Serious Grower

Kasi is very interested in figs (feat. Caleb!)

Mon, 18 May 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. We discuss the potential for growing figs in northern climates and are joined by organic crop specialist, Caleb Goossen, who holds us by the hand and gently explains soil chemistry as we "Monday morning quarterback" a hugelkulture venture that went wrong.

Dr. Becky Sideman's Research Report on Figs for Northern Climates

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Mt. Fiji, Ryan James Carr; I Don't Wanna Be You, Park Lane; In a Minute, John Runefelt

Field Report for May 13, 2026

Wed, 13 May 2026 14:05:56 -0300

I will be including brief field reports in the feed through the growing season, featuring real-time reports from extension specialists in New England, New York, and the mid-Atlantic states.

Pay close attention to where some of these reports are coming from because we’ll be covering a wide region and please reach out if you need help connecting with your local extension specialist wherever you are. We’ll get you hooked up with the right expert in your area!

More information on alium leafminer

https://extension.psu.edu/allium-leaf-miner-on-track-to-emerge-in-early-april

More information on identifying brassica pests

https://lgpress.clemson.edu/publication/identification-of-common-insect-pests-of-brassica-crops/

More information on beet leafminer

https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/vegetable/fact-sheets/beet-spinach-leafminer

Jonathan Ebba's Vermont Vegetable & Berry Growers Association webinar on Improving High Tunnel Ventilation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAJX51TBZL4&list=PLszfvPfJBpgwzTlvLlnQlojedJnj0zoe3&index=11

Susan is a fiber artist

Mon, 11 May 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Susan is a professor of agriculture at the University of New Hampshire... but just like the rest of us she has many interests, including knitting! In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss how to avoid bringing pests into our home when we are repurposing second hand items, as well as an instagram reel from @rachelisknitting.

Please reach out to your local extension office if you think you have a bed bug infestation! Sometimes its something else but - if it is bed bugs - you want to act sooner than later and knowledge is power!

Check out this Review Paper, as well as some interesting papers about remediation and IPM programs for public housing.

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Beginning to Dream, Ryan James Carr; Overture, Dozeoff; Summertime Madness; Matt Large; Whiskey Saved My Soil, Daniel Fridell

Field Report for May 6, 2026

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:31:41 -0300

I will be including brief field reports in the feed through the growing season, featuring real-time reports from extension specialists in New England, New York, and the mid-Atlantic states.

Andy Wyenandt's post on Recognizing cold injury in spring crops

https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/cold-injury-in-cucumber-2/

More information about weeds from the morning glory family

https://extension.psu.edu/the-noxious-persistent-invasive-and-perennial-bindweeds

More information about wireworm damage in rootcrops

https://www.uvm.edu/d10-files/documents/2026-03/Lewins_Wireworm_Research.pdf

Webinar from eOrganic on using High Glucosinolate Mustard as an Organic Biofumigant in Vegetable Crops

https://youtu.be/yHilDyTmxTo?si=q1eGP1RJIPSHp9zj

Kasi has a system

Mon, 04 May 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. In this wide ranging conversation we discuss what it takes to live on the cutting edge of art and science, how we adopt new ideas, and how we develop our own systems for doing things.

This one is mostly heart and very little science.

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; AAH!, TAGE; Lock Stock, The Big Let Down

Field Report for April 29, 2026

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0300

I will be including brief field reports in the feed through the growing season, featuring real-time reports from extension specialists in New England, New York, and the mid-Atlantic states.

US Drought Monitor Northeast Report

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?Northeast

Prediction model for cabbage maggot

https://newa.cornell.edu/cabbage-maggot/

More information about asparagus beetle

https://academic.oup.com/jipm/article/5/3/B1/2194056

More information about leek moth

https://www.uvm.edu/extension/leek-moth-information-center

More information about allium leafminer

https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/fact-sheets/allium-leafminer

Video from Cornell’s Veg Team’s Stop the Rot Project identifying foliar symptoms of bacterial diseases of onion and how to distinguish bacterial diseases from other non-bacterial lookalikes.

https://youtu.be/pTYmdIwjbao?si=Mf0GfKlioUIxSlE7

From Christy Hoepting (CCE Cornell Vegetable Program): Cornell Onion (Dry Bulb) Fungicide “Cheat Sheet” for Control of Leaf Diseases in New York, 2025

https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/uploads/doc_1216.pdf

Onion disease risk prediction tool that can help you track your risk to Botrytis leaf blight, onion downy mildew, and purple blotch

https://newa.cornell.edu/onion-diseases/

Seth has a new plan for cabbage aphid

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Seth is a commercial grower in mid-coast Maine and he is getting serious about managing cabbage aphid infesting his organic Brussels sprouts.

We discuss the challenges and opportunities of chemigating with overhead irrigation to apply insectical soaps with the frequency required for good control, as well as the potential non-target effects on biocontrol agents living on the farm.

Check out all the great stuff from The Brassica Pest Collaborative for more on managing brassica pests in the northeast.

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Libertailia, Arc De Soleil; Brighter, Stonekeepers

Field Report for April 22, 2026

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:19:19 -0300

I will be including brief field reports in the feed through the growing season, featuring real-time reports from extension specialists in New England, New York, and the mid-Atlantic states.

Leek moth information center

https://www.uvm.edu/extension/leek-moth-information-center

Allium Leafminer Factsheet

https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/fact-sheets/allium-leafminer

More information about cabbage maggot

https://newa.cornell.edu/cabbage-maggot/

https://cvp.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=919

https://extension.umaine.edu/ipm/ipddl/publications/5005e/

More information about damping off

https://extension.umn.edu/solve-problem/how-prevent-seedling-damping#:~:text=Low%20light%2C%20overwatering%2C%20high%20salts%20from%20over,are%20all%20associated%20with%20increased%20damping%20off

Kasi is a pillar of the community

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley and a Granger!

In this conversation we discuss what it takes to build community, what happens when winters get less wintery, and some insider information about the winter Olympics.

Learn more about the Grange!

Find my conversation with UNH Extension's Jeremy Delisle about what could go wrong when starting and maintaining a home orchard.

Music: With the Homes, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Patina, Ryan James Carr

Field Report for April 15, 2026

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0300

I will be including brief field reports in the feed through the growing season, featuring real-time reports from extension specialists in New England, New York, and the mid-Atlantic states.

Drought map for the northeast

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?Northeast

Cabbage maggot temperature model

https://newa.cornell.edu/cabbage-maggot

Leek moth resource

https://www.uvm.edu/extension/leek-moth-information-center

Allium leafminer resource

https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/fact-sheets/allium-leafminer

Thrips on tomato

https://blogs.cornell.edu/livegpath/gallery/tomato/thrips-and-their-feeding-injury/

Ethylene damage

https://vegcropshotline.org/article/ethylene-damage-on-tomato-2/

Salt injury

https://extension.psu.edu/dealing-with-high-soluble-salt-levels-in-high-tunnels

Vern Grubinger's POTTING MIXES FOR ORGANIC GROWERS

https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/OrganicPottingMixes.pdf

https://extension.psu.edu/potting-media-and-plant-propagation

Will has his eyes peeled for swede midge

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Will is an extension educator in northern New Hampshire and he's helping his growers manage a new and unusual pest attacking broccoli. We talk to experts in NH, ME, and VT to understand the state of the art in monitoring and management of swede midge.

Vegetable IPM Reports for New Hampshire

Watch the full interview with Dr. Tom Rounsville, Director, Applied Genetics and Genomics Lab at the University of Maine

Summary of swede midge review article from Hodgdon et al. 2024

Learn more about swede midge from this NYIPM resource

Learn more about leek moth from the UVM resource

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstumentalist; Back at It, Mizlo; Patina; Ryan James Carr; Una Noche en Lagos, El Flaco Collective; Libertalia, Arc De Soleil; Snow Glow, John Runefelt

Kasi got her bingo bean seminkis

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:01:00 -0300

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, and she's been reading about Luther Burbank alongside a pile of seed catalogues. We discuss what makes crops "true to seed".

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Libertalia, Arc De Soleil; Overture, Dozeoff; Can't Handle It, Ryan James Carr

Susan grows off-season

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:01:00 -0300

Susan is a professor of agriculture at the University of New Hampshire. We discuss the ins and outs of growing in unconventional situations and talk spiders.

Learn more about the Farm2You program at UNH

Learn more about the research project Optimizing pest management in high tunnels to increase the resiliency of local food systems

Learn more about pesticide regulation

With the Homies, Sarah the Illstumentalist; Aquatic Flower Dance, Ryan James Carr; Oh Please; Gerhard Feng; Overture, Dozeoff; Talk 2 Me, Ryan James Carr

Kasi is interested in insect husbandry

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, and accidental grasshopper rancher. The ins and outs regarding the rearing and farming of insects is discussed.

One of many popular ant forums can be found on Reddit

Learn more about the Schmidt Pain Index

With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; The Doom and Gloom Choir, Luella Gren; Drinkin' & Jivin', TAGE

Caleb begrudgingly discusses plant sap

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:37:00 -0300

Caleb Goossen joins us for a deep dive into the interplay between fertilization and pest severity.

TL;DR Overfertilizing your crops might make some pest infestation worse, but underfertilizing won't solve all your pest problems.

We review data from Laybourne & Aradottir 2022 and Nowak & Komor 2010.

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Overture, Dozeoff; Riding High, John Runefelt

Kasi is into oddball fruits

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0300

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. In this episode we live react to an interview with Will Hastings about his work developing the Growing Kiwiberries in the Northeast guide.

Learn more about how kiwiberry is resistant to infestation from the invasive fruit fly, spotted wing drosophila!

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; La Belle Nini, El Flaco Collective

Jason has building plans

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Jason is turning his Oregon home into an edible landscape and a terrific place for his family to hang out. In this "garden coaching" session we exchange advice on topics, both mechanical and botanical, touching on hops, pole beans, melons, and luffa sponges.

Resource from Oregon State University on Growing Hops in the Home Garden

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Libertalia, Arc De Soleil; La Belle Nini, El Flaco Collective, Aquatic Flower Dance, Ryan James; Afternoon Fireworks, Duke Herrington

Kasi is building a thistlethwait

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, where its been pretty windy lately. We discuss the history of hedgerows, bramble maintenance, wild fruits, and landscape alterations on the farm.

History of hedgerows in the UK

The Hedgelayer Documentary

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Aquatic Flower Dance, Ryan James Carr; Summertime Madness, Matt Large; Disco Makumba, El Flaco

Susan & Morgan are interested in early childhood education

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Susan is a professor of agriculture at the University of New Hampshire. She brings a ton of commercial experience to her college classroom but she also runs a community garden and has been extending her expertise to the on-campus daycare.

We're joined by a fellow parent from Susan's daycare and we discuss how gardening in the classroom has long term benefits for young children, why principles of farming may not be immediately applicable to gardening, and some of the best vegetables for beginners.

Key findings from Cornell Garden-Based Learning

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Short Circuit, Ryan James Carr; Overture, Dozeoff; Riding High, John Runefelt

Kasi has voles gnawing on her trees

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:13:43 -0400

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer, growing in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, and she recently lost quite a few apple trees to rodent damage despite her best efforts to protect them.

We discuss behavior & pest management of voles and deer causing injury to trees, with the help of publicly-funded research brought to us by the US Department of Agriculture.

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstramentalist, Oh Please, Gerhard Feng; Aquatic Flower Dance, Ryan James Carr; Whiskey Saved My Soil, Daniel Fridell

Jason tore up his front lawn

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:30:51 -0400

Jason wants to turn his lawn into an edible landscape and an amazing place for his family in Oregon. We’ll drop in throughout the year to hear how things are progressing.

Learn more about Community Supported Research

Oregon State Extension resources for backyard berries and fruit tree pruning

Saffron Lifecycle

Container growing for blueberries?

Growing Sweetpotato? What could go wrong?

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Riding High, John Runefelt; Libertalia, Arc De Soleil, Takes Two to Tango, Ryan James Carr

Susan wants to talk about hornworms

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 09:37:48 -0400

Susan is a professor of agriculture in the seacoast region of New Hampshire. She runs a community garden and works with students and community members across a wide range of age groups. She's an experienced commercial farmer but she has thoughts on how we value the non-commercial aspects of growing.

Listen into this wide ranging conversation about unique pests in high tunnels, as well as a deep dive into tomato hornworm and breeding for resistant tomato varieties.

UNH Farm2You on Facebook & Instagram

The full interview with tomato breeder, Dr. Greg Vogel, Cornell University

Learn more about Community Supported Research

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Beginning to Dream, Ryan James Carr; Just a Friend, Matt Large; overture, doseoff; In the Bag, John Runefelt

Kasi wants to know about these wasps

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 14:35:21 -0400

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer, growing in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, and she encountered a planting of cowpeas during a recent tour of her ag experiment station that was meant to support wasps. She wants to know what gives?

We chat about stinging wasps and the non-stinging parasitic wasps who provide biocontrol of pest insects.

Full interview with Dr. Veronica Yurchak Extension Specialist in Commercial Vegetable Production at the University of Maryland

Learn more about Community Supported Research

Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Summertime Madness, Matt Large; Whisky Saved My Soul, Daniel Fridell