When Pooh and Anne Sprague purchased a 170-acre farm in Plainfield, NH on the banks of the Connecticut River, they were buying a bit of agricultural history. Edgewater Farm had been owned and operated by one family since 1835, until the Spragues purchased it in 1974. At the suggestion of their count...

Paul Arnold and his wife continuously seek equipment and growing techniques that minimize work and maximize profits. In the past eight years, the Arnolds have built three large high tunnels. Their tunnels are 30 or 34 feet wide and 144 feet long. They recommend a minimum width of 30 feet for winter ...

A customer walks up to a convenience store clerk with two items — a hot pizza and a cold salad. What will the clerk do? Bag them together, or ask the customer if he would prefer two separate bags? Smiling, the clerk recognizes the challenge and suggests two separate bags — one for the hot, one for t...

Less than a mile from the bustling think tank of the University of Massachusetts lies 47 acres of fertile riverbottom land that comprises King Creek/Queen’s Greens, owned by Matthew Biskup and his partner, Danya Teitelbaum. Teitelbaum started her business, Queen’s Greens, as a winter green growing o...

There are many benefits to farming in urban areas. Most urban farmers enjoy being close to their markets and customers. They also spend less time and money transporting goods to customers than rural growers. Urban sites generally offer easy access to potable water. Most urban farmers have fewer wild...

Grower Lawrie Nickerson is fighting a battle — the same as many others who grow soft-skinned fruits. The battle is against the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), an Asian invasive that quickly spread to the East Coast. Although Nickerson is vigilant about watching for signs of the insect, her challenge ...

AFTON, VA — A retail nursery supplying perennial plants, bushes and trees to buyers across the nation, Edible Landscaping has in the past quarter century seen a transformation in how it reaches its customer base. “We built this place on mail-order,” said the nursery’s founder and owner Michael McCon...

In a 1,700-square foot orchard, hidden away in what used to be a junkyard for the sculpture department at Syracuse University, is the remarkable Tree of 40 Fruit. Initially, the Tree of 40 Fruit sounds like something from a fairy tale. But it’s not. It’s real — and it’s important. The Tree of 40 Fru...

Attendees of Cultivate ‘14 saw countless booths displaying a vast array of plants and featuring some of the latest developments in horticulture products and accessories. But upstairs, on the Retail Terrace, one booth stood out from the crowd – one bearing the bold, blue emblem of the Federal Bureau ...