Information for beginning farmers.
Vegetable Production
This page provides information on the production of vegetables in the Northeast. See also:
- Marketing/Marketing Produce
-
Organic Agriculture/Organic Horticulture
To navigate within this page more quickly, click on the links below.
General | Production Systems | Pests, Diseases, & Weeds | Crop-Specific Information |Organizations
Cornell Vegetables
http://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/
The Cornell Commercial Vegetable Production program is a cooperative effort between Extension educators and horticulturists, entomologists, pathologists, economists, and engineers at both the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva and academic departments in Ithaca.
Department of Horticulture 121 Plant Science Bldg. Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 Phone: (607) 255-1780 Fax: (607) 255-9998The Department of Horticulture at Cornell University
http://hort.cals.cornell.edu/
The home page of Cornell’s Horticulture Department.
Department of Horticulture 134A Plant Science Bldg. Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 Phone: (607) 255-4568 Fax: (607) 255-9998 E-mail:New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/
Cornell University
The primary mission is to support New York’s fruit and vegetable industry. Researchers and extension educators work to develop good farming, food storage, and processing practices while safeguarding the environment, increasing market share for New York producers, and assuring consumers safe, reasonably-priced, high-quality fruits and vegetables.
NYSAES 630 West North St. Geneva, NY 14456 Phone: (315) 787-2011Gardening Resources
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/
Department of Horticulture, Cornell University
Designed for the home gardener, but includes lots of useful information for market gardeners as well.
Food Safety Begins on the Farm
http://dspace.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/2209/1/FSBF_Bk_Eng.pdf
Good Agricultural Practices, Cornell University
A book for farmers on food safety tips to practice from planting to post-harvest. Publication is in PDF format. If you would like to request a single copy of the materials, contact Lois at (607) 255-1428 or
Southern Tier Produce News
http://scnyat.cce.cornell.edu/vegfruit/news.htm
South Central NY Agriculture Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension
The Southern Tier Produce News (STPN) newsletter is intended to provide timely information on a monthly basis to fruit and vegetable producers in the CCTTS (Chemung, Cortland, Tioga, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties) region. Topics covered in the Southern Tier News newsletter address crop and pest management issues, business and marketing opportunities, results from current fruit and vegetable research, a calendar of up-coming events, and more.
Extension Programs in Plant Breeding
http://plbrgen.cals.cornell.edu/cals/pbg/programs/departmental/extension/index.cfm
Cornell University
Includes overview, extension faculty and responsibilities, plant breeding extension staff and responsibilities, New York Seed Improvement Project, hybrid corn variety tests, forage variety tests, cereal grain variety tests, extension publications, plant breeding extension meetings for 1996, and Northeast Seed Alliance.
South Central NY Commercial Vegetable and Fruit Production
http://scnyat.cce.cornell.edu/vegfruit/index.htm
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Features Southern Tier Produce News, farmers market/wholesale price reports, article database, and agricultural links.
Tyrone W. Hall Tioga County Office Bldg. 56 Main St. Owego, NY 13827 Phone: (607) 687-4020 E-mail:Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Agricultural Alternatives
http://agalternatives.aers.psu.edu/
If you are looking for just a few pages of info. on how to grow a specific crop, this website features a helpful selection of fact sheets for nearly any vegetable you might want to produce.
Market Farming Listserv
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
This is a mailing list/web forum for networking among small-scale farmers whose primary marketing outlets are consumer-direct and local. It is an excellent source of practical information on production and marketing for the diversified small farm. Market-farming provides the small-scale farmer a way to network with other farmers, to discuss appropriate scale production methods, equipment, marketing, profitability, cropping sequences, diversification, sustainability, working with extension agents, private consultants, and fellow farmers, and anything else involved in making a living and providing food and fiber from your small acreage farm. To subscribe, visit the web site and fill out the subscription form.
Fresh Market Vegetable Resource CD
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin
The Fresh Market Vegetable Resource CD includes factsheets, reports, power point presentations, and marketing materials on a range of topics, including vegetable production, healthy farmers, and consumer outreach. Although the materials on this CD are targeted to fresh market growers, much of the information is also appropriate for Master Gardener or community gardener training programs. $5. To order, call (608) 262-5200 or e-mail
Vegetable publications
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/ipmveg.htm
University of Connecticut
Links to articles on IPM for peppers, tomatoes, beans, cole crops, corn, and much more.
Vegetable Culture
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/indices/0vegcultindex.html
University of Rhode Island, GreenShare
Series of factsheets on growing various vegetables.
Seed to Seed
http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=B579
Suzanne Ashworth, Seed Savers Exchange
The most complete seed-saving guide ever published. Describes specific techniques for 160 vegetables, including botanical classifications, flower structure and means of pollination, population size, isolation distance, caging or hand-pollination techniques, and proper methods for harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storage. This newly updated and greatly expanded Second Edition now includes how to start each vegetable from seed, turning the book into a complete growing guide. Expert gardeners from seven regions of the U.S. have shared their seed starting techniques. An invaluable, comprehensive reference book for maintaining heirlooms and preserving our vegetable heritage. 320 pages. $24.95. Visit the web site to order or call (563) 382-5990.
Country Folks Grower
http://www.cfgrower.com/
A monthly newsletter for greenhouse, nurseries, fruit, and vegetable growers in the Northeast.
6113 State Highway 5 Palatine Bridge, NY 13428 Phone: 1-800-218-5586 Fax: (518) 673-2381 E-mail:Cover Crops for Vegetable Production in the Northeast
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Presents the latest research on varieties and procedures to reap the benefits of using cover crops in vegetable production. Includes management factors and the characteristics of different cover crop species. 12 pages. Item 142IB244. $4.20. Click here
http://legacy.cce.cornell.edu/store/customer/home.php?cat=278
for an order form.
2003 High Tunnel Production Manual
http://www.nasga.org/publications/pubs_hightunnel.htm
William J. Lamont, Jr., Michael D. Orzolek, Center for Plasticulture, Department of Horticulture, Penn State University
For centuries a wide variety of techniques have been used to extend the growing season of horticultural crops. Glass jars, glass cloches, hotcaps, cold frames, hotbeds, and greenhouses of various types have all contributed to season extension. More recently, high tunnels have become popular with growers because of their simplicity and effectiveness in protecting crops from low temperatures in both spring and fall. The 2003 High Tunnel Production Manual offers the latest information for putting this innovative technology to work. $25 plus $6 S&H per book. Click on the link above for an order form in PDF format. To order by credit card, fax the form to (814) 238-7051. Otherwise, send the order form with a check or money order made payable to American Society for Plasticulture to:
ASP 526 Brittany Dr. State College, PA 16803Farmers and Their Innovative Cover Cropping Techniques
http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/Videos/covercropvideo.html
Vern Grubinger, University of Vermont Extension
This video features 10 vegetable and berry farms in 5 northeastern states (MA, NH, NJ, PA, VT) that have experimented with and refined a wide variety of creative cover cropping practices. 70 minutes. $15 including S&H. All orders must be pre-paid by check or money order payable to UVM. Click here
[http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/Videos/videoorderform.html]
for an order form. Send it with payment to:
Center for Sustainable Agriculture University of Vermont 63 Carrigan Dr. Burlington, VT 05405-0004 Phone: (802) 656-5459 E-mail:Cover Crops on the Intensive Market Farm
http://www.cias.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/cvrcrop.pdf
John Hendrickson, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin, September 2003
This publication is meant to serve as a practical guide to using cover crops in small- to moderate-size fresh market vegetable operations — farms that may not always have access to “conventional” equipment when it comes to managing cover crops. Publication is in PDF format. 24 pages. $3. To order a print copy, send a check made payable to UW Madison-CIAS and your name, business, and address to:
Center for Integrated Ag Systems 1450 Linden Dr. Madison, WI 53706 Phone: (608) 262-5200 Fax: (608) 265-3020 E-mail:Sustainable Practices for Vegetable Production in the South
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/sustainable/peet/
North Carolina State University
This is a comprehensive site that has information applicable to vegetable production in the Northeast.
Sustainable Vegetable Production from Start-Up to Market
Vernon P. Grubinger, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, University of Vermont
Provides practical information on such essential matters as selecting a farm site; planning and record keeping; marketing options; and systems for starting, planting, protecting, and harvesting crops. Individual chapters cover fundamental aspects of economic and environmental practices essential to planning and launching a business; the practical implications of sustainability; getting started; farm business management; and marketing. The chapters that follow discuss essential production processes, focusing on soil fertility, composting, crop rotation, cover crops, tillage equipment and field preparation, seeds and transplants, irrigation and spraying systems, harvest and post-harvest handling, season extension, integrated pest management, and environmentally friendly strategies for managing insects, diseases, weeds, and wildlife. A resource for aspiring and beginning vegetable growers, experienced growers, extension personnel, and serious gardeners. A useful text for college-level vegetable production courses. 280 pages. $38. To order, contact:
Center for Sustainable Agriculture 63 Carrigan Dr. Burlington, VT 05405 Phone: (802) 656-5459 E-mail:Rotation Periods to Control Vegetable Diseases
http://ag.udel.edu/extension/horticulture/pdf/pp/pp-27.pdf
University of Delaware Extension
A table that provides some guidelines for planning a successful crop rotation program.
Affordable Opportunities for Precision Farming: A practical way to support sustainable agriculture
http://policy.nrcs.usda.gov/scripts/lpsiis.dll/TN/TN_SA_1_A.pdf
Stefanie Aschmann, Robert Caldwell, Larry Cutforth, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, March 2003
The purposes of this technical note are to provide a brief background on precision farming and to describe ways in which its concepts and principles may be applied on farms without a substantial investment in equipment. This information is intended to help farmers who may or may not own a computer, but who are interested in long-term management strategies for improving their farm. Publication is in PDF format.
No-Till Vegetable Production at Cedar Meadow Farm
http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com/
In this site, you’ll find a smorgasbord of ideas, information, and research data regarding the techniques used in the Groff’s no-till, permanent cover cropping system for vegetables. A video that details these practices in vegetable production is available for purchase.
Steve & Cheri Groff Cedar Meadow Farm 679 Hilldale Rd. Holtwood, PA 17532 Phone: (717) 284-5152 Fax: (717) 284-5967 E-mail:How to improve profitability through season extension
http://www.newfarm.org/depts/talking_shop/0403/seasonextention.shtml
Darcy Maulsby, Upper Midwest Organic Conference, Feb. 27-Mar. 1, The New Farm
We’re not talking greenhouses here. We’re talking row covers, temporary season extension houses, and frost irrigation, and it works. Paul and Sandy Arnold of Argyle, NY have done the math on it.
Pests, Diseases, & Weeds
Pumpkin Production Guide
http://www.nraes.org/publications/nraes123.html
Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service, June 2003
The Pumpkin Production Guide is a must-have for both new and experienced pumpkin growers, serious gardeners, and agricultural advisors. The guide covers the basics of pumpkin production and cutting-edge research. 12 chapters offer practical information for preparing the field, evaluating varieties, and choosing the best cultural practices; groundbreaking insight into fruit set and pollination to help growers maximize yields; descriptions for identifying and controlling weeds, insects, diseases, and wildlife pests; ways to maintain postharvest quality; and sample budgets and marketing ideas. 152 pages. Item NRAES-123. $39 plus S&H. Available from NRAES Horticulture Publications
[http://www.nraes.org/publications/horticulture.html]
Call or write to:
NRAES Cooperative Extension P.O. Box 4557 Ithaca, NY 14852-4557 Phone: (607) 255-7654 Fax: (607) 254-8770 E-mail:Farmers and Their Ecological Sweet Corn Production Practices
Center for Sustainable Agriculture, University of Vermont
This video features 10 farmers from around the region who explain in their own words a variety of innovative approaches that help them grow sweet corn profitably while protecting natural resources. The practices covered include many that have been studied with Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education funding by researchers and farmers over the past decade, including the use of hairy vetch as a cover crop, the pre-sidedress nitrate test, mechanical weed control methods, scouting and trapping corn insect pets to determine thresholds for spraying, the use of Bt to control corn borers, and the Zea-later application for applying vegetable oil to corn silks to control ear worm. Farmers describe how to get good spray coverage, reduce conventional herbicide use by half, and how beneficial wasps may become part of their insect control strategy. 42 minutes. $15. To order, contact:
Center for Sustainable Agriculture 63 Carrigan Dr. Burlington, VT 05405 Phone: (802) 656-5459 E-mail:New York State Vegetable Growers Association
New York State Vegetable Grower News is published 8 times a year by The New York State Vegetable Growers Association, Inc. for its members. To contact the association or subscribe to the newsletter, write or call:
New York State Vegetable Growers Association P.O. Box 70 Kirkville, NY 13082-0070 Phone: (315) 687-5734 Fax: (315) 687-5734 E-mail:New York State Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association
http://www.nysfdma.com/
The Association provides education, information, health insurance, and other services to support its members.
New York State Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association 7350 Collamer Rd. E. Syracuse, NY 13057 Phone: (315) 656-9977 Fax: (315) 475-1101