When Rusty Mangrum recently built a new house, he wanted to plant shade trees in the yard – magnolia, serviceberry, 'Autumn Blaze' red maple. To find the trees, he didn’t have to go far. He picked them right out of his own nursery. Mangrum has been growing bare root fruit and shade trees in McMinnvi...

Water is waning and landscapes are feeling the squeeze. Lawns and landscapes are increasingly left to languish under water use limits. In response to this pressing problem, Levi Dreiling and Jacob C. Domenghini of Kansas State University’s Department of Horticulture & Natural Resources set out to se...

A recent shift toward more restrictive weed control measures along with new, mandatory pesticide application rules has been mandated by the EPA. Wesley Everman, Ph.D., Iowa State Extension weed specialist, began an explanation of the rule changes with a brief history of what brought the EPA to devel...

At the Cultivate Conference in Columbus, one presentation invited landscape professionals to loosen their grip and embrace a little chaos – with purpose. In a session titled “Natural Disaster: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of Managing Naturalistic Landscapes,” David McKinney, curator at the Iowa Arbo...

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” So said Albert Einstein – and it’s imperative for growers to remain curious. A nursery-focused disease panel at the most recent Cultivate event took place solely so those in attendance could query about the ...

Presenters at the High Tunnel Production Conference in West Lebanon, NH, emphasized that high tunnels have different requirements and management needs than does in-field farming, so growers must make accommodations. The specialists who shared their expertise included Bruce Hoskins, assistant scienti...

Hello, farm family! Have you noticed extra stress in your on- and off-farm relationships lately? Perhaps you find yourself: Avoiding “hot topics” with customers (or even family and friends) Feeling uncomfortable in family get-togethers Wrestling over how “personal” or “political” to get in social me...

Fresh carrots have always been a staple in grocery stores, where consumers seek uniform, blemish-free, bright orange carrots. However, recent breeding work has resulted in more interesting carrots. Those marketing fresh organic vegetables directly from the farm or at markets have taken advantage of ...

Ask any crop grower in the Northeast or Midwest what keeps them up at night and you will hear a familiar refrain. It’s not just rain roulette or market mood swings. It is hooves in the headlands and half-moon bites out of tender leaves. Deer and other pests have become persistent, pervasive and pric...