Fruit and Vegetable News

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety This time of year we get calls and emails from growers thinking about their markets and expanding opportunities this coming 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 things 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 auditor from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) or another certifying body comes to your farm with a checklist to verify that you use 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 the audit is and who needs it: 1...

Marissa Schuh and Annie Klodd. Originally published 2020, revised 2025. Some farms have the end of asparagus harvest in sight, and growers are probably thinking, “Oh great, now I get to get rid of all these weeds.” Read on for more information on all types of strategies for managing weeds in asparagus, from hoeing to herbicides.   Asparagus ferns in the field. Photo: Annie Klodd Because asparagus is a perennial crop that has green tissue from April to December, one of the biggest challenges is managing weeds within the asparagus rows. Growers must look for methods and windows of time for weed management that do not harm the growth of the plant. They also must develop a strategy for perennial weeds such as Canada thistle and quack grass, which thrive in asparagus beds due to the open soil and lack of tillage. Managing weeds between the rows is much easier in comparison to the rows themselves. Aisles can be kept weed free without the use of herbicides via cultivation, flam...

Marissa Schuh, IPM Extension Educator, mschuh@umn.edu and Annie Klodd. Originally published 2022, updated in 2025. As asparagus grows and gets picked, asparagus beetles  are showing up as well. There are two beetles we see in asparagus, common and spotted asparagus beetle. We generally hear the most about the yellow, black, and red common asparagus beetle. These guys are tricky to manage, read on for the answers to common questions we get about these pests from growers. Common asparagus beetles feed on spears and ferns. Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.com Do I actually need to spray? The threshold for asparagus beetles are: 5-10% of plants are infested with adults or larvae. 2% of spears have eggs. . Asparagus beetle eggs are laid single-file in a line. Photo: Annie Klodd, UMN Extension. What do I spray? Using insecticides in spring asparagus is a challenge because of the constant picking. Any product that you use needs to have a short Pre-Harvest Inte...

 Madeline Wimmer, Extension Educator- Fruit Production Constructing a reliable trellis is a key step to successfully vineyard establishment. Trellises come in various designs and there are multiple tools and supply options to choose from for construction and maintenance. The first step to simplifying the initial planning process is understanding the function of each trellis feature, which will be broken down into six different sections in this article.  Why do grapes need to be trellised? Trellises are the hardware onto which grapevines are trained . Left to their own devices, grapevines would grow bushy and become difficult to manage and harvest. Thus, a trellis provides the support needed to train both permanent and semi-permanent grapevine parts, such as a trunk and cordons, guide shoots, and uphold the crop weight of a fully ripened grapevine without collapsing.  Trellis designs can vary, but they are typically built as either two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Whi...

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety Dedicated packing areas are an essential part of food safe produce handling on the farm. Let’s look at common reasons for building a pack area and key features that must be included in any design. Why build a packing area? Packing areas provide an accessible space for washing, packing and grading produce  Packing areas serve as a central space for storing harvest supplies like knives, rubber bands, produce bins and wax boxes.  Packing areas allow farmers to clean and pack vegetables in a food safe manner. This leads to better quality and longer lasting produce, which increases farm profitability.  With the right infrastructure and equipment, packing areas increase the efficiency of the washing and packing process. A carport is a portable and generally affordable option for packing produce Key washing and packing area features Several key features must be considered in any design: The structure:  Your packing area sho...

  By Marissa Schuh, IPM extension educator. Originally published in 2023, updated in 2025. As I’ve made some early season visits to farmers around the state, one weed has come up again and again, putting a damper on early season optimism - Canada thistle. Canada thistle as rosettes early in the season. Photo: Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org. Vegetable farmers are used to dealing with all kinds of tricky weeds, but the brute biology of Canada thistle makes it one of the most frustrating weeds to deal with.  Canada thistle isn’t just perennial, but it has storage roots that help the plant regrow after mowing and spread into new areas. These roots are also able to produce new plants if broken up, for example by tillage.    How does Canada thistle get on the farm? Canada thistle is common in ditches and field borders. Each flower produces up to 45 seeds, which can be blown by the wind or even carried by water.  Canada thistle is a com...