Fruit and Vegetable News

  Annalisa Hultberg, extension educator, food safety Animal-based soil amendments such as composted manure and poultry litter can build the soil organic matter and water hold capacity of your soil. You may be applying them now. Fall is a great time to do that, as it can be better for food safety and for the health of your plants. Read on for more information.  What are the potential risks? 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  (STEC). It is not possible to know if an animal is shedding pathogenic bacteria in its feces by looking at the animal or observing its behavior. Therefore it is important to take care with all animal-based soil amendments, parti...

Join us at noon on Wednesday all winter long for a webinar focused on the finer points of fruit and vegetable production. Each week we will cover a technical topic related to the successful management of fruit and vegetable crops, from planning to irrigating to managing pests. The target audience is small to medium sized farmers, as well as aspiring farmers.  Where: Zoom When : Wednesdays January 7 - April 22, 12:00 - 1:15 Attend one or as many dates as desired Recordings of the sessions will be available after the end of the series for those who register Cost: Free These webinars are led by UMN Extension educators, industry experts and experienced farmers. Register: https://z.umn.edu/fvwinterwebinar Topics and dates: Jan 7 Finding and selling to new markets: restaurants, wholesale, and farm to school in 2026 Jan 14 Crop planning to meet production goals Jan 21 Adding fruit to your farm Jan 28 Is a high tunnel right for your farm? Feb 11 Pumpkin IPM throughout the season Feb 18 ...

Image: The cycle of growth, fall acclimation, and dormancy that a perennial fruit crop goes through each year. These stages are all necessary for its growth, reproduction, and survival, and can provide a lens that helps growers better understand fruit production. Infographic by Madeline Wimmer. Words to be familiar with : Fall acclimation : A series of physiological changes triggered by external and internal factors that prepare a perennial plant to survive the winter and have enough carbohydrate reserves to support next year’s bud break, before mature, photosynthesizing leaves have developed. Dormancy : the portion of a plant’s life cycle when a number of physiological changes occur that allow the plant to overwinter in a less active state. Endodormancy : Also referred to as true dormancy, this state happens when plants first acclimate and go into dormancy. This state usually remains until a certain number of chilling hours have accumulated. Chilling hours : Hours where the ambient te...