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The crowds were very large at the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Conference with certain sessions very popular. Over the years, high tunnel talks and sessions have become a 'destination of choice' as growers utilize the technology to extend the growing season.

Through funding from the NE-SARE, this workshop has been designed to train participants throughout the Northeast in the identification, assessment and management of soilborne pathogens and to provide resources that can be used on-farm and in various outreach activities.

I had the benefit of hearing Dr Doug Beegle from Penn State speak recently about soil testing and interpretation at the Mid Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Conference. If you did not take a soil test last fall and are gearing up to test this spring, you might be interested in the following tips.

Penn State Extension and the Penn State Department of Horticulture are excited to announce the All-Day Strawberry/ Bramble School. This school covers everything you wanted to know about strawberry, raspberry and blackberry production in a one intensive day. Topics that will be covered include basics of production; variety performance; disease, insect, and weed management; fertility; high tunnel raspberry production; considerations for organic production; and marketing pointers.

Pest management for vegetable transplant production is an integrated process and includes sanitation, sound cultural practices, the use of resistant cultivars (where possible) and finally, proper use of the correct pesticide. Your pest management program should be starting now in the greenhouse.

All of the tomatoes noted below were from the planting in the Haygrove Super Solo high tunnel at the Penn State Southeast Research and Extension Center (Landisville Farm). They were replicated twice within the tunnel. If one of the tomato plots was in an outside row, the other was inside. If one tomato plot was at or near the end, the other was closer to the center. The tasting comments come from the annual tomato tasting held at the Franklin County Extension Office in late-August.

The pumpkin session at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Conference is one of the more heavily attended sessions at the 4-day event. Here is a quick synopsis of the session.

Nationwide, consumers are looking for more ways to purchase and consume locally grown foods throughout the year. In response, winter farmers markets are on the rise. And to supply those winter markets, growers in the northeast are focusing on improving their ability to store vegetables through the winter.

In order to look at the possible labor and resource savings Penn State Extension educators, working with growers, laid biodegradable mulch at seven sites in Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Snyder, and Bucks Counties. Take a look at what we learned and farmer tips on how to work with biofilms.

Now is the time to start thinking about managing bacterial diseases during the 2012 season! To help, a special pre-convention workshop on hot water seed treatment is being offered January 30, 2012 from 1-5pm at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey, PA…see more information below.

A High Tunnel Biocontrol Workshop is being offered on February 1, 2012 from 7-9 pm this year at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

NRCS accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis throughout the year. There will be three ranking periods for the Organic, On-Farm Energy and Seasonal High Tunnel initiatives, all ending on February 3, March 30 and June 1, 2012.

If you grow cucubits please take five minutes for this important survey. Researcher want to help growers produce more profitable and sustainable cucurbit crops.

The 2012 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention is set for January 31 to February 2, 2012 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. About 1,900 fruit, vegetable, and berry growers and other industry persons from throughout the mid-Atlantic region and beyond are expected to attend.

The webinar course is designed to create a foundation of beekeeping knowledge in order to confidently help beginners manage honeybees.

High salt levels in soils can affect plant yield and cause salt injury including burnt leaf margins and stunted plants. In the field, saline soils are not common in Pennsylvania. But plastic high tunnels keep the rain from flushing nutrients and salts out of the root zone. Extension Educators tested soils in six high tunnels across the state this summer and found three with soil salinity high enough to affect crops.

Though many of us expected to find spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in Pennsylvania in 2011, the widespread occurrence and sheer numbers found during the fall in some locations were surprising.

We aim to use resources wisely, including soil nutrients. Soil testing is as an important tool for determining the amounts of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium in the soil. Using these levels, informed decisions can be made on adding additional amounts of these nutrients to the soil to reach production goals.