High Mowing Organic Non-GMO Seeds

Stale seed beds are beds in which weed seeds have been allowed to germinate, and then are killed before direct-seeding or transplanting your crop. Creating stale seed beds can save you time cultivating by getting rid of the weeds before you direct-seed or transplant your crop, and at Good Heart Farmstead this is one of our main weed control practices...

Thanks to our partners at Gardener’s Supply Company this month’s giveaway winner will receive a complete new garden tool set. Gardener’s exclusive Intervale Essential Garden Tools set includes a trowel, twist fork and rake cultivator, all made out of antique stainless steel with smooth, ash handles and leather hanging cords. A gardener’s dream!   HOW TO ENTER: It’s easy...

There are a myriad of ways a plant can show signs of abnormalities. Sometimes these abnormalities are due to the worst causes – namely harmful pests or diseases. But other times, the symptoms are emblematic of an underlying cause, either cultural or environmental, and can often be reversed as long as diagnosis is correct and treatment is swift. When a...

Why Summer-Sown? Buckwheat (left) and BMR Sorghum-Sudangrass F1 (right). When the summer is your prime harvesting season (as it is for growers in the north), or your short rest before another growing season (as it is for growers in the south), it can be easy to marginalize anything other than cash crops in favor of the things that need your...

We’ve posted several in-depth articles on pest control here on our Seed Hopper blog before, and you can find all of them archived in the “Plant Pests” category in the left-hand navigation column. They include coverage of Striped Cucumber Beetles, Colorado Potato Beetles, Japanese Beetles and Bloat Nematodes. Our “What’s Wrong with My Garden?” series goes over many common plant...

The perfect gift for the father who gardens, or grills – or both! Courtesy of Cider Mill Press Book Publishers, From Garden to Grill by Elizabeth Orsini is a hefty volume of mouth-watering vegetable-based recipes for every grill master. Full color photos accompany recipes including grilled eggplant pizza, garlic-stuffed grilled tomatoes, and grilled peach and corn salsa. This prize also...

Seed borne diseases present a serious threat to growers. The organic industry has limited tools for addressing these seed borne pathogens. In an innovative effort to find an organic solution to the problems caused by seed borne disease, High Mowing’s owner and founder, Tom Stearns, is spearheading research on steam treatment of seeds. The Challenge The challenge of disease control...

Lettuce is the epitome of fresh.  From early spring harvests to salads in the heat of summer to the delight of local greens in late fall and winter, a salad adds a splash freshness to every meal. At Good Heart Farmstead, where we grow intensively on 1 acre for both CSA and wholesale, salad mix is our main wholesale crop. ...

-- PLEASE NOTE: SINCE THE ORIGINAL PUBLICATION DATE OF THIS BLOG POST THERE HAS BEEN A MATERIALS UPDATE ON THE NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM (NOP) STANDARDS. There was some concern that because paper chain transplanting pots contain a synthetic substance they should not be approved for use in organic production. As of January 2019, the NOP has reversed their decision to...

Hello, growers, and happy spring! By now, every region of the U.S. and Canada is bustling with some sort of growing activity – sowing, transplanting, weeding, watering, mulching, harvesting. We know many of you are at maximum capacity for retail plant starts in your propagation spaces, so this final issue in our Crop Talk series is dedicated to how you...