Vegetable Program Upcoming Events
Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 12:30pm
For fruit and vegetable growers and others interested in learning about produce safety and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. This training is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement for covered farms that "at least one supervisor or responsible party" completes "food safety training … recognized as adequate” by FDA (21 C.F.R. §112.22(c)).
Thursday, January 28, 2021 - 3:30pm
Spinach downy mildew is an emerging pest in our region, which has the potential to destroy entire plantings quickly. Expert Jim Correll of the University of Arkansas will discuss the pathogen biology, management, and share some spinach growing tips. UMass Extension has been conducting winter spinach varieties for several seasons now and we will present a summary of our findings on their growth, productivity, and downy mildew resistance, since using resistant varieties is a critical component of managing this disease effectively. We will also cover other diseases that are popping up more frequently in winter greens in recent years, including damping off, Cladosporium, and lettuce downy mildew.
Tuesday, February 2, 2021 - 12:30pm
For fruit and vegetable growers and others interested in learning about produce safety and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. This training is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement for covered farms that "at least one supervisor or responsible party" completes "food safety training … recognized as adequate” by FDA (21 C.F.R. §112.22(c)).
Thursday, February 11, 2021 - 3:30pm
Adequate nutrient levels in substrates are achieved by providing the right amount and type of the fertilizers and maintaining an optimum pH. Rosa Raudales will discuss how to: use water quality to develop nutrient programs with conventional fertilizers, safely and effectively inject chlorine in irrigation systems, and choose the plug-trays sizes for seedling. Additionally, there are many commercially available compost-based mixes on the market, and many growers also create their own. Sometimes they work better than others (both commercial and farm-made). Why? Andy Radin will discuss factors to consider if you use these types of mixes.
Thursday, February 25, 2021 - 3:30pm
Maintaining nutrient availability to the big, fruiting high tunnel vegetable crops is still very much an evolving science and art. There’s lots of work going on in the Northeast that focuses on maximizing production without using inadequate or excessive amounts of nutrient sources.
