by Sally Colby
Retired teacher Kathy Settevendemie didn’t plan to start a native plant nursery when she and her husband Michael moved from Alaska to Montana. Blackfoot Native Plants in Potomac, MT is the result of her desire to manage weeds on the 60-acre property. [Read more…]
by Laura Rodley
Lance Sambol likes people, creating a joyful experience and working outside. He also likes flexibility. He sells Christmas trees at Sambol’s Tree Farm in Fortville, IN. Last year was his first season selling Christmas trees.
It’s a choose and cut your own tree farm. After a family has chosen, cut, loaded and is driving away with their tree “you know you’re a part of their Christmas. [Read more…]
by Sally Colby
Rick Doyle was busy hosting the summer meeting of the Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Growers Association at Family Tree Farm in Red Lion, the family farm he and his wife Karen operate, but he took some time as the meeting closed to talk about what he has learned over the course of 20 years growing Christmas trees. Rick started small but is now growing close to 50 acres of trees on the 115-acre farm. [Read more…]
by Bill and Mary Weaver
“Offering a variety of sizes, colors and shapes of pumpkins will draw customers to your farm or market stand,” said Extension Horticulture Specialist Katie Kammler. There are other ideas that can increase your sales and add value to your pumpkin harvest. [Read more…]
by Sally Colby
Dr. Joe Sommer, professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State University, says that Midwest farmers who have been using unmanned aircraft over grain crops have gained valuable information from this technology. “They already know how to fly 15-foot fixed wing aircraft over thousand-acre fields,” he said. [Read more…]
by Steve Wagner
John Friel, author of 13 books, has been part of the horticultural industry for over 35 years and is the marketing manager for Emerald Coast Growers. “We grow in two very different climates and we have two very different product mixes. In our Pennsylvania location, we grow stuff that can’t handle Florida’s hot humid summers. Cool season grasses and certain perennials do much better in Pennsylvania,” Friel elaborated. [Read more…]
by Sally Colby
Erin Lizotte, IPM educator at Michigan State University, says scouting involves monitoring a crop and looking for problems. “It’s being out there and being aware of what’s going on,” she said. “We begin scouting as soon as plants begin to grow or when pests become active, and continue to monitor the crop until it’s dormant or until the risk of the pest has passed.” [Read more…]
The pawpaw is the largest edible tree fruit native to the United States. It is the only temperate member of a new- and old-world tropical plant family (Annonaceae, Custard Apple family) that includes cherimoya and sweetsop. There are nine species of Asimina. The common pawpaw, Asimina triloba, has the greatest potential for commercialization. It is widely adapted with a native range from Florida to Michigan and as far west as Nebraska. [Read more…]
by Cammie Barden
Cultivate’17 was held in Columbus, Ohio from July 15-18 offering an opportunity for horticulturists to expand, improve and explore further into their trade.
Yearly attendees were greeted with a newly renovated and expanded Greater Columbus Convention Center. This increase of space allowed for more exhibitors to display their products, services and plant material. [Read more…]
by Sally Colby
Dr. Shelby Fleischer, Penn State professor of entomology, has been paying attention to pollinators over the years and much of his research has been centered on cucurbit pollination. [Read more…]