Fruit and Vegetable News

Dormant pruning of various fruit crops is often done after the coldest parts of winter have passed, and before bud break begins, allowing enough time to finish the total acreage. However, from now until the time you start pruning, it can be a good time to take inventory of your current pruning tools to take note of what tools you have and their condition.  In this article, we’ll discuss various tools that can be used for pruning dormant perennial fruit crops, how to best care for them, and what to do if serious corrosion happens.  Pruning tools  Hand shears and loppers: Hand shears/pruners : Also referred to as secateurs in some parts of the world, this tool can be used to cut smaller diameter branches up to 3/4-1 inch. For shrubs and vines, hand shears can be the primary tool used in pruning. Hand shears come in a variety of options: manual, ratcheting, electric, and pneumatic.  Loppers : Loppers look similar to hand shears, but they have very long handles with a bl...

Join University of Minnesota Extension educators for a newly developed two-day, hands-on workshop for vegetable producers this winter. This training will include information and tools to help improve your farming skills to grow and sell more high-quality vegetables for wholesale, farm to school, and cooperative markets. If you are looking to improve your farm's operations, find new markets, improve efficiency and profits and meet new farmer colleagues, this training is for you. Audience: Farmers with 2-5 years of experience looking to scale up and improve their on-farm systems to sell more product. Note that the materials are not intended for a home gardener audience. Topics include: Selecting the right markets for your crops, crop planning, variety selection, efficient weeding tools, scouting for pest and disease problems, postharvest handling and packshed design, sorting and grading produce for wholesale markets, low-cost DIY cooler design, food safety and season extension. The ...

We have gotten a few reports of bacterial canker from high tunnel growers around Minnesota. Read on for tips for ID, management advice, and a chance to inform future research. What is bacterial canker? Bacterial canker, caused by the bacteria  Clavibacter michiganensis , is a disease that can affect all parts of the tomato plant — from leaves to stems to fruits. It causes leaf edge yellowing and browning, discolored stem tissue, and spots on fruit. Symptoms are sometimes split down the middle of a leaflet or plant. Leaf edge discoloration starts small but can progress and cause leaf death. Photo: Mary Ann Hansen, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Bugwood.org This is a disease to get confirmed by a lab — there are a couple of disease that can cause similar symptoms (including other diseases with long term management implications). If you still have suspect plants that are holding on, get a sample into the Plant Disease Clinic . If plants are already crispy an...

Author: Natalie Hoidal It's garlic planting season. Here are a few quick tips to guide you. 1. Delaying planting due to heat? We've seen mild fall conditions across the state this year, and the first frost date is significantly delayed. The standard recommendation is to plant one to two weeks after the first killing frost, which typically falls in late September in northern Minnesota, and early October in southern Minnesota. Planting too early can lead to frost damage if the shoot emerges above the soil before winter. So, should you wait to plant? I asked a few colleagues to weigh in, and the general consensus was: No. Stick to the typical planting schedule, which means plant soon if you haven't done so already! Adding a thick layer of straw mulch sill help to keep your plants insulated through the winter. This will be particularly important if you see the shoots poking through the soil before a hard frost comes. Garlic planted with 6” row spacing and 6” between cloves in a...

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety      Do you raise livestock on your farm?  Do you grow vegetables in a high tunnel? Do you use the tunnel structure to house the livestock at any point during the year? If so, we would love to hear from you!  UMN Extension is developing a new research study to help generate data to support safe integration of livestock and vegetable operations. The purpose of the research will be to gather data to support evidence-based recommendations around safe integration of livestock and vegetables.  To participate, please fill out this anonymous survey. If you are interested in participating in the research, you can include your contact information and the research team will be in touch with more details. The data sampling would occur this fall and winter. You will be eligible for a $300 stipend as well as results of soil sampling analysis if your farm is interested and eligible for participation. https://z.umn.edu/Li...

Article originally written by Annie Klodd (2020) and updated by Madeline Wimmer (2024, 2026), UMN Fruit Production Extension Educator. Given that it's nearly October, we're far away from the start of the 2027 growing season, but now is a good time to think about ordering apple bare root trees for future plantings, which can take up to two years for some specialty orders.  Most growers are familiar with the fruit characteristics offered by various apple varieties, which are determined primarily by the scion, or the top portion of the apple tree. However, one of the most important questions to answer prior to ordering apple bare root trees is "Which rootstock should I choose?"  Why do apple trees have rootstocks? A Honeycrisp apple tree (scion) grafted onto a G.935 rootstock.  (Photo credit: Annie Klodd) Apple trees are propagated asexually by grafting. While some plants, like grapevines can be asexually propagated using cuttings, the branches used for fruit trees are ...

Authors: Marissa Schuh Much of Minnesota got some rain in the last week -- from overwhelming barrages in Southeast Minnesota to the first rainfall in months in the Northwest. Much of the state needs the rain , but it is making harvest and storage of longer-season crops much more difficult. One issue we see when it is wet is an uptick in diseases. One we are particularly curious about the UMN right now is white mold . This disease has a wide host range -- it gets into most vegetables we grow, and can get into cut flowers as well. The most distinctive symptoms are what plant pathologists call sclerotia – these structures look like mouse dropping and act as bunkers for the pathogen, allowing it to lay in wait many years until the right conditions and host are available in the future. It can occur in the high tunnel and in the field, in a year like this it is most likely to show up in irrigated plantings. As you harvest brassicas and clean up high tunnels, let us know if you see white mo...