How to make sugar 'pulse' solutions for cut flowers
The following article was reprinted with permission from George Staby, an expert in cut flower postharvest care. Dr. Staby hosts a web site, www.chainoflifenetwork.org, that offers extensive resources on cut flower care, including photographs, advice on when to harvest, special post harvest treatment, and expected vase life. It also offers articles on special topics, such […]
Small watermelons are all the rage
You may have heard about mini “personal” watermelons, or seen them in a grocery store. This latest produce craze is a small round watermelon, about the size of a cantaloupe, and weighing 3 to 6 pounds. The mini watermelons have thin rinds and high Brix, meaning they are very sweet. The most famous of these […]
Vinegar controls weeds in garlic
I was awarded a SARE grant in 2003 to field test the use of vinegar as an organic herbicide in commercial garlic production. My research was directed at the in-row control of weeds only. Between-row weeding was accomplished with mechanical control. Based on the USDA-Beltsville laboratory research I selected 10% acetic acid vinegar as it […]
Universities buy a lot of produce. Here's some advice on how and whether to sell to them
Lynn Byczynski, the editor of Growing for Market, recently asked me to write a short article on selling farm produce to universities. Valuing GFM more than I can express, I acquiesced – but for once am struggling for words. This is because our farm sells via a subscription service, at farmers’ markets, to 12 restaurant […]
The power of the press release
When my wife, Beth, and I started Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm we’d read a lot of books on non-conventional farming. We’d also printed and read reams of documents on sustainable farming and marketing from The National Center for Appropriate Technology (www.attra.ncat.org). We knew we would have to sell directly to our clients for our farming […]