Fruit and Vegetable News

Extension has a new set of tools to help you plan just how many plants or beds you need to achieve your yield or market goals. Let's say you have a contract for 300 lbs of tomatoes, or 150 lbs of carrots, or that you hope to sell 25 lbs of cucumbers each week in July at the farmers market. How do you plan backwards to figure out how many plants you'll need, and when to start growing? Our new webpage on crop and field planing for vegetable farmers has tables to help you estimate how many plants or beds you need to achieve a certain yield, recommended plant spacing, seed or transplant needs, as well as timing recommendations (how early to start seeds indoors, how long it takes to produce a crop, harvest window).  We also have some guidelines on the webpage to help you choose which crops to grow. Many farmers grow a wide variety of crops for fresh markets (e.g. farmers markets), but when growing for a wholesale market, it becomes more important to choose crops that are lower risk,...

Authors: Natalie Hoidal and  Marissa Schuh , Extension Educators, University of Minnesota Extension. Originally published 2021, updated 2025. T his week we dig deeper into root vegetables.  By planning ahead and anticipating challenges, you can get ahead of common problems that limit yields.   Get your stew mix ready, let’s talk carrots, beets, radishes, and turnips. Image: Howard F. Schwartz, Bugwood.org The Perfect Seedbed: Is it really necessary? Conventional wisdom regarding seedbeds for small-seeded crops like carrots and beets is that a perfectly smooth seedbed is necessary for good germination. Clods on the surface can smother small seedlings, and an uneven soil surface can result in variable seeding depths and access to moisture. However, in recent years, growers using no-till and reduced till methods have challenged this idea with two main strategies to avoid perfect seedbeds:  Using row cover or burlap at planting helps to hold moisture near the soil. Whi...

Authors: Natalie Hoidal and Marissa Schuh , Extension Educators, University of Minnesota Extension. Originally published 2021, updated 2025. We are reviving and revising a series of crop-specific deep-dive articles we published in 2021. This week we are focusing on crops in the Brassica family, and tips for growing them successfully. By planning ahead and anticipating challenges, you can get ahead of common problems that limit yields. Bolting Brassicas originated in the Mediterranean, where they were originally biennial plants that required a 2-3 month cool period (winter vernalization) to induce flowering. Since winter in Greece is a bit like spring in Minnesota, growers in cool climates have been able to grow Brassicas in the spring. Because our spring is followed by a very warm summer, growing spring Brassicas in Minnesota can be a bit of a dance with the weather. While each plant is a bit different in its requirements, the basic idea is that they prefer conditions in the 60s early ...

Madeline Wimmer- Fruit Production educator Introduction Whether you’re working on a new vineyard block, elongating cordons for further established vines, or replacing winter-injured or declining cordons, tying down canes to fruiting wire is something all vineyards end up doing annually. Tying new grapevine canes is a critical step across many training systems and vine situations. This process is fairly simple, and below are a few tips and answers to common questions to ensure your success! Images: A Vertical Shoot Position (VSP) trained grapevine with a permanent cordon on one side, and a cane tied down on the other to replace a cordon (left). A grapevine cane with newly swelling buds (primary and secondary) developing (upper right). A grapevine cane that is being tied down to elongate the short, already-established cordon (lower right). Why is it necessary to secure canes to the fruiting wire? Without any support, the cordons (i.e., the arms of the grapevine) would collapse from the w...

  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...