In Season 3, episode 13 of "What's Killing My Kale," Annie talked with Seth Wannmeuhler, a graduate research assistant at University of Minnesota, about kiwiberries. Seth has become an expert on kiwiberries through is research the last several years in which he seeks to develop a new hardy kiwiberry variety that produces well in Minnesota. In addition to his breeding work, he is also helping in the development of management recommendations for this crop, and studying the market potential of kiwi...
Aug 06, 2020
In S eason 3 Episode 12 of What's Killing My Kale, Natalie talked with Inga Meadows, Extension plant pathologist at NC State University, about disease management in organic tomatoes. It's nearly impossible to avoid disease issues in tomatoes, but there are ways to preventatively manage them, even in organic systems. In this episode, Natalie and Inga discussed: Biological control options for preventative disease management OMRI approved sprays like copper, how well they work for different disease...
Jul 16, 2020
In S eason 3 Episode 10 of What's Killing My Kale, Natalie talked with Dr. Brent Loy, emeritus professor of plant genetics and cucurbit breeder extraordinaire at the University of New Hampshire. Every year we hear about fruiting in flowering issues in cucurbit crops towards the middle of the summer. Many of the strategies to prevent this from happening should be implemented now, when you're transplanting. In this episode we discussed: Why we so often see flower abortion, small fruit, and oddly s...
May 21, 2020
In Season 3, episode 9 of What's Killing My Kale, Natalie talked to Dr. Paulo Pagliari, an associate professor of soil science at the University of Minnesota, about nutrient management in wet soils. Though this spring has been relatively dry, our climate is becoming wetter overall, and we may still see heavy rainfall and flooding this season. In preparation, we interviewed Paulo to learn about best practices. Much of the information in this episode is also relevant for normal conditions in addit...
May 07, 2020
In Season 3, episode 8 of What's Killing My Kale, Natalie talked to Local Extension Educators Claire LaCanne (Rice & Steele Counties) and Shane Bugeja (Le Sueur and Blue Earth Counties) about their recent trials to measure soil biological activity. Photo: Claire LaCanne With increasing interest in soil health over the years, at-home trials such as the soiled undies test and the tea bag test have become increasingly common. But do they work? Claire and Shane conducted trials to compare these ...
May 07, 2020
Spotted wing drosophila damage on tart cherry. Photo: Annie Klodd In S eason 3 Episode 5 of What's Killing My Kale, Annie talked with Gigi Digiacomo, a research fellow in the Department of Applied Economics. They discussed Digiacomo's recent findings about how spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) has impacted the Minnesota berry industry, and weighed the economics of SWD management strategies. You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on Apple Podcasts an...
Apr 10, 2020
Spotted wing Drosophila on a raspberry. Photo: Charlie Rohwer, UMN In S eason 3 Episode 6 of What's Killing My Kale, Annie talked with Dr. Mary Rogers, an Assistant Professor studying organic food production systems in the Department of Horticulture. They discussed recent research findings from Dr. Rogers team, as well as other farms and researchers around the country, about the best ways to manage spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) organically. You can listen to and download the episode here. What's...
Apr 10, 2020
In S eason 3 Episode 4 of What's Killing My Kale, Annie talked with Aaron Wills from Little Hill Berry Farm. They discussed how climate change is impacting fruit production, and strategies for adaptation. This is the fourth and final episode in a mini series about how climate change is impacting our ability to grow fruits and vegetables in MN. You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on Apple Podcasts and FruitEdge . If you enjoy listening to our ...
Mar 30, 2020
In S eason 3 Episode 3 of What's Killing My Kale, Natalie talked with Erin Johnson and Ben Doherty from Open Hands Farm. They discussed the ways that they have noticed the impacts of climate change on their farm, and strategies they're using for adaptation. This is the third episode in a mini series about how climate change is impacting our ability to grow fruits and vegetables in MN. You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on Apple Podcasts and ...
Mar 30, 2020
We are back with another season of What's Killing My Kale! In Season 3 Episode 2 , Annie talked with farmer Laura Frerichs from Loon Organics farm about how climate change is affecting their ability to grow vegetables, and adaptation strategies. This is the second episode in a mini series about how climate change is impacting our ability to grow fruits and vegetables in MN. You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on Apple Podcasts and FruitEdge ....
Mar 30, 2020
We are back with another season of What's Killing My Kale! In S eason 3 Episode 1 , Natalie talked with Kenny Blumenfeld, Senior Climatologist with the DNR about how our climate has changed over the last 100 years, and projections for the future. This is the first episode in a mini series about how climate change is impacting our ability to grow fruits and vegetables in MN, and adaptation strategies. You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on App...
Mar 30, 2020
Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewee: Yolanda Chen In episode 26 of What's Killing My Kale , Natalie talked with Dr. Yolanda Chen, a professor at the University of Vermont. Yolanda has been studying Swede Midge on the East coast, where it has been a devastating disease of cole crops. In particular, her research has focused on organic management strategies. In part 1 of this episode, we interviewed Angie Ambourn, supervisor of the MDA's pest detection unit, about recent Swede Midge sightings in Mi...
Oct 04, 2019
Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewee: Angie Ambourn In episode 26 of What's Killing My Kale , Natalie talked with Angie Ambourn, supervisor of the MDA's pest detection unit. Angie's team has been studying emerging insects and diseases in community gardens across Minnesota, and they've recently detected Swede Midge in gardens across the Twin Cities. Swede Midge is an important pest of cole crops on the East Cost, and while has not yet caused economic damage on Minnesota farms, it's important for p...
Oct 04, 2019
Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewees: Julie Weisenhorn and Nathan Hecht In episode 25 of What's Killing My Kale , Natalie talked with Extension Educator Julie Weisenhorn, and recently graduated horticulture master's student Nathan Hecht. Both Julie and Nathan have been studying how flowering plants near fruit and vegetable plots impact pollination and fruit set. While we generally know that adding flowering plants to the landscape is good for pollinators and beneficial insects, we wanted to dig ...
Aug 02, 2019
Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewee: John Loegering. In episode 24 of What's Killing My Kale , Natalie talked with wildlife biologist John Loegering about vertebrate pest management. They discussed a four pillar IPM approach to wildlife management both in packshed areas and in fields, and talked about balancing the competing interests of supporting wildlife habitat while keeping animals out of the field. John made a short list of resources for those interested in learning more, which can be foun...
Jul 18, 2019
Author: Natalie Hoidal, Interviewee: Anthony Hanson In episode 23 of our fruit and vegetable podcast What's Killing My Kale? we talked to Anthony Hanson, an Extension post-doc who has been creating degree day maps for various insect pests in Minnesota. Anthony explained how fruit and vegetable growers can use these maps to help make pest management decisions. Click here to listen to the episode. You can listen to it now, or download it to listen later. Degree day maps for various MN insect pests...
Jul 10, 2019
In episode 21 of our fruit and vegetable podcast What's Killing My Kale? we talked to Courtney Tchida, farm manager at Cornercopia student organic farm. Courtney has been trying various weed management methods over the years, and has recently been experimenting with solarization using standard plastic as well as used billboards (as in billboards from roadside advertising!). Courtney shared her insight on how well these methods work, labor and equipment costs, convenience, and more. Click here to...
Jun 11, 2019
In Season 2, Episode 2 of our fruit and vegetable podcast What's Killing My Kale? we're talking all about transplants with Alissa Jacobsen, a farmer who currently works at Open Hands Farm in Northfield. Alissa has worked on many farms at different scales and with different types of markets and goals. We covered a wide range of topics including: Transplanted cucumber with sun scald. Photo: Natalie Hoidal Avoiding issues like sun scald Accessing space for starting seeds when you don't have access ...
May 24, 2019
Moongold apricot flowers, 5/7/19. Photo: Annie Klodd. In Season 2, Episode 1 of our fruit and vegetable podcast What's Killing My Kale? we take a deep dive into fruit bud injury with Dr. Amaya Atucha of University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Atucha has a wealth of knowledge on this topic, so it made for a fascinating and useful conversation that we think fruit growers will find very helpful! Topics covered include: What do critical freeze temperatures for fruit buds really mean, and who decided th...
May 08, 2019
In episode 18 of our fruit and vegetable podcast What's Killing My Kale? we talked to Linda Chalker-Scott, a horticulturalist with Washington State University. The internet lays many claims about the benefits of numerous "alternative" or "natural" remedies for pest management and plant health. How do we know which methods are backed up by science, and which are not? In this episode, Linda lays out ways growers can determine if claims about natural products are accurate and effective. We use epso...
Nov 30, 2018
In episode 17 of our fruit and vegetable podcast What's Killing My Kale? Annie and Natalie discuss pesticides labeled for use in organic systems. In this episode, Natalie discusses the importance of thinking about pesticide safety on all fruit and vegetable farms, including organic farms with organic pesticide products. She also lays out the results of the fruit and vegetable pesticide use survey that was distributed by UMN Extension to fruit and vegetable growers throughout 2018. This episode i...
Nov 20, 2018
Author: Annie Klodd. Any farmers applying compost, manure, or straw should keep in mind that while these inputs have many benefits for vegetable production, they can also be modes of spread for weed seeds. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the amount of weed seeds that appear in compost and manure and then end up on the field. Photo: Chryseis Modderman Episode 16: Manure, Compost, and Weeds. This month on "What's Killing My Kale?" (our fruit & vegetable pest management podcast) we had ...
Nov 02, 2018
For our September series of "What's Killing My Kale?", we caught up with some of our Extension IPM experts to discuss the main 2018 growing season pest pressures and how to prepare for 2019. In this episode, we discuss weeds with Annie Klodd. You can listen to the podcast here or on iTunes .
Oct 17, 2018
