Vegetable Growers News

Reusing plastic helps Fancy Farms

Carl Grooms chose the name Fancy Farms on a whim. Strawberries are one of the neatest crops you can grow. Everything around them should be fancy to accommodate that. It makes the farm look nice for visitors, too, he said. "Everything on the farm is fancy but me, but I don't care because I don't really count." Grooms, 61, started his strawberry farm in Plant City, Fla., in 1974, with help from a financial partner, James Crocker. At the time, no bank would give Grooms a loan. He had ability and knowledge, having grown up on a strawberry and vegetable farm in the area, but zero assets. Crocker helped get him started. "It's the only thing I knew how to do well," Grooms said. "I figured I could make more money doing that than working for somebody else." The partnership was in place for about…  » Read more

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Fancy Farms harvest

Fancy Farms hires about 300 workers during harvest. Without them, owner Carl Grooms wouldn't be able to grow berries. Photo by Matt Milkovich

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New asparagus seed coming into production

According to a report given at the 2011 Oceana Asparagus Day in Hart, Mich., in March, there are going to be some changes in seed supply for the coming years. The major suppliers of asparagus seed are the University of Guelph in Canada, Rutgers University, Walker Brothers and Vilmorin. One of the Guelph varieties, Guelph Millennium, is in high demand, said John Bakker, executive director of the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board (MAAB). "It has been near the top of Michigan field trials," he said. "Seed production is increasing and has been for the last few years, but demand will outweigh production until 2014." Bakker also reported that several of the Guelph trial varieties were doing well and should make it to production soon. Two of the varieties, UG 09 and UG 20, are in pre-commercial seed production. Those varieties are showing promise, Bakker said, but…  » Read more

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Molasses a replacement for methyl bromide?

As they search for soil treatments to replace methyl bromide, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Fort Pierce, Fla., are using one technique that sounds as if it were borrowed from a family recipe: Taking molasses and heating it up. Farmers have been using methyl bromide since the 1930s, but these days it is subject to strict environmental controls because it depletes Earth's ozone layer. As part of an international agreement, growers worldwide are required to find a replacement, a tall order because methyl bromide eliminates a broad spectrum of pests, including weeds, nematodes and plant pathogens. The mandate is particularly challenging in Florida, where sandy soils limit organic alternatives and the mild winters serve as a safe harbor for many of nature's most pernicious pests. Nutsedge is a particular weed problem in Florida and is a major reason methyl bromide is still used there.…  » Read more

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Florida strawberry experiments conserve water

Several strawberry experiments at the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research & Education Center in Wimauma, Fla., are finding ways to preserve water.Bielinski Santos, a vegetable and small fruit horticulturist, described some of the experiments for a group of growers Feb. 11, during the center's strawberry expo. One research experiment seeks to lower the amount of water used when establishing strawberries by using Surround crop protectant (kaolin clay). The research started four years ago, and includes small plots and large-scale field demonstrations in and around Plant City, Fla. The conventional way to establish strawberries in Florida requires between 10 and 14 days of sprinkler irrigation (about 60,000 gallons per acre). In the experiment, the irrigation stops on day seven and Surround is applied on top of the plants the next morning. So far, the research has yielded a 20-30 percent savings in water, with no…  » Read more

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Use ‘animal instincts’ to save your plants

Have you ever seen a scarecrow? You know, the old set of cloths stuffed with straw and made to look like a man out standing in a field, used to scare off crows and other birds? It is meant to keep critters from eating away the farmer's profits. That same concept is still in use, although it has taken a much more advanced form.Today's fruit growers have many forms of the modern scarecrow at their disposal. This is a good thing, because there is far more than a few birds coming in to eat away profits. Varmints such as rabbits, moles, voles, squirrels opossums, raccoons and more are constantly on the attack. Please don't eat me! With animals, it is instinctual to try to not become a meal for something else. That is where the decoy comes into play. These are products that rely on…  » Read more

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