by Sally Colby
Using cover crops isn’t a new concept for most farmers – many have adopted the practice for a variety of reasons. For organic farmers, cover crops can mean the difference between so-so yields and a tidy profit. (more…)
by Tamara Scully
When Debalina Saha, assistant professor with the Michigan State University Department of Horticulture, wanted to assess the primary weed issue in Michigan’s nurseries and greenhouses, she wasn’t too surprised to find that liverwort (more…)
The AmericanHort webinar was presented by Diane Blazek, executive director of both All America Selections and the National Garden Bureau.
Photo courtesy of Diane Blazek
by Enrico Villamaino
Leading agricultural advocacy association AmericanHort recently released their “Top Performers from All-America Selections Vegetable & Herb Variety Trials.” (more…)
by Sally Colby
Many farms wouldn’t have an adequate labor force without the presence of H-2A workers. L.G. D’Arrigo, co-leader of the immigration practice at Harris Beach in Albany, NY, said there isn’t a reliable supply of labor in the U.S., (more…)
by Tamara Scully
Wildfires have burned mind-boggling numbers of acres, destroying towns, farms and lives this year. Climate change is implicated in this mass burning: severe droughts, hotter, drier seasons with less rainfall and early snow melt due to warmer winter weather patterns (more…)
Recently, a longtime peach and apple grower faced a dilemma. After losing his entire peach crop to frost this season – the first time in his eight decades of growing fruit trees on the same land (more…)
We have all learned valuable lessons during the pandemic, and one lesson I hear about above all other business concerns is a recommitment to accurate and timely recordkeeping. (more…)
Neil Krueger prunes trees for less density while maintaining a desirable shape.
Photo courtesy of Krueger’s Christmas Trees
by Sally Colby
Establishing trees for erosion control was a fairly new concept in 1954, but that’s one of the conservation measures Neil Krueger’s parents undertook on their Stillwater, MN, farm. (more…)
Tom and Diane Hartman of Hartman’s Towne and Country Greenhouse with their new variety, Christmas Wish poinsettia, in mid-October.
Photo by Gail March Yerke
by Gail March Yerke
With over 34 million plants sold last year during the holiday season in the U.S. alone, it’s easy to see why the poinsettia is known as the “Christmas flower.” (more…)
Keeping the proper elevation in the tubing can help keep sap flowing.
Photo courtesy of Keith Otto, Extension support specialist
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
If you want to expand your farm’s maple production, going with tubing rather than collection buckets can make the entire system work more smoothly. (more…)
When the Martinezes purchased Willow Pond Farm, it was an established Christmas tree farm and well known in the community. “It was a lot of work to bring the trees back into shape,” Rodney Martinez said.
Photo courtesy of Willow Pond Farm
by Sally Colby
Rodney and Lynn Martinez are new to farming, but not new to hard work. (more…)
by Courtney Llewellyn
Earlier this year, NAFDMA hosted an online roundtable to ask producers how they were preparing for an autumn influenced by COVID-19 restrictions. At the beginning of October, the international agritourism association brought in three different growers to discuss how the harvest season has been going. (more…)
