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 […]
When frost threatens, know what to expect
Several years ago, Frank was traveling in Costa Rica. It was January, and as it happened, an unusually strong cold front had made its way across the Gulf of Mexico to Central America. Of course this front had hit Texas on its way through, but it was rare that a cold front would push that […]
Peppers are hot products for Chile Man
In 1996, after growing and picking 7,000 peppers on his small lot in Arlington, Virginia, Robert Farr realized that hot sauces were definitely in his future. Having discovered the spicy, hot flavors of Thailand and Vietnam and the chile flavors of Cuba and El Salvador in area restaurants, Robert’s early familiarity with Tabasco on the […]
Value-added products round out herb sales
Herbs are incredibly versatile plants. They can be culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, ornamental and used in aromatherapy. If you’ve decided to set yourself apart from the majority of market vendors who sell the same things – vegetables, bedding plants, flowers, etc.- you can use the versatility of herbs to create a profitable niche including value-added, herb-based […]
Married to the chicken coop? Take a break with an automatic door opener
Our New Year’s resolution last year was to try to have a life outside of farming. So when some friends we were visiting in town invited us to stay for dinner we jumped at the opportunity. “What about your chickens?” they asked. “The hens will be okay,” I replied. “We’ll close up their coop when […]
Eggs are a good fit
Much has been written about the virtues of adding pastured poultry to the market vegetable farm. Most of it has been focused on raising the poultry for meat, which can add an undesirable layer of government regulations to your work. For the small farm, the burdens that come with meat processing can easily outweigh any […]