As autumn comes to a close most greenhouses and garden centers find themselves scrambling to gear up for the Christmas season. Does your holiday product mix include fresh-cut trees and wreaths? Have you ever considered setting up a seasonal tree lot to add to your year’s bottom line? With more than ...

SENECA FALLS, NY – A standing-room only crowd gathered at Empire Farm Days to hear from Larry Smart, professor, plant geneticist and breeder for Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section. The size of the group demonstrated their interest in getting in on the ground floor of ...

GENEVA, NY – A lot can happen to honey as it’s transformed to mead. Chris Gerling, Extension associate and manager of the Vinification & Brewing Laboratory at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, and Kaylyn Kirkpatrick, an Extension associate at Cornell AgriTech, led a discussion on interactions between yeas...

­Pumpkins, gourds and everything else autumn will be the order of the day until Thanksgiving. But as soon as mums and corn stalks fade, Christmas tree farms that offer U-cut trees will become the center of attention. Customers visit U-cut farms for a variety of reasons, but the goal of the tree farm...

Alternative energy projects are popping up across the country, often the result of a power company approaching a landowner to obtain land for solar or wind projects. Shannon Ferrell, Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University, has studied the topic extensively and has tips for...

So much tree fruit is susceptible to disease and pest issues or environmental factors that make it look unappetizing. But not all of these concerns go beyond being skin deep. The fruit might not look good, but its taste is fine. Orchardist Eliza Greenman promotes apples with cosmetic damage, educati...

Today’s direct to consumer selling environment is fast-paced and ever changing. To stay competitive, you need as much market research information as you can glean. Making better business decisions marks the starting point for developing effective sales strategies and setting up business longevity. M...

A short and sweet wrap-up of this portion of the Southern Nursery Association’s annual conference studies focuses on something nurseries across the nation may grow: the eastern redbud, a large, pink-flowered deciduous shrub that grows from southern Ontario to northern Florida and as far west as Cali...

Silas and Ivan Gordon were raised in a rural area of central Maine and grew up foraging for wild fruit, including raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and apples. Silas fondly recalls having an apple every day. “In our house, there were no additives or preservatives allowed,” said Silas, adding th...