Fruit and Vegetable News

Are you new to growing in high tunnels? Join us for a nine-week course to learn the fundamentals of high tunnel vegetable production in northern climates. Topics include: crop planning, irrigation, fertility and soil health, managing weeds, insects & disease, pruning & trellising, ventilation, automation, and more.  Course details:  Who is this for? The ideal student for this class should already have a high tunnel, or plan to build one in 2026 Dates & time: Tuesdays from 12:00-1:30pm, February 3- March 31, 2026 Location: Online (Zoom) with optional summer field trips and hands-on field days Cost: $75.  Participants who complete a high tunnel management plan can receive a set of soil moisture monitors and a $300 scholarship to implement their plan. All course participants receive free soil tests and support with making a fertility plan. Scholarship and benefits are provided by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Organic Research, Education and E...

 As we approach the winter season, this can be a helpful time to dive into literature to support your efforts to build various aspects of your farm management program, including supporting pollinators on your farm.  Pollinators provide a number of benefits to fruit and vegetable growers. They are essential for helping with cross pollination for many fruit crops like apples. For early blooming crops like honeyberries, supporting the right pollinators with other early-blooming plants, can ensure good fruit set for the season.  Supporting pollinators can be done by bringing managed pollinators to their site. This is most commonly done with honey bee colonies. But growers can also support pollinator populations by building, maintaining, and protecting pollinator habitat and resources. The other key step is to protect pollinators themselves by checking in with pest management programs on the farm. This can include following Integrated Pest Management (IPM) best management prac...

In partnership with the Organic Fruit Growers Association and University of Minnesota Extension, a second round of our Fruit Climate Resilience Cohort will be offered this year with cohort dates on December 3rd (remote), December 10th (remote), and January 7th (in-person, La Crosse, WI). If you are a commercial fruit grower who follows primarily organic management practices, we invite you to apple for this opportunity to learn and fund a climate resiliency project to help your farm! Quick link :  Climate resilience program application . For more information, see below.  Background Perennial fruit growers are in a unique position when facing challenges related to extreme weather and climate change because of the inherent fixed nature and longevity of most perennial fruit crops, which remain in the same location for many years rather than being rotated seasonally like annual crops. With the anticipation that fruit growers will continue to face extreme weather conditions and othe...