Root vegetables, many of which can still be planted in July for fall and late fall harvest, are becoming more popular as new varieties, new uses and a growing consumer interest in healthy food boost demand. Small red beets, for example, are being marketed cooked and brined in small snack packs with ...

Food-borne illnesses make headlines. Although E. coli and Salmonella are the most common causes of illness related to contaminated food, Listeria has started to appear more frequently in the news. Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate at Penn State Department of Food Science, say...

Growing in a damp forest understory, emerging from the sides of stately trees, or showing up in brilliant colors on the side of a walking trail, mushrooms are a miracle. Their colors, shapes and sizes are almost as limitless as their flavors. Golden Oysters brighten the palate, tasting as sunny as t...

Recently, I met someone who works in management for a midsized corporation in Minnesota. Her company has hired several Millennials to work in their on-call help desk service. But the company discovered that whenever the supervisor wasn’t in the room, the majority of their young staff would shirk the...

FONDA, NY— Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a common way for vegetable growers to bring in a cash flow in the winter months as well as building an outlet for their produce during the growing season. Community Supported Ag allows the farmer to share a bit of the risk of growing as well as mai...

Plant pathologists in the U.S. are eager to determine the genotype of each late blight outbreak. The concern is that the population of pathogen that causes late blight might shift as a result of two separate mating types producing oospores as a result of sexual recombination that can overwinter in t...

It is no secret that the object of many major amusement and theme venues is to create memories. A good feeling promotes the intent to embrace the experience while you are there, and encourage you to return. A quality product, backed by exceptional customer service, sets the stage for this type of ex...

If anyone had told young Will and Lucas Brownback that they’d return to the Perry County, Pennsylvania farm their parents Mike and Terra started in 1978, they wouldn’t have believed it. “We couldn’t wait to get out of here and go to college,” said Lucas, recalling how he and his brother were anxious...

In 2012, Steven Bogash, PSU Extension, began a combination of studying the best ways of growing high tunnel cucumbers, variety trials, and trials of materials to prevent soil borne disease in potting media so it could be reused repeatedly. The work was completed in 2015. “By 2014, we were getting so...

Sixty members of the CT Christmas Tree Growers Association met at the Wilbert Snow School in Middletown, CT for their annual meeting this spring. The annual business meeting started the day’s activities, reports were received from the Secretary, Treasurer, Website Manager and Executive Director. Pre...

by William and Mary Weaver Don’t let pain from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome sideline you from the farm or greenhouse work you love. Help is available from a national organization called AgrAbility. All you need to do is ask. The first step is to see a doctor to find out for sure what is causi...

Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program presented their 2016 Small Fruit Regional School / Berry Production Workshop, bringing producers the latest information on berry nutrition, varieties, pests, diseases and a ‘hands on’ pruning workshop. Evaluating and perfecti...

When it comes to making educated decisions in today’s hi-tech world of vegetable and crop farming, growers have a number of ways to provide themselves with the information they need to make wise choices. Making the most of technology and data analysis is one of the best ways to help get that job don...

Consider growing hydroponic herbs and greens in your greenhouse this fall, in place of traditional fall crops with “commodity” prices. Greens and herbs grown in a fall greenhouse have several advantages, according to Dr. Chris Currey, of Iowa State University. First, herbs can be sold value-added si...

You know you’re guilty of saying it, or at least thinking it, at some point: “Ugh. Young people these days!” And often, you are probably justified in the sentiment. I’ll admit to something we Millennials have valiantly tried to keep secret: we do make mistakes — a lot of them. And sometimes, those m...