Fruit and Vegetable News

  Annalisa Hultberg, extension educator, food safety Animal-based soil amendments such as composted manure and poultry litter can build the health, tilth, fertility and water hold capacity of your soil. They can also be a great way to use resources you might have on the farm such as manure.  However, all animal-based soil amendments, especially those that include untreated (raw) manure can have pathogens that can cause human illness. Here are some guidelines to help you minimize any potential risk of contamination and foodborne illness as you use these products. What are the risks with animal-based soil amendments? All animal-based amendments carry a risk of microbial contamination, though many factors affect the level of risk in each. Different animals tend to be reservoirs for different pathogens. For example, poultry like chickens and turkey often shed  Salmonella  and  Campylobacter  and ruminants (cows and sheep) often shed toxigenic  E. coli...

It's never too early to begin thinking about spring frost protection for the fruit crops you grow. Cold stress and frost damage have the potential to impact perennial fruit crops during different times of the year, and springtime in the Upper Midwest is no exception. While cold stress can happen at warmer temperatures, frost occurs when ambient temperatures fall below freezing (32 ° F).  When a spring frost happens, it can harm vegetation, and negatively impact bloom and fruit set. This is problematic recognizing that many perennial fruits exit dormancy and begin growing in Minnesota before the threat of spring frost has passed. Crop loss due to frost damage can be devastating and many strategies that help annual crop growers (e.g., delayed planting) are not usually possible for perennial crops. Image: Young grape shoots damaged by late spring frost (May 11th, 2021). Photos taken by Madeline Wimmer. What happens when dormant chilling requirements are ahead of schedule? During winte...

High tunnel soils have unique nutrient management needs. Our team just published a new webpage that outlines best practices for soil testing, adding compost, determining nutrient needs, and selecting inputs for high tunnels in Minnesota.  Some key differences between high tunnel and field-based nutrient management include:  Higher nitrogen and potassium needs for crops that produce higher yields in tunnels like tomatoes and cucumbers. High tunnel soils should be regularly tested for salts and nitrate. Soil nitrate should be factored into your nutrient needs. High tunnel irrigation water should be tested for nitrate, which should be factored into nutrient needs.  In some cases, it may be appropriate to try to change the soil texture in a high tunnel, which is unrealistic in larger fields.  Fertigation, or applying inputs through your irrigation system, is more common in high tunnels than in fields.  Learn about all of these topics + more at our new webpage: Soil...

  Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety Agritourism and U-pick farms may have different food safety risks and considerations than traditional fruit and vegetable farms, since the general public (who may not be well-versed in food safety considerations) are being invited to the farm.  Here are some key recommendations to keep your produce safe for U-Pick and orchards this coming season. Photo: Annie Klodd What are the risks? Many bacteria like  Salmonella ,  Campylobacter  and  E. coli  can be spread to fresh produce from animals and sick humans. Viruses like Norovirus and Hepatitis   can easily transmitted between humans via fresh produce and other food, surfaces and the air.  These bacteria and viruses can seriously sicken people, especially the young, old, and immunocompromised.  There have been outbreaks at agritourism farms, especially those that have animals. Take some basic precautions to reduce the potential for ...

Image: Grape bud development takes time from buds initially exiting dormancy until the first leaves and clusters are noticeable.       Perennial fruit crops require a period of dormancy to produce fruit each year. After fall acclimation a period of deeper dormancy, known as endodormancy, begins within a plant until it completes its chilling requirements (refer to the article, “ Understanding dormancy and chilling hours in perennial fruit crops ” for a detailed explanation). Once it has accumulated enough chilling hours, the plant goes from endodormancy to ecodormancy stage. This could be viewed as a transitional phase where dormancy is maintained by external environmental conditions rather than internal physiological factors. Eventually the plant exits dormancy and begins bud development to produce vegetation and/or flowers.      As bud development begins, the rate at which buds develop relates largely to ambient temperatures, and is influenced by soil...