It’s cold in my office today so I am typing fast to keep my fingers warm!
Penn State has some nice resources for high tunnels. Cozy up for a little informative reading …
Common Natural Enemies in High Tunnels
Common Insects Found on Sticky Cards in High Tunnels
High Tunnel Vegetable Crops: Designing a Scouting Plan
Snow again! And since they removed the Cornus mas from outside my window, I don’t have that friendly reminder of swelling buds to tell me spring is coming. But it is, I know it IS!
Check those fertilizer injectors! Who wants to find out they aren’t working by having plants show symptoms – and then trying to figure out why! Thomas Ford in eGro says from his work “75% of the fertilizer injectors employed by growers in are greenhouses are not working properly”. We’ve already heard of one case in NY. Lots of information here.
Get the key to locking out pests (my, that’s kind of a stretch but it is Friday). Leeane Pundt at UConn has a great post on key plants and key pests to help you inspect new plant material coming in and scouting it once it’s in your greenhouse.
Another on scouting guidelines and biocontrol options for the most common insects and diseases found in greenhouse crops.
And since a picture is worth a thousand words…illustrated scouting tips for lots of crops
– Ornamental crops
– Vegetable bedding plants
– Herb bedding plants
– Herbaceous perennials
– Identifying pests and beneficials on sticky cards
Go UConn!
Think (no) thrips! UMass’ post on reviewing thrips biocontrol
Webinars and more webinars…
Our series on high tunnel and greenhouse vegetable IPM continues to grow. The most recent one was just posted!
OMAFRA’s greenhouse vegetable IPM specialist on Heating, Lighting and IPM
March 30, 2017
Using biofungicides, biostimulants, and biofertilizers to boost crop productivity and help manage vegetable diseases – not just greenhouse but perhaps still useful!
Bees are still in the news! One study from England I read said that most varieties surveyed in garden centers were unattractive to pollinators (actually measuring the number of visits by pollinators at the garden center itself). While still low, those with some notation as being friendly to bees had 4x as many visits. Hopefully this listing would fare better – Bee friendly trees and shrubs
Yes, but can they learn to dust? Bees are smarter than we thought – or else maybe they are training us. Hmmm….
Courage in the face of cold! It will be warm again!
Ah, long falls – the climatic type, not the tripping down stairs type – and Indian summer….
I’ll start out with something just for pretty – we are (all?) plant geeks after all –
You can come visit the new conservatory when you are on campus!
Those new WPS rules – need help? DEC is running some mock WPS inspections in October to help. Oct 5 at Dickman Farms in Auburn, 9:30-12:00. No registration fee and no need to pre-register. 2 DEC credits for 1a, 1d, 10, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. Oct 19 in Riverhead and Oct 26th in Lockport. Let me know if you need more information.
ProMix/Premier Tech Grower Videos – some useful topics like roles of nutrients in plant growth, calibrating pH and EC meters, and how to determine if your media is too old.
Tunnel Vision – what’s going on in tunnels these days?
Need something different in your high tunnels or greenhouses? Try TunnelBerries (not sure if that is a great marketing name…). Production guides, economics, and how to build and even recycle the plastic from tunnels. (Check out the blog and you can find Cornell’s Marvin Pritts pictured)
And the University of Kentucky has a new IPM Scouting Guide for High Tunnel and Greenhouse Vegetable Crops.
September is flying by – still have plants to get in the garden!
Have a great week!
A lovely tour of Rochester greenhouses last week. I think I was having a color deficit reaction. Need More Flowers!
It’s all in the tank! How do beneficial nematodes get along with pesticides as a tank mix? Sarah Jandricic checked it out.
Beating botrytis – yes, it is that time of year.
The temperature and humidity range information is very helpful!
Keeping up with calibration – for EC and pH meters. Note that not all are constructed the same way – but the basic information is a good reminder. In fact, I need to calibrate mine today!
Need more encouragement to scout? And even more?
Do plants need sunscreen – when you use UV light to kill fungal diseases?
Grown in the USA – more beneficials are available from Beneficial Insectary in CA.
A little light reading – if you can find the time now. The presentations from the 2015 Canadian Greenhouse Conference. My favorite slide title – The bios are @#&%$ !!! A checklist before complaining to your supplier.
Margery says she always reads these in case I mention her. Maybe I should start adding other people’s names, too.
Have a great week!
