by Kristen M. Castrataro
It is only spring, but already many Rhode Island fruit growers are expressing grave concerns about this year’s harvest. The mild winter may have been welcome to many, but Rhode Island peach growers are not among them. The warm temperatures meant that peach trees began gearing up for spring in January. Frigid temperatures moved in during February, however, killing the fragile blossoms. Growers across the state are citing 100 percent crop loss in peaches. (more…)

by Kristen M. Castrataro
The Rhode Island Fruit Growers’ Association met at Salisbury Farm in Johnston, RI in April for a Small Fruit Twilight Meeting. Owner Wayne Salisbury who is also the Vice-President of the RI Farm Bureau, began the evening with a spirited tour of his farm. Participants were treated to dinner provided by Phantom Farms located in Cumberland, RI and a talk on pruning brambles by Nate Nourse of Nourse Farms in Whately, MA. (more…)

by Steve Wagner
Stephanie Brace is a horticulture Ph.D candidate at Cornell University, and her topic for a Gro Research webinar was Vermicompost Usage as an Organic Fertilizer. Compost feedstock is made up of food scraps, animal waste and bedding (pig, horse, and cow manures), sawdust (occasionally), and elements from the bait industry. The other part of the equation is the worms that are used, which are primarily eisinia fetida (red wigglers). Factors that make vermicompost organic are allowed feedstock (the aforementioned feed scraps, etc.); and composting (thermophilic) which must be heated to between 130 and 170, or three days in an aerated system. (more…)

by Elizabeth A. Tomlin
Retired Cornell Cooperative Extension Berry and Small Fruit Specialist, Steven McKay, owner of Micosta Enterprises, is making a difference for berry and small fruit producers in the Hudson Valley and surrounding area.
“We’re value-added in a big way!” attests McKay. (more…)

by George Looby
The Lewis B. Rome Commons at the University of Conn, in Storrs, CT was the site of the Sustainable Landscape Conference. This conference was designed for the landscape and horticultural professionals and given the diversity of the target groups it is certain that everyone came away with very useful take-home information.
Leading off the program were Lisa Cowan and Irene Barber. Lisa is Principal at Studioverde, a collaborative of landscape architects and others who work together to create high performance landscapes. Irene is the founder of Greenscapes Designs, an ecologically considerate company that focuses on therapeutic and interactive garden/landscape spaces. (more…)

by Steve Wagner
How does a plant pest whose existence was not chronicled before 1858 in England, cross the Atlantic Ocean 158 years later to land on a farm in Lancaster County, PA? That is the travel history of the allium Leaf Miner. This pest, native to Poland and Germany, first spread across Europe into Turkey, Russia and Asia during that time span. “One possibility is someone bringing garlic over,” says Penn State Extension Specialist Tim Elkner. “The pupa might have been down amongst the cloves. Certainly, it could have been brought in with leeks or onions. It’s just that this is not typically the kind of thing that would be transported around. Probably it was not an insect — most likely a group of them in order to start the population. You need male and female in a bunch, so it might have been like an infected shipment of garlic or something was sent over.” (more…)

by Kristen M. Castrataro
The Rhode Island Fruit Growers’ Association held its annual dinner and business meeting March 23, 2016 at the RI Farm Bureau offices in West Greenwich, RI. Dr. Angela Myracle from the University of Maine’s School of Food and Agriculture presented research she has done on the health benefits of various plum varieties.
Dr. Myracle identifies herself as a nutritional biochemist, but she holds six degrees and has held a variety of jobs. The information she shared with the fruit growers is part of a research grant funded by the Maine Department of Agriculture. (more…)

by George Looby
Recently the UConn Extension team of Jude Boucher, Extension Educator and Joan Allen, Assistant Extension Educator serving as plant pathologist, presented informative sessions designed to bring growers up to speed regarding the latest in control measures against the wide range of pests.
The common spotted asparagus beetle was the first pest covered. One rule that applies across all species and varieties is to maintain a high level of sanitation in the garden. Old plant material and debris should be cleaned up and disposed of. (more…)