Serious Grower

Kira is a regular lady from the Seacoast of New Hampshire who loves fresh, local produce and wants to get into varsity level growing, backyard tomatoes. We discuss low light levels in the home that are great for house plants but not quite enough for starting vegetable transplants, we try a de-goatified goat cheese, and develop a sensory panel activity to determine if farmers' market attendees can tell the difference between tomatoes that were picked green and allowed to ripen on the counter versus picked red and allowed to ripen on the vine. 
 
Music: With the Homies - Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Patinia - Ryan James Carr

A summary of what vegetable pest experts are talking about this week (the last field report for the season)...including risk of late blight infections in tomato, first report of spotted lanternfly in New Hampshire, emerging diseases, and reports of early maturing pumpkins.
More information about late blight
https://blogs.cornell.edu/livegpath/gallery/tomato/tomato-late-blight/ 
https://extension.psu.edu/2026-late-blight-updates
https://extension.psu.edu/tomato-potato-late-blight-in-the-home-garden 
More information about spotted lanternfly
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/slf 
 
 

Dr. Chris Hernandez is a geneticist and crop breeder at the University of New Hampshire. Steve Geddes is record-breaking giant pumpkin grower living and growing in New Hampshire. As far as Serious Growers go...you can't get much more serious than this! Elite level growing and fierce competition, overseen across the globe by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.
Join Anna (an entomologist) as she embeds within a giant pumpkin growing project with the boys over at Brookdale Retirement community in Durham, NH. In part one of a multi-part series, Chris walks us through the nitty gritty of how to get started and we get some sage words of wisdom from Steve. 
Check out the One Ton Genome Project to learn more about the genetics of these giant pumpkins. You can also find information about how to contribute and make sure this project is fully funded!
 
Music: With the Homies - Sarah, The Illstumentalist; Jetski - Kiddo Keys; Fantasize, Bonafide - I'MIN; A Woman's Design is Devine - Blood Red Sun

A summary of what vegetable pest experts are talking about this week…its mostly diseases impacting cucumbers, pumpkins and squashes!
 
Seasonal reporting on CDM
https://extension.psu.edu/2026-cucurbit-downy-mildew-updates
 
more information on fungicide selection for major cucurbit diseases, including cucurbit downy mildew
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/downy-mildew-of-cucurbits/mobile-fungicides-for-managing-downy-mildew-and-other-major-cucurbit-diseases/
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/downy-mildew-of-cucurbits/list-of-biopesticides-for-organic-production/
 
 
Plectosporium
https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/vegetable-disease-of-the-week-3-2-2-2-2-2/
 
Basil downy mildew
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/basil-downy-mildew/
https://www.growingproduce.com/crop-protection/disease-control/research-finding-better-ways-to-deal-with-basil-downy-mildew/
https://usbasilconsortium.rutgers.edu/basil-advanced-studies-and-innovation-lab/
 
Verticillium wilt eggplant
https://blogs.cornell.edu/livegpath/gallery/eggplant/verticilium-wilt-on-eggplant/

A quick summary of what the experts are talking about when it comes to managing late summer pests, diseases, and other vegetable crop maladies.
More about clubroot management in brassicas
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/extd8/files/documents/em9148.pdf 
 
More about bottom rot in lettuce
https://sites.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=18469 
 
More about boron deficiencies and toxicities
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/boron_in_vegetables_not_too_little_not_too_much 
 
More about cornsilk flies
https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN381 

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. In this wide ranging discussion, we discuss garlic irrigation strategies, right to repair laws, and all the technologies that are showing up on the farm thanks to space exploration, including UV-C for water purification and disease management.
Music: With the Homies - Sarah the Illstrumentalist; All the Freedom You Need - Terin Ector; Mechakucha - Sugoi; Snakes and Fire - Par Hagstrom; The Big Aisle - John Runefelt

More information about alternaria leaf spot of brassicas
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/alternaria-leaf-spot-of-brassicas/
 
More information about pepper maggot:
https://youtu.be/4NuJSPBeZyM 
 
More information about tomato pith necrosis
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/tomato-pith-necrosis 
 
More information about tomato timber rot
https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/white-mold-in-greenhouse-and-high-tunnel-tomato-2-2-2/ 

The 2026 Cornell IPM Organic Production and IPM Guide for Vegetables is out and available online now!
 
More information about southern blight in tomatoes
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/southern-blight-of-vegetable-crops
 
More information about managing leek moth in storage onions
https://www.uvm.edu/d10-files/documents/2025-02/2020-Leek-Moth-Research-Brief-FINAL.pdf 
https://youtu.be/OVaMkw6UmIU?si=qQ4_PL2NXJ4iD1DQ
 
More information about deploying biofumigation using mustard cover crops
Biofumigation
https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fne15-817/
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/f82d6e90-0e81-4652-9dfc-f7a16cb624b5/content
 
 
 
 

Chuck is a commercial farmer in New Hampshire and an expert in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for fruit and vegetable crops. 
This episode touches on how the scientific community is seeking alternatives tools & tactics to replace neonicotinoid pesticides in vegetable pest management and how science and policy influence the nitty gritty business of growing food. 
From New Hampshire's House Spring 2026 legislative session HB-1086-FN and HB-1431-FN
Full Interview with Dr. Brian Nault (Cornell University)
 
Music: With the Homies - Sarah, The Illstrumentalist; Silvia, Acid Streets of Brazzaville - El Flaco Collective; Feelings - Ryan James Carr; Morning Reggae - Sir Gigalot

I will be including brief field reports in the feed through the growing season, featuring real-time reports from extension specialists in New England, New York, and the mid-Atlantic states.
Pay close attention to where some of these reports are coming from because we’ll be covering a wide region and please reach out if you need help connecting with your local extension specialist wherever you are. We’ll get you hooked up with the right expert in your area!
More information about foliar diseases of cucurbits:
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/cucurbit-powdery-mildew/
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/crops/cucurbits/downy-mildew/
https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/ 
 
More information about sap beetle in sweet corn
https://extension.psu.edu/sap-beetle-management-in-sweet-corn