How the USDA Grades Cucumbers

How the USDA Grades Cucumbers

Once cucumbers are harvested, a grading system set up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is used to identify the cucumbers. – How the USDA Grades Cucumbers The following grades apply to pickling cukes: U.S. Grade No. 1: less than 11/16-inch diameter U.S. Grade No. 2: 11/16-inch diameter to less than 1 1/2-inch diameter U.S. Grade … Read more

Cucumber Growing 101

Cucumber Growing 101

With the cucumber business racking in $300 million from pickling and fresh-market cucumbers, the industry is full of opportunity for producers who apply the proper techniques to produce these vegetables. – Cucumber Growing 101 Regardless if the chosen cucumber is intended for the fresh market or for pickling, cukes require a specific environment to properly grow. … Read more

Leaf Mold: Risk for Tomatoes

Leaf Mold: Risk for Tomatoes

With the help of high tunnels, many growers can snatch an early start on their vegetable crops. However, these unheated structures have a growing environment and disease concerns similar to those in a heated greenhouse. Growers may be plagued by crop diseases, which normally aren’t encountered in field production. – Leaf Mol Often, tomatoes are chosen … Read more

BrightFarms: How This Greenhouse Operation Grows Spinach

BrightFarms

Spinach is the quintessential leafy green. It’s often what people think of when they think “healthy.” It is also a highly versatile green that consumers use for salads, dips, garnishes, sandwiches, pasta, casseroles and more. When BrightFarms, a commercial scale greenhouse operation with locations in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Culpepper County, Virginia; and Rochelle, Illinois, launched … Read more