Organic Farm Advisory

The Plant & Pest Advisory serves NJ growers by reporting on important pests and recommending responses that are grounded in reproducible trials.

Articles in this section contain information helpful to the NJ commercial organic grower.

Sharing organic practice trial results between land-grant universities is a cost effective way to create a common knowledge base built on the strengths of individual programs. In the sidebar, find institutions with programs in organic agriculture which augment knowledge developed at the Rutgers New Jersey Ag Experiment Station.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Field Guides: These concise guides help with decision making from pre-planting to harvest. For each crop listed, learn what pests to proactively look for as the season progresses, how to look for them, and when to take action.

Field Guide List

May 8, 2014

Small Farm Post-Harvest Practices Workshop

Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2 PM to 4:30 PM
Location: Webinar presentation @ Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office of Mercer County, 930 Spruce Street, Trenton, NJ
Followed by on-farm portion @ Z Food Farm, 3501 Princeton Pike, Lawrence, NJ

Improving post-harvest practices can help minimize produce damage and maximize the amount of quality produce that can be sold at market. Evaluating current post-harvest practices and identifying low-cost improvements is an important part of farm planning, and should be done as early in the season as possible.

Z FOODRutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County and NOFA-NJ welcome Lee Stivers from Penn State Extension as she joins us remotely giving a presentation on post-harvest handling procedures for high-quality, marketable produce via webinar.

The webinar workshop portion will be followed by a farm tour of Z Food Farm’s post-harvest handling set-up. Z Food Farm is a small certified organic farm located in Lawrenceville, NJ.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Organic Production
March 21, 2014

Organic Production: Suppressing Soil-borne Pathogens

Pathogens such as Fusarium, Pythium, Phytophthora, Thielaviopsis and Rhizoctonia that cause pre- and post-emergent damping-off can cause serious problems in organic (and conventional) transplant production.
The key to controlling and/or suppressing damping-off pathogens with biological controls is keeping the biological populations high and continually present on root surfaces of the host, and by following good cultural practices. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
March 12, 2014

Vegetable Production Recommendations and Organic Practices

Growers who chose to farm under organic conditions can find valuable information on cultural practices, variety recommendations, alternative pest management methods, and NOP approved products in the 2014 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide.

Note that people who apply pesticides for the purpose of raising an agricultural commodity, including organic farmers, need to be licensed as a Private Pesticide Applicator. Small/Organic Farms Private Pesticide Applicator Training is being held April 9, 2014 in Mercer County.

The 2014 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide is published annually and is now available for free download. Between publications, updates to the guide can be found here on the Plant & Pest Advisory.

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops Tagged With:
March 12, 2014

Small/Organic Farms Private Pesticide Applicator Training

Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County
April 9, 2014 10:00 – 3:00
$20 includes lunch and materials RSVP required by April 4th! Registration form 4/9/14
Contact: Meredith Melendez 609-989-6830 melendez@njaes.rutgers.edu

Topics covered will include:

  • NJ Licensing Regulations
  • The Label is the Law
  • Pesticide Health and Safety
  • Worker Protection Standard
  • Applicator Resources
  • Compliance Inspections
Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Organic Production
October 31, 2013

USDA-NRCS Program Application Date Extended

State Conservationist Carrie Mosley has extended the application period for two conservation programs to November 15th. All applications received for Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) by November 15 will be ranked and funds allocated after the new deadline. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Organic Production
October 21, 2013

Late Blight Confirmed on Organic Tomato in South Jersey

Late blight was confirmed in an organic tomato field late last week south of Bridgeton, New Jersey. As a note, growers who are still picking tomatoes should continue to scout up until the final pick and destroy field as soon as possible once harvesting is finished either by applying gramoxone or discing under plant material. Growers with late blight issues this growing season should be especially diligent. The threat of late blight in our area will remain up until the first frost. Late blight has the potential to overwinter in our area on infested potatoes left in cull piles or unharvested tubers left in the field.

Filed Under: Organic Production Tagged With: ,