October 7, 2016 by

Hops Yards After Harvest

The hops growing season is consumed with tactical activities like bine training, scouting for pests, maintaining plant health, harvesting cones, and sales. However, managing your hop yard is far from complete once the last cones are separated from the bines. Strategic actions to take now address: after harvest sanitation, soil fertility, drip irrigation, taking a weed inventory, and getting a Pesticide Applicator License.

Sanitation to Reduce Future Pests and Diseases

Hops: Remove diseased leaves and debris at the end of the season.

Hops: Remove diseased leaves and debris at the end of the season.

Postharvest sanitation of the hop yard is your first line of defense against future disease and insect problems.

Leftover refuse from harvest and uncut bines should be removed after the first hard freeze as they harbor fungal spores or live insects. Waiting until after the first hard freeze reduces levels of pests on the debris and reduces spreading problems to unaffected areas.

Collected plant debris with pest infestations can be burned by obtaining an Open Burning Permit from the NJDEP Forest Fire Service. Permit fees are $10 for a 30-day period and need to be signed by your Agricultural Agent certifying the reason for burning is due to disease infection. Forms are available from your agricultural extension office. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Agritourism, Articles, Growing Crops, Latest Post, On-Farm Brewery and Distillery Program
May 9, 2016 by

Farm Calls:
Troubleshooting Stunting in a Strawberry Field

This week a grower called to report an area of stunted strawberry plants, first noticed after removal of the row covers in April. There may have been overwatering on occasion.

If you read the 2016 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations, you’ve seen the page, Diagnosing Vegetable Crop Problems (A27). Stepping through the diagnostic process with a grower is mutually satisfying – there’s nothing better than getting to the root of a problem so it can be minimized or avoided altogether in the future. The process involves tracing the history of the field and the development of the problem, then closely examining the soil and plants.

Field and Crop History

Our grower said that the field previously had summer cover crop, which was tilled under while green. A couple of weeks later, raised beds were made with plastic mulch applied. The strawberry plugs were set into the beds in late summer. The growth differences that caused him to call weren’t noticed until after the row covers were removed in April.

Plant growth differences in a strawberry field.

Our grower’s strawberry field.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Farm Calls, Growing Crops, Soils
May 8, 2015 by

Farm Calls:
A Hasty Decision in the Transplant Greenhouse

Spring weather is finally breaking and vegetable transplants are being readied for field planting. We received a grower’s call about a leaf abnormality in some greenhouse grown tomato plants.

“The transplant tomatoes I’ve got hardened off, ready to go in the field have dead spots on the leaves.
What’s going on?”

We looked the plants over…

salt injured plantsSalt injury on leaves

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Evidence Based Agriculture, Farm Calls, Growing Crops
April 9, 2015 by

Farm Calls: A Greenhouse “Walk of Doom”

Tomato transplants. Photo: P.Nitzsche
Last month at a growers meeting, a farmer remarked how calling his county agent out to the farm, more often than not, turned out to be a “walk of doom” because the agent always found problems he didn’t even know he had. The farmer is actually happy about this – it means he gets the jump on problems before they get out of control. This week’s farm call from a south Jersey grower reminds us why there’s no substitute for agents in the field.

Can you come take a look at my tomatoes?
They’re still in the greenhouse due to the cold temperatures and I’m seeing some wilt. The roots are turning light brown with the outer sheath sliding off.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Evidence Based Agriculture, Farm Calls, Growing Crops