- Author: Saoimanu Sope
UCCE scientists study feasibility of specialty crops for small urban growers
The vacant lots around your neighborhood could be growing fruits and vegetables and making local produce more accessible – while reducing energy needed to transport and distribute the food. Could turning those empty lots into small farms also become opportunities for economic development?
To answer this question, a team of researchers from University of California Cooperative Extension in San Diego County are investigating the economic feasibility of growing high-value specialty crops in urban settings like vacant lots. The project – led by
/h4>- Posted by: Gale Perez
Our friend Lynn Sosnoskie (at Cornell University) shared the following announcement with us:
A free (downloadable) resource
Manage Weeds on Your Farm – A Guide to Ecological Strategies
Manage-Weeds-on-Your-Farm.pdf (sare.org)
Manage Weeds On Your Farm - SARE
“I am most pleased to share the good news that our long-awaited...
- Author: Laura J. Van der Staay
This year, Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center participated in both the Kings County Farm Day and the Fresno County Farm and Nutrition Day. KARE's mini workshop discusses what it takes to be a healthy plant and what it takes to be a healthy person. The students plant leaf lettuce to take home so that it can grow and they can eat it. The Kings County event attracted over 2700 students and the Fresno County event attracted over 3500 students. Left over lettuce transplants were used by different FFA programs. These events were made possible by generous donations from Greenheart Farms, The Plant People, and Valley Soil & Forest Products. Our ability to deliver these workshops are in great part due to the...
- Author: Alda Pires
A University of California-Davis research team is enrolling organic and conventional farms to participate in a research opportunity for small to medium size farms. The researchers are looking for volunteers to participate in the study to identify on-farm food safety practices that are specific to the unique conditions and needs of small to medium size farms, including operations that integrate livestock and fresh produce production systems. The long-term goal of the study is to develop innovative, cost-effective, scale-size appropriate food safety metrics and recommendations for risk reduction for farms...
- Author: Sam Urie
Have you filled up your vehicle's fuel tank recently? Have you eaten a carrot, a pickle, sweet corn, onion, broccoli or melon recently? Had a nice crisp salad with fresh romaine lettuce and some pasta, then dipped some bread in olive oil? How about a stir-fry with tender beef and cooked cabbage or a nice steak?
What does all of this have to do with the UC Desert Research and Extension Center (DREC), known by many in our Valley as the “Meloland Station” between Holtville and El Centro? All of these are crops and issues being worked on by researchers and support staff at the here at DREC. The 255-acre Center is part of a larger network of nine similar locations...