Soil testing supports the growth and expansion of community gardens by protecting the health and safety of the food produced in these gardens. CCE Harvest NY, in partnership with the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets (AGM) and the Cornell Soil Health Lab, is offering eligible, food-producing...
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Urban Ag Food Safety
Why should I care about food safety? We don’t want people to get sick. Certain populations are more at risk to foodborne illness such as older adults, younger children, pregnant people and people with weakened immune systems. It’s bad for business. Food illness outbreaks and recalls of produce may...
Greenhouse Gases and Soil Organic Carbon in Vegetable Production
When considering the climate change impacts of agriculture, there are many aspects to consider: sequestration of atmospheric carbon in the soil as soil organic carbon (SOC), emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) from the soil, and the...
Things to Consider When Adding Specialty Mushrooms to Your Farm
Let’s set aside the familiar button, cremini, and portabella mushrooms (all in the same species of Agaricus mushrooms) and focus on a different and growing segment of the mushroom industry: specialty mushrooms. The USDA defines “specialty mushrooms” as any non-Agaricus mushroom, which includes...
Urban Farm Soil Test Interpretation
How do urban soils differ? Why does this matter when interpreting soil test results? Due to a history of human land use and ongoing activities, urban soils are often compacted, contaminated or of poor quality. Because of this, many urban growers produce crops in constructed soils. Urban agricultural...
Disease Resistant Crop Varieties for Pest Management on Urban Farms
For vegetable farmers, both urban and rural, plant diseases are an inevitable part of the growing season. Every plant species can be infected by pathogens—biotic disease-causing agents—such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes. On vegetable crops, damage can range from slight to severe. For...
Row Covers for Pest Management on Urban Farms
Row covers can be an effective pest management and season extension tool for urban growers. Row covers are fabric barriers placed either directly over crops or supported on frames (creating low tunnels). There are a variety of fabrics available that differ in weight, permeability, durability, and...
Releasing Natural Enemies for Pest Management on Urban Farms
Mimicking the natural world can be an effective approach in sustainable pest management. We can use the good bugs to manage the bad bugs! Many insect and mite pests have natural enemies that can be purchased and released on the farm to help reduce pest populations. The trick is knowing what the...
Brassica Break for Pest Management on Urban Farms
From kale and collards to mustards and radishes, brassicas (aka crucifers) are perhaps the most common crop family on urban farms. In New York, they are also host to a range of insect pests, including cabbageworms, flea beetles, cabbage aphid, swede midge, harlequin bug, and cabbage whitefly. Many...
Spring Farming in the Northeast in an Era of Climate Change
Farmers in the Northeast have always managed weather-related risk, but many are finding that weather conditions have become less predictable and more difficult to work around than they once were. While average temperatures continue to increase and growing seasons are gradually lengthening, many of...