Growing Tips

Growers in the northern hemisphere have for centuries understood the month of February to mark a significant shift in day length as it relates to plant growth. Agrarians from Maine to California still have cause to celebrate this time of year, recognizing that day length finally reaches ten hours after two months of short, dark days. The ancient Celtic pagans...

This time of year commercial growers try to push sales of the last of storage crops like onions, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and winter squash. These sparse offerings of the late season often result in a customer base over-saturated with storage vegetables. So, how do you set yourself apart and get the most “bang for your buck” at winter markets and wholesale...

Growing vegetables is hard on a place, and it’s important to put something back for all that we take out. One of our responsibilities as growers and gardeners is to be good stewards of the earth that we use. Feeding the soil is an important piece of increasing the health of our fields. One can add compost, but increasing levels...

Here in Vermont, it feels like we just finished talking about how much wood we have left to heat the house, and now it’s time to be thinking about storage carrots? It just doesn’t seem fair. I realize that there is still a lot of the season left, but keeping fall crops on the screen is important. So much of...

As our season slowly evolves from spring into summer, those of us who grow greens all season long are thinking about how to change up successions to those that will put up with heat. This is a challenge every year, as consumer demand for fresh leafy greens remains strong while it becomes increasingly difficult to produce quality greens without the...

Jodi Lew-Smith is the Breeding Coordinator at High Mowing Organic Seeds. Many of us who grew up eating only canned beets have had the similar experience of trying a fresh beet and saying, “Wow, I never realized these could actually taste good.” Or, “Hey, these are sweet!” The humble beet is used to being overlooked. But why scorn a vegetable...

Katie & Edge with their son Waylon Like all good medicine, our pest management is built on prevention. At Good Heart Farmstead, we don’t use any pesticide sprays, and instead focus our efforts on creating a balanced system, which includes building healthy soil to grow strong, hearty plants. Here’s a round-up (organic, that is!) of our pest prevention techniques: Decrease...

Paul Betz checking on lettuces at High Ledge Farm No matter where you grow, our high quality lettuce varieties mean a consistent supply all season long. I really like that we offer all the classic market standards, as well as a number of specialty varieties that are exciting visually or offer a unique eating experience. Together they make up an...

Bees pollinating holy basil If you’re like us, you’re worried about pollinators—we need them for production of about 35% of global crops by volume and over 85% of the world’s flowering plants, and many pollinator species are in decline or at risk of extinction. Four species of bumble bees native to America are in rapid decline; the rusty-patched bumble bee...

Becky Maden is a vegetable farmer living in Orwell, VT, where she and her husband operate Singing Cedars Farmstead. Previously, Becky spent 10 years working as the Assistant Farm Manager at Intervale Community Farm, a thriving 500-member CSA farm in Burlington, VT. In her time spent away from the farm, Becky loves to travel, write, bike, run, ski, and cook...