Serious Grower

Field Report for August 26: cucurbit downy mildew alert!

A summary of what vegetable pest experts are talking about this week…its mostly diseases impacting cucumbers, pumpkins and squashes! Seasonal reporting on CDM https://extension.psu.edu/2026-cucurbit-downy-mildew-updates more information on fungicide selection for major cucurbit diseases, including cucurbit downy mildew https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/downy-mildew-of-cucurbits/mobile-fungicides-for-managing-downy-mildew-and-other-major-cucurbit-diseases/ https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/downy-mildew-of-cucurbits/list-of-biopesticides-for-organic-production/ Plectosporium https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/vegetable-disease-of-the-week-3-2-2-2-2-2/ Basil downy mildew https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/basil-downy-mildew/ https://www.growingproduce.com/crop-protection/disease-control/research-finding-better-ways-to-deal-with-basil-downy-mildew/ https://usbasilconsortium.rutgers.edu/basil-advanced-studies-and-innovation-lab/ Verticillium wilt eggplant https://blogs.cornell.edu/livegpath/gallery/eggplant/verticilium-wilt-on-eggplant/

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Field Report for August 18: brassica clubroot management, boron issues, and avoiding phytotoxicity.

A quick summary of what the experts are talking about when it comes to managing late summer pests, diseases, and other vegetable crop maladies. More about clubroot management in brassicas https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/extd8/files/documents/em9148.pdf More about bottom rot in lettuce https://sites.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=18469 More about boron deficiencies and toxicities https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/boron_in_vegetables_not_too_little_not_too_much More about cornsilk flies https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN381

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Kasi gets a robot vacuum: garlic irrigation, UV-C and other space technology on the farm

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. In this wide ranging discussion, we discuss garlic irrigation strategies, right to repair laws, and all the technologies that are showing up on the farm thanks to space exploration, including UV-C for water purification and disease management. Music: With the Homies - Sarah the Illstrumentalist; All the Freedom You Need - Terin Ector; Mechakucha - Sugoi; Snakes and Fire - Par Hagstrom; The Big Aisle - John Runefelt

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Field Report for August 12: alternaria leaf spot, pepper maggot, tomato pith necrosis

More information about alternaria leaf spot of brassicas https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/alternaria-leaf-spot-of-brassicas/ More information about pepper maggot: https://youtu.be/4NuJSPBeZyM More information about tomato pith necrosis https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/tomato-pith-necrosis More information about tomato timber rot https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/white-mold-in-greenhouse-and-high-tunnel-tomato-2-2-2/

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Field Report for August 5: southern blight, leek moth in storage onions, mustard biofumigation

The 2026 Cornell IPM Organic Production and IPM Guide for Vegetables is out and available online now! More information about southern blight in tomatoes https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/southern-blight-of-vegetable-crops More information about managing leek moth in storage onions https://www.uvm.edu/d10-files/documents/2025-02/2020-Leek-Moth-Research-Brief-FINAL.pdf https://youtu.be/OVaMkw6UmIU?si=qQ4_PL2NXJ4iD1DQ More information about deploying biofumigation using mustard cover crops Biofumigation https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fne15-817/ https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/f82d6e90-0e81-4652-9dfc-f7a16cb624b5/content

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Chuck is enthused about IPM: neonicotinoid alternatives and NH pesticide policy

Chuck is a commercial farmer in New Hampshire and an expert in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for fruit and vegetable crops. This episode touches on how the scientific community is seeking alternatives tools & tactics to replace neonicotinoid pesticides in vegetable pest management and how science and policy influence the nitty gritty business of growing food. From New Hampshire's House Spring 2026 legislative session HB-1086-FN and HB-1431-FN Full Interview with Dr. Brian Nault (Cornell University) Music: With the Homies - Sarah, The Illstrumentalist; Silvia, Acid Streets of Brazzaville - El Flaco Collective; Feelings - Ryan James Carr; Morning Reggae - Sir Gigalot

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Field Report for July 29: cucurbit downy and powdery mildew, sap beetle in sweet corn

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 about foliar diseases of cucurbits: https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/cucurbit-powdery-mildew/ https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/crops/cucurbits/downy-mildew/ https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/ More information about sap beetle in sweet corn https://extension.psu.edu/sap-beetle-management-in-sweet-corn

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Field Report for July 22: fall armyworm, corn rust, yellow vine decline

For more information about fall armyworm https://extension.psu.edu/fall-armyworm-as-a-pest-of-field-corn For more information about corn rusts https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/common-rust-of-sweet-corn/ For more information about yellow vine decline https://plantpathology.mgcafe.uky.edu/yellow-vine-decline-cucurbits-ppfs-vg-12

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Kasi is staging a death match: invasive species, compost tea, and comfrey chop and drop mulching

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. In this wide ranging discussion, we touch on microbes, nitrogen amendments for growing flowers, invasive species, comfrey tea, "chop and drop" mulching, using compost tea as a liquid fertilizer and as a pesticide... and why Anna needs to get off r/permaculture. More information about how to interpret your soil tests from Vermont and Montana's extension services and The Compost Tea Brewing Manual. Music: With the Homies - Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Zigaboos Walk, Paper Cloth - El Flaco Collective; Happy Accident - Daniel Fridell

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Field Report for July 15, 2026

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 managing cercospora leafspot in table beets, including a list of varieties with resistance to key beet diseases, a tool that helps predict infections, and two resources on a fungicide resistance program and efficacy of fungicides approved for use in organic systems that informed some of this episodes conclusions.

Field Report for July 8, 2026

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 on Western bean cutworm https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/fact-sheets/western-bean-cutworm-vegetable-fact-sheet More on identifying early blight on tomato https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/early-blight-of-tomato Bulb mite in garlic https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/sites/ag.umass.edu/files/fact-sheets/pdf/bulb_mites_garlic.pdf UMaine’s Garlic Disease Testing Services https://extension.umaine.edu/ipm/how-to-send-a-plant-sample/

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Jason is growing a biological wonderland: fruit trees, earwigs, and mail order pollinators

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. This conversation includes fitting tree fruit into small spaces, how to trap earwigs and why they are both good and bad, and why mail order pollinators could be causing more problems than its solving. Listen to the full interview with Tracy Zarrillo about her work with wild bees in CT.

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Field Report for July 1, 2026

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 about purple carrot seed moth, Depressaria depressana. https://insectlab.russell.wisc.edu/2018/07/23/purple-carrot-seed-moth/

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Tomato IPM Study Group: Covered Production

Do you want to know more about where your tomatoes come from and the experts who are supporting our vegetable farmers to grow us the freshest, tastiest tomatoes possible, using the most economically & environmentally sustainable practices? This discussion includes discussions of how growing tomato crops under cover can solve one problem (fungal diseases) but might create new problems in need of solutions. More on pest management in high tunnels, distinguishing cosmetic injury caused by thrips versus abiotic conditions, and an emerging pest of tomatoes in the east, tomato pin worm. Special thanks to Patricia Prade at PennState Extension, Samantha Willden at Cornell AgriTech and Kathy Kamminga at Kentucky State University. Learn more about how federal and state funding provide expert support to our farmers to make pest management as environmentally and economically sustainable as possible by using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools & tactics. Music: With the Homies - Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Summertime Madness, Just a Friend - Matt Large; Overture - Dozeoff; Libertalia - Arc DeSoleil; Beginning to Dream, Talk 2 Me - Ryan James Carr

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Field Report for June 24, 2026

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! Webinar from the Vermont Vegetable & Berry Grower's Associate on what's new with Colorado potato beetle control https://youtu.be/wcHqrf8M4Z8?si=-D_892Psawd60l-i Check out breaking news on corn earworm research! https://www.cewipm.org/ More about precocious yellows in squash https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2020/06/whats-making-my-squash-or-pumpkin-leaves-bright-yellow

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Kasi gets experimental: tarping for no-till squash and a scientist's existential crisis

Kasi is a non-commercial farmer in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. We celebrate Birdhouse Day, discuss the ins and outs of cover cropping for a squash crop and for weed management, and the difference between "doing science" and "doing a science." Anna has an existential crisis over some very charismatic tomato plants. Tarping in the Northeast: A Guide for Small Farms Music: With the Homies, Sarah the Illstrumentalist; Patina, Ryan James Carr; I Don't Wanna Be You, Park Lane; Trouble Deep, River Sam; Creepin' Up, Got Happy; Funky Market, Ritchie Everett

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Field Report for June 17, 2026

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! Check out breaking news on corn earworm research! https://www.cewipm.org/ More on tomato grey leaf spot from Caleb Goossen https://www.mofga.org/resources/pest-disease/stemphylium-gray-leaf-spot/

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Elisabeth is serious about onions: experts get into the weeds about thrips

Fellow entomologist, Elisabeth Hodgdon, joins us for a deep dive into onion thrips management as she has been troubleshooting an unusual situation that is becoming more common among small-scale farming in across the northeast. We are joined by Ethan Grunberg to compare and contrast pest complexes in small- and large-scale onion production. The full interview with Elisabeth & Ethan, Cornell Cooperative Extension More on variety selection for overwintering onion crops More on successful application of entomopathogenic nematodes Music: With the Homies - Sarah, The Illstrumentalist; Tell 'Em No - Flux Vortex; Dress Up - Walking Hearts; Arzoo - Kanika; Fantasize - I'MIN; Feel Alive - Glass House

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Field Report for June 10, 2026

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! Check out breaking news on corn earworm research! https://www.cewipm.org/ More information about onion & garlic diseases https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/pdlessons/Pages/Stemphylium-leaf-blight-Onion.aspx https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/uploads/doc_480.pdf https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/vegetable/fact-sheets/alliums-botrytis-neck-rot Biocontrol suppliers for beneficial nematodes https://ipmlabs.com/ https://www.griffins.com/category/HGPROD.PROTECT.INSECTS https://www.biolineagrosciencesna.com/ https://www.persistentbiocontrol.com/about How to grow your own beneficial nematodes https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/persistent-biocontrol-nematodes-instructional-manuals-and-videos/

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Jason is unfazed by his climate: west coast climate zones, raised bed construction, and extending the season in home gardens

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, including an update on their luffa project, more construction plans and a discussion of new and repurposed building materials. Check out this example of the Sunset Climate Zones put to use, this pictographic on Trigger (Willie Nelson's guitar), as well as extension resources on using pressure treated wood in raised bed construction, using heat tape/cables in tunnel production, and plasticulture for extended season sweetcorn. Music: With the Homies - Sarah, The Illstrumentalist; Joyride - Roy Edwin Williams; Sneaky Breezy, Dinner at Chez Paul - Martin Landstrom; Birds of Paradise - Ennio Mano

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