Growing for Market in partnership with Johnny's Selected Seeds has created a library of expert information about growing and selling vegetables and flowers. Links in the article will take you to johnnyseeds.com.
Subscribe to Growing for Market for more great ideas about growing and marketing!
For more topics in the series, click on Market Farming Basics in the left column.
Drip irrigation is the best way to water vegetables and cut flowers. It avoids wetting the foliage, which can lead to foliar diseases. It delivers water only to the crop, reducing the growth of weeds nearby. And it is the best water-conserving irrigation method, with little evaporation and no wind-blown water. Once a drip irrigation system is set up, irrigating is quick and easy.
A drip system consists of drip tubing, which has orifices at regular intervals that emit water onto the soil at the base of the plants. The water spreads across and down into the soil, creating a uniform band of moisture at root level. Water is emitted very slowly, so there is no runoff. Other components of a drip irrigation system include a filter for well water, to remove particulates that could clog the system, and fittings to connect multiple lines of drip tubing to a header line so that numerous beds can be watered at once.
Johnny's has drip irrigation kits, with everything needed for backyard or small market gardens. The components of the irrigation kits are also available individually for larger growers to set up more extensive systems.
Visit Johnny's Selected Seeds for more free information about growing produce, herbs, cover crops and flowers.
• Subscribe to Growing for Market for the latest news and ideas.
Reprinted from JSS Advantage May 2010
Insect pollination is essential to many vegetable and fruit crops, including tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, watermelons, blueberries, blackberries, apples, almonds, and many others. In the case of watermelons, there will be no fruit without pollination. Some vegetables don't require pollination to set fruit, but pollination by bees will result in larger and more abundant fruits. Nearly 75% of the flowering plants on Earth rely on pollinators to set seed or fruit, as well as one-third of our food crops, and most pollination is performed by honey bees, native bees, and other insects. 
