By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Director of Technical Services, MOFGA I can understand farmers who tell me they’re tired of hearing about the new USDA Rule and the regulation of organic vegetable production. I have said many times that the new rule is really 99% similar to MOFGA’s old standards, and I still claim that. Then
A Natural System Just Dying for Balance By Jean English Michael Zuck gave an inspiring talk at MOFGA and Cooperative Extension’s Farmer to Farmer Conference about using teosinte and other plants as “banker plants” in greenhouses – plants that support pests that, in turn, support beneficial insects. English photo. Michael Zuck’s fascination with nature’s multiple
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Does summertime bode many afternoon hours in the hammock thinking about what’s good in the garden to go with that hamburger hot off the grill – or hours of worrying what could go wrong in that garden, which looks so good this early in the season? Balancing fun with fret is
The OMRI categories that may include pesticides are: amino acids Bacillus thuringiensis Beauveria bassiana biological controls boric acid botanical pesticides calcium polysulfide copper products corn gluten diatomaceous earth enzymes nonsynthetic fungicides gibberellic acid nonsynthetic herbicides hydrogen peroxide inoculants lime sulfur limonene neem cake and extract nonsynthetic nematicides narrow range oils nonsynthetic oils pheromones potassium bicarbonate
Toki Oshima illustration. By Jan Suszkiw, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff People aren’t the only ones to benefit from salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. Spraying this naturally occurring compound onto some plants triggers natural defenses that keep harmful fungi, bacteria and viruses at bay. Plants have always had some means to defend themselves,
An oil made from garlic can be mixed with a percentage of bird seed and fed to starlings in areas that you want them to avoid. After a taste of the garlic oil-impregnated seed, they’ll do just that. Photograph from Corel Corporation, used with permission. by John K. Borchardt Garlic repels more than just vampires.
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Winter is the time to plan gardening and farming practices that will overcome problems from the past year. It is a time of optimism. Looking forward to great success is easy with all the beautiful pictures in seed catalogs, but the rotting vegetables in the root cellar may bring back a
Squash bug. Photo credit: 1 By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Fall chores are my favorites. At no other time do I have more hope for a successful garden than the fall before. Autumn is even better than spring, especially last spring when we all realized very early in April that it was not going to be
The larva of the carrot rust fly is a maggot that tunnels into carrots. Photos by Eric Sideman. by Eric Sideman, Ph.D. I have lived in the same house in Greene, Maine, for over 20 years, and the carrot rust fly has been a problem only one of those years. But it was awful that
August 14, 2020 With the hot sunny summer we’re having (please rain…), winter squash development has progressed quickly for many. Make sure that your squash is truly ready for harvest to ensure peak flavor, thanks to the research of Brent Loy, who sadly, recently passed away. One caveat that isn’t mentioned in the squash entry
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