Christmas tree specialist, knows that growers battle damage from deer, and has done extensive research on what works to minimize deer damage. “We have to understand how formidable pest deer really are,” said Owen. “It’s often easy to minimize the ...

Apple growers need to spray fungicides to control destructive apple diseases that are present on leaves and fruit. Paecilomyces niveus is a fungus found in soil that can survive in orchard soils and can infect fruit through wounds. Researchers Megan N. Biango-Daniels and Kathie T. Hodge, of the sect...

No matter what kind of tree fruit you are growing, many factors influence the end-quality. Managing the nutrient levels during differing stages of crop development is one important aspect that can strongly influence fruit size, firmness and quality whether you are growing pome or stone fruits. John ...

Mid-summer marks a busy season for many direct-marketing businesses, so discussing taking on even more heat may sound illogical – especially if the heat refers to crisis management. The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) defines a crisis as the following: “A crisis is a significant threat to opera...

COLUMBUS, OHIO — The green industry’s leading trade association, AmericanHort, hosted Cultivate’18 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center July 14 – 17, 2018. As the premier annual event for the entire horticulture industry, Cultivate’18 brought in over 10,000 visitors and included more than 650 n...

When it comes to liability related to agritourism, or agritainment, Dr. Brian Schilling says every farm is unique and there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach for managing liability on agritourism farms. However, farmers can take steps to avoid messy legal issues. Schilling, an extension specialist ...

There’s no doubt that pumpkins herald a new season and consumers are anxious for the arrival of this age-old icon of fall. Although most consumers still seek bright orange fruit, pumpkins of all colors, shapes and sizes are selling well. Part of the challenge of growing pumpkins is getting seed in t...

Christmas tree growers devote considerable time and effort to bringing a crop to harvest, but even the most seasoned growers have periodic issues with fertility, disease and insect pests. But what about problems that aren’t directly related to what growers routinely monitor? Dr. Bert Cregg, associat...