Test Your Irrigation Water Source This Spring

Water is the most important input for greenhouse operators, yet it is also the input that is frequently taken for granted by growers until a cropping problem is observed...

Check Furnaces and Flues Before Putting Crops in the Greenhouse

Some growers shut down their greenhouses in December after their poinsettias have been shipped to their final destination and will fire up their heaters/furnaces again for the first time in late January...

Bugger Off

"Pest Resorts" is the best way to describe scattered weeds overwintering in the greenhouse. It amazes me when I inspect weeds in our greenhouses or at growers to find active colonies of spider mites, Western flower thrips, whiteflies or aphids...

Greenhouse Online Courses Open for Registration: Earn your Plant Health Professional Certificate

Michigan State University Extension and University of Florida IFAS announced a collaborative training certificate program this past summer: the Plant Health Professionals (PHP) Certificate Program...

Optimizing Rosemary Fertility

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a popular culinary herb and containerized greenhouse crop. To produce fresh cut rosemary or marketable containerized plants, growers must optimize the production environment and inputs such as mineral nutrition...

Cabbage Catastrophe: Dry Down

Ornamental cabbage and kale are both popular fall crops and we are nearing the finish line in their production and marketing cycle...

Drop, Don’t Stop Ornamental Cabbage and Kale Fertilization

Even during the coloration stage of ornamental cabbage and kale they are still growing and putting on new leaf growth...

Spotted spurge: A common weed of container production in nurseries and greenhouses

           Euphorbia maculata (or Chamaesyce maculata) also known as spotted spurge or spotted sandmat, is a common broadleaf weed in container production in nurseries and greenhouses...

White Mold in Hydroponic Lettuce

White mold is a disease caused by a fungal pathogen (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum). Although greenhouse food crops can become infected by this pathogen, it is uncommon and readily avoidable...

Troublesome Tradescantia

This Tradescantia ‘Nanouk’ began showing necrotic spots in early fall. Given that variegated foliage plants are sensitive to high EC, a pour through substrate test was performed...

Disease management is not just chemical usage

Greenhouses are transitioning into fall crops with poinsettia and mum cuttings being rooted. It’s a good time to review sanitation, especially in propagation where Botrytis, Rhizoctonia and Pythium can cause significant losses...

Stranger on Hydrangea: Chilli Thrips

I first heard news of chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis) tearing through southeastern US landscape roses and foliage plants soon after it was found in Florida in 2005...

Renew Your pH/EC Meter Calibration Solutions

Spring has arrived and summer is almost here, which means it’s time to dust off your pH/EC meters to begin monitoring crop nutrition...

Kontos Phytotoxicity on Geranium

A recent sample of phytotoxicity is a reminder that Kontos (spirotetramat) should not be used on geraniums and to always read your pesticide labels...

Slippery Weeds of Greenhouse: Algae, Moss, Liverwort and Nostoc

The greenhouse condition of high moisture, controlled temperature, and light favors the growth of the lower group of plants which includes the algae, mosses, liverwort, and Nostoc...

Don’t Forget the Picture!

High quality photos are one of the best tools in the ornamental plant marketing tool kit. People are visually drawn to plants and fixate on them longer than any additional information that is provided when determining their purchase likelihood...

Chilling Injury Symptoms

Given that both tomatoes and peppers are warm-season crops, they are prone to symptoms of chilling injury in the greenhouses at temperatures below 41 °F and  50 °F, respectively...

Gardens Are for Insects

It’s been exciting to see pollinator gardens and pathways catching on with growing consideration of the ecological contributions of communities of gardens and managed areas...

Light Trespass an Emerging Issue in Some Greenhouse Production Areas

Light trespass caused by the installation and use of LEDs and other lighting systems in greenhouse production facilities is the latest issue to arise in some communities across the USA and Canada...

All LEDs are Not Created Equal: Check LED Efficacy

By: Heidi Lindberg and Erik RunkleThere has been a flood of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to hit the horticultural market in recent years...

Sterile is not always better for root disease management

As a plant pathologist, we preach that sanitation and keeping everything as clean as can be is the most important step in preventing diseases...

Emerging Threat to Greenhouse Profitability and it is Not a Pest or Disease

Most of our blog articles deal with pest management and/or growing practices, but after attending a roundtable discussion with various industry members the greatest threat to your greenhouse operation may not be from the latest pest or disease, but from supply chain issues that may alter the way that you conduct your business for the next several years...

Updating Online Content

We are in a virtual world. The pandemic sped up the exchange of information via online platforms and more consumers are seeking information through Google and smartphones than ever before...

Coleus Growth Response to Phosphorus Fertility

Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) is a popular herbaceous annual that people grow for its wide variety of colors...

Weed ‘Em or Weep

To re-start our twospotted spider mite colony in early February we went on an expedition around the property to locate overwintering mites...

Feeling Jumpy?

The hundreds of attendees at the recent excellent UMass Jumping Worm Conference said much about concern with newer invasive earthworms...