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
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. In the fall I attended the 100th anniversary, annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences in Providence, Rhode Island. The ASHS has a good mix of members representing university researchers, Extension educators and industry who study all aspects of crop production. The reports covered very basic plant science to
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. The causes of some garden tragedies are obvious, while other causes are mysterious. When Colorado potato beetles eat every leaf and your potatoes never get larger than golf balls, there really is no puzzle to solve. But sometimes gardeners don’t know what went wrong, and they chalk some problems up to
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,
Biological Controls and Other Lower Toxicity Methods By Colin D. Stewart, Ph.D., University of Maine Cooperative Extension Homeowner/Greenhouse IPM Specialist This article discusses many lower toxicity pest control measures, including biological controls. The key to using biologicals successfully is to monitor your greenhouse regularly to detect and correctly identify pests and to introduce the correct
Wood from white oak (shown here), black locust, cedar and honey locust can be used as an organic alternative to pressure-treated wood. English photo. By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. I have worked for MOFGA for nearly 20 years as the “answer man,” and questions about treated lumber have come in every spring when gardeners and farmers
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.
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