Serious Grower

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!
 
Drought map for the northeast 
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?Northeast 
 
Cabbage maggot temperature model 
https://newa.cornell.edu/cabbage-maggot 
 
Leek moth resource
https://www.uvm.edu/extension/leek-moth-information-center 
 
Allium leafminer resource
https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/fact-sheets/allium-leafminer 
 
Thrips on tomato
https://blogs.cornell.edu/livegpath/gallery/tomato/thrips-and-their-feeding-injury/ 
 
Ethylene damage
https://vegcropshotline.org/article/ethylene-damage-on-tomato-2/ 
 
Salt injury
https://extension.psu.edu/dealing-with-high-soluble-salt-levels-in-high-tunnels 
 
Vern Grubinger's POTTING MIXES FOR ORGANIC GROWERS
https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/OrganicPottingMixes.pdf 
https://extension.psu.edu/potting-media-and-plant-propagation 
 

Will is an extension educator in northern New Hampshire and he's helping his growers manage a new and unusual pest attacking broccoli. We talk to experts in NH, ME, and VT to understand the state of the art in monitoring and management of swede midge. 
Vegetable IPM Reports for New Hampshire
 
Watch the full interview with Dr. Tom Rounsville, Director, Applied Genetics and Genomics Lab at the University of Maine
 
Summary of swede midge review article from Hodgdon et al. 2024
 
Learn more about swede midge from this NYIPM resource
 
Learn more about leek moth from the UVM resource
 
Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstumentalist; Back at It, Mizlo; Patina; Ryan James Carr; Una Noche en Lagos, El Flaco Collective; Libertalia, Arc De Soleil; Snow Glow, John Runefelt
 

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, and she's been reading about Luther Burbank alongside a pile of seed catalogues. We discuss what makes crops "true to seed".
 
Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Libertalia, Arc De Soleil; Overture, Dozeoff; Can't Handle It, Ryan James Carr

Susan is a professor of agriculture at the University of New Hampshire. We discuss the ins and outs of growing in unconventional situations and talk spiders. 
Learn more about the Farm2You program at UNH 
Learn more about the research project Optimizing pest management in high tunnels to increase the resiliency of local food systems
Learn more about pesticide regulation 
 
With the Homies, Sarah the Illstumentalist; Aquatic Flower Dance, Ryan James Carr; Oh Please; Gerhard Feng; Overture, Dozeoff; Talk 2 Me, Ryan James Carr
 
 

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, and accidental grasshopper rancher. The ins and outs regarding the rearing and farming of insects is discussed.
One of many popular ant forums can be found on Reddit 
Learn more about the Schmidt Pain Index
 
With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; The Doom and Gloom Choir, Luella Gren; Drinkin' & Jivin', TAGE

Caleb Goossen joins us for a deep dive into the interplay between fertilization and pest severity.
TL;DR Overfertilizing your crops might make some pest infestation worse, but underfertilizing won't solve all your pest problems. 
 
We review data from Laybourne & Aradottir 2022 and Nowak & Komor 2010. 
 
Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Overture, Dozeoff; Riding High, John Runefelt

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. In this episode we live react to an interview with Will Hastings about his work developing the Growing Kiwiberries in the Northeast guide. 
Learn more about how kiwiberry is resistant to infestation from the invasive fruit fly, spotted wing drosophila!
Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; La Belle Nini, El Flaco Collective

Jason is turning his Oregon home into an edible landscape and a terrific place for his family to hang out. In this "garden coaching" session we exchange advice on topics, both mechanical and botanical, touching on hops, pole beans, melons, and luffa sponges.
Resource from Oregon State University on Growing Hops in the Home Garden
 
Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Libertalia, Arc De Soleil; La Belle Nini, El Flaco Collective, Aquatic Flower Dance, Ryan James; Afternoon Fireworks, Duke Herrington

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, where its been pretty windy lately. We discuss the history of hedgerows, bramble maintenance, wild fruits, and landscape alterations on the farm.
 
History of hedgerows in the UK
The Hedgelayer Documentary
 
Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Aquatic Flower Dance, Ryan James Carr; Summertime Madness, Matt Large; Disco Makumba, El Flaco

Susan is a professor of agriculture at the University of New Hampshire. She brings a ton of commercial experience to her college classroom but she also runs a community garden and has been extending her expertise to the on-campus daycare.
We're joined by a fellow parent from Susan's daycare and we discuss how gardening in the classroom has long term benefits for young children, why principles of farming may not be immediately applicable to gardening, and some of the best vegetables for beginners.
Key findings from Cornell Garden-Based Learning
 
Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Short Circuit, Ryan James Carr;  Overture, Dozeoff; Riding High, John Runefelt