UMN Extension Fruit and Vegetable Farming

Curious about organic fruit and vegetable research happening at UMN? Check out this field day next month. Info and registration here: http://z.umn.edu/fvFieldDay2023

Extension is hosting apple pruning workshops throughout the state this winter, from January thru March. Find one near you and sign up today:
https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2023/01/apple-pruning-workshops-across.html

Come get your food safety training this winter, and meet and mingle with your fellow farmers and meet buyers such as school food service as well! We have trainings around the state as well as online. You will receive a certificate of attendance and will leave with cleaning supplies, and one farmer at each will take home a handwash stand kit. Read here for more info. The next is in Red Wing on Dec 19!
https://extension.umn.edu/courses-and-events/gaps-and-fsma-workshops

Are you interested in selling to more wholesale customers? See the upcoming webinars about this new project that we are proud to be participating in. You will receive one-on-one help to get your questions answered to successfully enter wholesale markets like farm to school, restaurants and grocery stores.

Register for Wholesale Readiness Training webinar Are you a farmer who sells produce? Are you considering selling wholesale? Have you tried selling wholesale and think it could work for you? Find out more about selling wholesale and the new Wholesale Readiness Training program for farmers! Two webinar times are offered. You may attend either or bot...

UMN Extension is teaming up with Central Lakes College to offer 2 grape pruning & vineyard budgeting workshops, the week of Dec. 12-16. Dates & locations TBD. Keep your eyes out for more info soon.

The paper mulch in our day neutral strawberry study fell apart a couple weeks after installation. But the fruit was still beautiful and bountiful, thanks to dutiful hand-w**ding. In the replicate study in Wisconsin, the paper mulch survived until September. We're not sure why it worked in WI and not MN. The experiment was the same, but different weather and soil.
Funding: USDA NIFA Organic Transitions (ORG) Program

Please join us for our virtual pumpkin grower meetup, next week on Wednesday Nov. 2:

Pumpkin grower meetup This "virtual" version of the annual pumpkin grower meetup was rescheduled from earlier this fall. Guest speakers: Jenna Price, pumpkin breeder at Sakata Seed - Jenna will share what traits Sakata is breeding for in pumpkins right now and how they select the next big pumpkin varieties. She is a weal...

Our virtual pumpkin grower meetup has been rescheduled for Nov. 2 from 12-2pm. We have a good group signed up already - please join us! Register here: https://umn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cpyICr4mRwaVoXX13jCUwQ

We will be postponing our pumpkin field day and taking it virtual. If you registered already you will receive a full refund for your registration fee.

The event will be rescheduled as a free virtual workshop taking place in November, after the busy harvest season. Stay tuned for updates about the day and time!

Strawberry w**ds may not be on your mind, but fall w**d management has big implications for next year's crop. Learn some fall tactics here:

Manage next year's strawberry w**ds this fall Photo: A few sporadic w**ds in a fall strawberry patch are normal, even with excellent w**d control. Photo: Annie Klodd Author: Annie Klod...

This week's fruit update is now online. Take a break from harvest and check it out.

Weekly Fruit Update - Sept. 7, 2022 Photo: Hail netting being removed from high density apple tree rows in Preston, MN. Annie Klodd, Extension Educator - Fruit Production, kl...

There's that fall crispness in the morning air, meaning it is almost pumpkin season! Join us in Waseca on September 16th to talk pumpkin varieties, cover crops, w**d control, bugs, and more!

For more info and registration, visit z.umn.edu/pumpkin2022

New podcast alert! We just released two new episodes of The Vegetable Beet (a collaboration between UMN Extension and other Extension programs across the Great Lakes Region) about anaerobic soil disinfestation and biofumigation. These are two novel strategies that can be used in both conventional and organic systems for managing persistent soilborne diseases.

Listen at www.glveg.net/listen, or anywhere you stream podcasts. While you're at it, check out our recent mini series about soil phosphorus management on vegetable farms.

Broccoli trial update: we were much more successful at establishing disease pressure in the June 1 planted broccoli plot compared to last year. We're seeing plenty of black rot, Alternaria, brown bead, and bolting, so we're feeling good about getting better data this year about varieties that perform well with these various stressors! We’re trying a new inoculation method for our August 1 planted plot, using a "clapper" device to puncture holes into the leaf surface while pushing black rot bacteria into the holes.

We are teaming up with Little Hill Berry Farm to host an evening farm walk there on Aug. 22 (Annie's birthday!) Come learn about growing berries in high tunnels, from berry farmer Aaron Wills near Northfield. RSVP here: https://extension.umn.edu/event/organic-high-tunnel-berries-field-day

Here is this week's fruit crop update. The software we use to send out our weekly newsletter is down right now, but you can go to the blog to see all of the articles. https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2022/07/weekly-fruit-update-july-13-2022.html

Weekly Fruit Update - July 13, 2022 'Romeo' tart cherries ripening on July 5, 2022. These trees opened for U-pick in Nisswa over the weekend. Photo: Annie Klodd Author: Annie...

Just a very nice zero-spray pumpkin field near New Prague. Credit to the folks who have been cultivating and hoeing.

Strawberry growers - keep an eye out for bronzing on berries, which can be a sign of thrips damage. We saw it today near Farmington, and a farm in southern MN sent a photo yesterday. It's an occasional pest - we don't see it every year, but it can be a pain when it does come around. To be sure, you can shake flower clusters over a white paper and look for the little yellow/gold thrips.

As we enter strawberry season, please refer to this article for info on managing Tarnished Plant Bug:
https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2021/08/managing-tarnished-plant-bug-on.html

We're pumped to be hosting a farm tour of organic research projects on the St. Paul campus this year! The event will be Tuesday evening, July 26 from 5pm to 8pm. Come see organic fruit, veg, and dry bean research in the works, and meet others doing organic farming!

Language interpretation provided based on attendee need - please RSVP by July 19. We're also ordering food, so please RSVP.

Register here: https://forms.gle/3CTjR4xsFBCCvcBHA

Highlights from this week's vegetable update: sulfur problems, keeping people safe in hot weather, and dealing with flooded fields.

Read the whole update here:
https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2022/06/weekly-vegetable-update-6152022.html

MN Specialty Crop and Livestock farmers can apply for up $7,500 per farm (sole proprietor) for expenses due to the 2021 drought. The application will likely open June 21st and farmers should start preparing now to apply! The application will be open for 10 business days. A coalition of groups, led by the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture are hosting 2 webinars to help farmers apply. Register for the June 14th 12-12:30pm webinar at bit.ly/preparedrought and the June 22nd from 12-1:15pm at bit.ly/applydrought.

How to Apply for Drought Relief Wednesday June 22, 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm This 1-hour webinar plus question and answer time will cover the details of how to apply for drought relief for expenses because of last summer's drought. The webinar will focus on specialty crops, but much of the information is the same for livestock producers...

This Sunday and next Thursday, we'll be at two SFA fruit-centered field days in the Duluth area. Learn about honeyberries, raspberries and strawberries at Farm Lola on Sunday, and organic apple IPM at Clover Valley Farm next Thursday. https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2022/06/two-fruit-field-days-next-week.html

Two Fruit Field Days Next Week The Sustainable Farming Association's Superior Chapter is hosting two fruit-related field days this coming week. Both field days will be on-...

This week's fruit update includes apple crop thinning, codling moth sightings, grape phylloxera, strawberry fruit set, and more! https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2022/06/weekly-fruit-update-june-1-2022.html

Weekly fruit Update - June 1, 2022 Zestar! apple fruitlets in Minnetrista, MN on 6/1/2022. Author: Annie Klodd, Extension Educator - Fruit Production. [email protected] Apples ...

In this week's vegetable update: An abundance of maggots, drought relief and disaster loans, and a simple technique for acidifying irrigation water.

Weekly vegetable update 6/1/2022 Author: Natalie Hoidal, UMN Extension educator, local foods and vegetable crops After an already tough spring, we had yet another week of s...

In today's weekly fruit update: Apple scab, bloom status, tarnished plant bug, grape shoot thinning, and more. https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2022/05/weekly-fruit-update-may-25-2022.html

See tiny green bugs on your plants lately? Learn about what they are and if they're considered a "pest." https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2022/05/seeing-tiny-green-beetles-lately.html

Vegetable farms are intensively managed, and often have high levels of soil phosphorus. In a new 3-part podcast miniseries, Natalie explores the impacts of elevated phosphorus, and how we can achieve our goals of increasing organic matter and making our soils more resilient without compromising plant and environmental health.

Episodes include:
1. Tunnel Trouble: increasing many things, but not yield
2. Where phosphorus comes from and where it goes
3. Building organic matter without building phosphorus

Listen at www.glveg.net/listen, or by looking up "The Vegetable Beet" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you stream podcasts. This podcast is a product of the Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group.

Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group - Listen Listen! An interview and discussion-based program focused on vegetable production challenges and opportunities in the Midwest brought to you by the Great Lakes Vegetable Producers Network. We grow more together. To get email reminders, subscribe here:

Asparagus beetle and their eggs.