Heirloom chrysanthemums fill an important role for local growers- as very late bloomers they can be one of the last flowers in the fall to keep cash flow going after others have succumbed to the cold. Our guest this week, Kate Dagnal of Goose Creek Gardens, grows thousands of bouquets every year for grocery stores, […]
This week Michalina Hunter tells us how she got so interested in perennial vegetables that she started a seed company specializing in them, Cicada Seeds! In this interview with host April Parms Jones, we hear about the advantages of vegetables that you can plant once and harvest many times, including crops like skirret, spinach vine,
Perkins’ Good Earth Farm is a permanent-bed, deep-compost, no-till, and certified organic/Real Organic Project certified farm in De Motte, Indiana. We provide the veggies you need and love for our neighbors and community and a safe and beautiful place for the traveller. My wife, Julie, and I are currently in our 17th year of farming
Scaling and streamlining postharvest: AZS Rinse Conveyor economics and tips Read More »
In the first three articles of this series (see the Sept, Oct and Nov/Dec issues), we explored growing wedding flowers; assessing your fit for the wedding world, understanding clients, preparing fields and succession planting for specific dates, and building the logistics and tools to pull off a wedding without dissolving into a puddle of horticultural
Growing for weddings part 4: From field to vase- designing with your own blooms Read More »
A guy from Iowa talking about corn, what do you know?! Here in Iowa sweet corn is the gateway vegetable to unlock the customer’s pocketbook. And the benchmark for sweet corn success is having it early to market, by July 4th. The main newspaper in the state, the Des Moines Register, even publishes on the
Sweet corn without chemicals: Can the early bird beat the (ear)worm? Read More »
Winter is often a quieter time for farmers, but wildlife are still around and active, making the most of food and habitat sources — including overwintered crops and season extension structures. In addition to the frustration of seeing your hard work disappear overnight, and the surprisingly high fire risk caused by mouse nests in greenhouse
Managing rodents before they bite into protected & storage crops Read More »
Dear plant and soil tenders, in the past few issues of this magazine we looked at managing the soil’s micronutrients and pH. Those topics were micro. Now, our goal for deeper knowledge is macronutrients — those nutrients that plants use the most of. How could one writer possibly share some helpful theory and practical tips
Understanding macronutrients for macro impact Read More »
This week Andrew Still tells us how Adaptive Seeds started in 2009 as an outgrowth of the Seed Ambassadors Project to steward and keep rare and heritage vegetable and flower varieties alive. In the intervening 15+ years they have furthered their mission of preserving open pollinated varieties and breeding new ones that are adapted
Farmers are used to the idea of fertilizing with manure, however one species’ output is usually not used: our own. This is despite the fact that effluent from water treatment is a large contributor to excess nitrogen in our waterways and the nutrient pollution that’s responsible for the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.
The fertilizer you make every day: fertilizing with urine with the Rich Earth Institute Read More »
There are very few one-size-fits-all solutions in agriculture- most things depend on the weather, soil, pests, diseases and a host of other conditions for a particular farm. One of the most exciting trends in agriculture right now is the development of varieties that are suited to specific regional conditions. Common Wealth Seed Growers breeds open-pollinated
