Tag Archives: nutrition

January 7, 2018

Greenhouse IPM Update 1.7.18

My New Year’s resolution is to get these updates out regularly. Every resolution starts with one step, right?

Lots of education happening this month! We’ll all be geniuses!

Long Island Ag Forum – January 10-11, Riverhead Click to register

Capital District Bedding Plant Conference – January 11, 8-4 in Troy

2018 Empire State Producers Expo – January 16-18 in Syracuse – tons of sessions including Greenhouse and Cut Flower

Long Island Greenhouse and Floriculture Conference – January 16 Riverhead

If you want to travel a bit – 2018 Tri-State Greenhouse IPM Workshop registration until Jan 10
Jan 17- Manchester ME
Jan 18 – Durham NH
Jan 19 Burlington VT
It’s always a great meeting!

Coming in February:
Western NY Bedding Plant School – February 13, East Aurora

Hudson Valley Nursery and Greenhouse School – February 27
More information coming soon!

 

Don’t want to leave that warm corner of the sofa? Free e-GRO webinars starting January 19– nutrient monitoring, plant growth regulators ( I like that there is one on overdoses and getting back on track as we seem to see at least one of those every year) and lighting for ornamentals and edibles.

In-House Nutrient Monitoring

January 19, 2018
12:00 to 1:00 pm Eastern Time

PGR University: Focus on Perennials

January 25, 2018
12:00 noon to 1:00 pm Eastern Time

PGR University: Focus on Annuals

January 26, 2018
12:00 noon to 1:00 pm Eastern Time

Photoperiodic Responses and Lighting Strategies of Ornamental and Edible Crops

February 2, 2018
12:00 noon to 1:30 pm Eastern Time

If you know of some I have forgotten, send them along!

Now that we have survived the cyclone bomb, it’s time to get moving! Have a great week!

September 13, 2016

Greenhouse IPM update 9.13.16

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!

August 18, 2016

Greenhouse IPM Update 8.18.16

There are about 15 almost completed updates on my computer.  I have vowed to finish one today!  Ah, summer.

Deer-leerious plants?  That sounds like a deer approved program but it is really a marketing method for plants deer don’t like. Want the home grown angle?  Listen to Mark Bridgen’s talk from the Floriculture Field Day  and see his list of tried and true plants that make deer say ‘Yuck!’

And while you are there, check out the other videos from the Floriculture Field Day.  Carol Miller on Retail Changes, Connie Schmotzer on Pollinator Friendly Landscapes, and Paul Curtis on Deer Management – and the associated handouts and resources (scroll to the bottom).  Next year you should be there in person!

It’s been HOT (had you noticed?).  What do your plants think, and how can you tell?  You can measure crop temperatures with an infrared thermometer.  Connection to pest management?  Some insects and diseases – and beneficials – have temperature optima so finding literal hot spots in the greenhouse might answer the question of why they are pest hot spots.

Pumping iron!  We usually think about iron when we see deficiency symptoms in the spring crops. So while you are relaxing (!) this summer, here’s an article from Premier Tech Hort on the role of iron in plant growth so you’ll be ready next year!

New aphids?  Actually chrysanthemum aphid isn’t new but you don’t see it in the greenhouse much because – the main point in its favor – its only host is chrysanthemum! But as many aphids increase in number faster in warmer weather (and the best information I can find says the same about this aphid) and you may see distortion of foliage with chrysanthemum aphid, its a good idea to go scout those plants today!  (remember to check NYS labels for anything mentioned in this article)

And to give the plant pathologists equal time… how to control downy mildew on a variety of crops.  Since it has started raining again (at least around Ithaca) downy mildew is happy again.

Keeping up with pop culture!  Hey, if it sells plants . . .  And these critters sort of look like bugs.  Using Pokemon GO in your garden center.   Just watch out for players walking into things…..

Hurray!  I did it.  More soon.

March 22, 2016

Greenhouse IPM Update 1.17.16

How the email piles up!  But lots of good stuff in there, even if I think of just deleting them all and starting over.  Is that Spring Cleaning?

Webinars for everyone – from E–GRO
January 22 – Managing Nutrient Solutions for Hydroponic Leafy Greens and Herbs is full but contact Brian Whipker for more information: bwhipker@ncsu.edu

January 29, 11-2 Eastern time – PGR University: Cutting Edge PGR Webinar https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/4737168154709094146
February 5 – 2–3 Eastern time – Blisters, Bumps and Lesions: What we know about the physiological disorders of intumescence and edema

There is much more to find at the e-GRO website –  Videos, research, alerts . . .

Want your education face to face? Plant Nutrition for Greenhouse Crops: On-site Media Testing, Feb 16, Sturbridge MA.  Click here for more information
How nice!  Handouts and information from previous events are all collected in one site,   And note the buttons for Fact Sheets, Publications and Resources, etc.

Got drips running down the back of your neck when you are in the greenhouse?  Here’s the article for you. Reducing Humidity in the Greenhouse

And that relates to botrytis and how to manage it!

Moisture levels even matter in space!

Ten ‘easy’ steps to greenhouse sanitation – NOW is the time to do it if you haven’t already.

And something else to clean in case you didn’t do it yet – how to winterize your sprayer – even if winter doesn’t really happen in your greenhouse

There may be no such thing as a free lunch but MSU has FREE Pest Scouting Bulletins to download – including Greenhouse.

And one on Commercially Available Biological Control Agents for Common Greenhouse Insect Pests!

Really being prepared!  Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo – November 9-10 in Boxborough, MA.

Keeping hydroponic roots happy!  Temperature, oxygen levels and beneficial microbes at optimum levels helps.

Stay warm and cuddled up to your computer watching webinars!  Have a great week!  Maybe even get out to one of the many greenhouse educational meetings this month!