Growing raspberries, teaching the work ethic According to the Washington Red Raspberry Commission, Whatcom County raspberry farmers set a record harvest of 66.3 million pounds of raspberries in 2011, a 22 percent increase over 2010. The previous record was 61.2 million pounds in 2000. Whatcom County’s raspberry production represented nearly 92 percent of Washington’s total … Read more
Little-known variety produces between freezes Banana enthusiast and researcher Richard Wallace successfully cultivates fast-producing banana plants in the nontropical climate of Southeast Georgia. Using the Viente Cohol variety, which originated in the Philippines, he is able to plant an 18-inch banana plant after the last freeze of spring, and it flowers and produces mature fruit … Read more
Mechanical methods essential to industry survival “For us, moving to mechanical harvesting of table olives is not optional. It’s something we have to do, or we’re going to lose the industry,” said Bill Krueger, echoing concerns expressed in other produce industries. Krueger, University of California Cooperative Extension farm adviser, has worked with California tree fruit … Read more
Insect traps for sweet corn IPM Imagine the poor person who goes fishing with a wormon his hook and lands a whale. Worse might be thekid working a farm pond who baits his hook withhalf a beefsteak. The moral of the story for corn growers issimple: know your crop, which pests you are trying to … Read more
A look at the Roughwood Seed Collection Of his own efforts in this first time, hands-on heirloom gardening workshop at Roughwood, his c. 1805 National Register of Historic Places home in Devon, Pa., he concludes, “It was a Quaker lunch – but I gave them the best of what I had.” He serves up lessons … Read more