Fruit and Vegetable News

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety Good agricultural practices, or GAPs, are practical steps that farmers take to protect their fresh fruits and vegetables from harmful bacteria and viral pathogens that can make people sick. Many fresh fruit and vegetables are consumed raw, meaning there is not a processing step to kill any potentially harmful microbes that might be present. Therefore, preventing contamination in the first place is the goal. A food safety plan is your farm's roadmap to help prevent microbial contamination of your fresh produce. Who needs a food safety plan? At this time most Minnesota growers are not required to have a farm food safety plan unless they have a GAP audit on their product, or unless their customer – typically a distributor, grocery store, school or restaurant – requires it. If you need to have a GAP audit, the first thing you need is a written food safety plan. If you are interested in learning more about the process for getting a GA...

Photo: Three inches of snow covers the ground west of the Twin Cities, October 20, 2020. Annie Klodd  Between cold temperatures and snowfall this week, it can be confusing to decide when to lay down mulch for strawberries. Straw is typically applied some time in November, depending your location and the weather. A very general rule is to apply mulch once temperatures dip below 20 degrees F, as long as the plants have had a chance to go dormant and acclimate to late fall temperatures. Another precise, research-based rule is to wait until the soil temperature has remained at or below 40 degrees F at 4 inches depth for at least 3 consecutive days. Bottom line: It is important to wait until the plants go dormant to apply mulch, so that they do not keep growing underneath the straw.  However, the cold temperatures and snow this week make following these rules a little more interesting. Since the plants were still growing as of a few days ago, they are unlikely to be dormant, and t...

 This article was originally published on the UMN Grape Breeding and Enology blog.  Authors: Matt Clark, UMN Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Grape Breeding and Enology Leslie Holland, UW-Madison Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Fruit Pathology Annie Klodd, UMN Extension – Fruit Production   If downy mildew and powdery mildew are present on grapevine leaves at harvest, control measures should be considered at that time to prevent early leaf drop and help vines properly acclimate for winter.   Powdery mildew on the upper side of a grapevine leaf (left) and downy mildew spores on the underside of a leaf (right) on grapevine leaves. Matt Clark. Post-harvest vineyard management of downy and powdery mildew is critical as these diseases can appear late in the season and reduce photosynthesis, defoliate vines, and increase the risk of winter damage. Vineyard managers should scout early and often, and continue to control for these diseases late into...

 Authors: Shane Bugeja, Local Extension Educator, and Natalie Hoidal, Extension Educator for local foods and vegetable crops Most farmers are still busy harvesting, cleaning fields, and preparing for next year. However, as your workload begins to slow down, consider taking some time to monitor for invasive species on your farm. While this article is about woodland invasive plants, we are posting it here because many fruit and vegetable farms in Minnesota have wood lots or small forested patches. Two plants in particular should be actively managed in these plots in order to maintain a diverse and healthy woodland ecosystem: Buckthorn and Garlic Mustard. Both plants are most effectively managed in the fall and in early spring. Buckthorn Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) or glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) arrived in Minnesota in the 1850s; it was brought from Europe as a landscaping plant. Indeed, in its first few years of growth, it forms a dense patch of shrubs with nice dark ...

Annalisa Hultberg Extension Educator, On-Farm Food Safety This time of year we get calls and emails from growers thinking about their markets and expanding opportunities next season. You may have heard about a GAP audit, and wonder what it is and how it could benefit your operation.  Here are 5 key tips to think about if you are considering a GAP audit. What is a GAP audit?  A GAP audit is basically a verification that your farm is following science-based best practices for food safety in growing fresh produce. An inspector from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) or another certifying body comes to your farm with a checklist to verify that you have implemented and are following Good Agricultural Practices during the growing, harvesting, packing, storage, and transportation of your product. It is not a law or regulation; it is a voluntary audit that you pay for, and farmers generally get it to access a market that requires an audit.   Read more about what t...