Fruit and Vegetable News

Madeline Wimmer- UMN Fruit Production Extension Educator Apples Growth stage update: Petal fall Pest highlight: Plum curculio Grapes Growth stage update: Pre-bloom Article : Understanding trellis "anatomy" for cold climate grape establishment Shoot tucking VSP vines Pest highlight: Grape phylloxera Raspberries Leafhoppers in high tunnel raspberry production. Video : Reinforcing raspberry trellis end posts on a small scale production stand. Apples Growth stage update: Petal fall Images: Apple petal fall begins with the earliest blooming flowers, after which successfully pollinated fruits will begin to develop. The tool on the right is an apple thinning template that measures fruitlet circumferences to determine effectiveness of apple post-bloom chemical thinners. Right photo by UMN Researcher, Kate Scapanski.  After full bloom, once pollination window has ended, those apple fruitlets that were successfully pollinated will begin to develop as their petals senesce and fall, b...

Natalie Hoidal & Marissa Schuh What a change weatherwise! When we wrote last week things felt like mid-July, while this week things feel like Mid-March. In the south metro we’re seeing flooded fields, while in the northern and western parts of the state, the rain has helped to make a dent in drought conditions. Cool temperatures are expected to continue through the weekend, and planting will be delayed on most farms. Holding transplants With nearly a week of cold, wet weather, many growers have had to hold transplants longer than expected. We expect to see night time temperatures start to rise again next Monday, but you might already have transplants that are getting leggy, nutrient stressed, and ready to go outside. A few methods for reducing stress include: Avoid the urge to turn on the heat: By lowering the overall temperature of your greenhouse or high tunnel, plant growth will slow down. This may also help to harden off your plants and reduce transplant shock. Beyond reducing...

Author: Natalie Hoidal, University of Minnesota Extension Educator, Local Foods and Vegetable Production, with input from members of the Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group Originally published 2021, updated 2025. While we hope your seedlings are healthy and vigorous, some of you are likely seeing some common problems such as seedling collapse, or tall, spindly plants. This guide is meant to help you troubleshoot issues.  Poor germination If your seedlings simply are not germinating, the most likely cause is salts. Some potting mixes contain very high concentrations of salts, which inhibit germination. If you're making your own potting mix, applying high rates of potassium, blood meal, or other fertilizers can lead to high salt concentrations. To confirm that this is the problem, or to test a new potting mix before planting, you can always submit a potting soil sample to the UMN soil lab (click on Testing Services --> Greenhouse, Florist, & Nursery Tests, and select ...

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...

  Registration for the Upper Midwest Honeyberry Academy is now open!   The Upper Midwest Honeyberry Academy is a free, one-day intensive event aimed at current and aspiring honeyberry growers and agricultural professionals interested in learning more about this promising, new berry crop for northern climates. The Academy brings together expert growers, researchers, breeders, and University Extension from across the Upper Midwest and beyond to share the latest research and information on honeyberry production and facilitate networking opportunities. The event will be held on Tuesday, July 1 st at Haskap Minnesota, a 2-acre honeyberry orchard in Stillwater, Minnesota. Featured speakers include Dr. Bob Bors from the University of Saskatchewan; Dr. Zach Miller of Montana State University; Bernis Ingvaldson of Honeyberry USA; Phil Stowe of Walking Plants Orchard; and George Terwey of Haskap Minnesota.  At a glance: When:  July 1st, 2025 from 8:30 - 5:30pm Where : Has...

 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...