Seed starting can be time consuming, messy, take up a lot of space, and have inconsistent results. Join three farmers with several decades of collective growing experience to learn about their best practices (and lessons learned) for seed starting at scale. Whether you want to increase your production space, or improve the efficiency of the space you have, you’ll find out about tools and techniques to germinate seeds faster, and grow healthier plants, and improve your bottom line.

Cassandra Madden from Nature Works Farm, Silvan Goddin from Grow Pittsburgh’s Garden Dreams Urban Nursery, and Megan Gallagher from be.wild.er farm share how each of their operations have fine tuned their seed starting systems to achieve results. We cover planting media, seeding techniques, watering, and greenhouse versus non-greenhouse-based production. Pasa’s Dan Dalton and Lisa Miskelly also share some great tips!

Recorded March 22, 2022

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The post Step Up Your Seed Starting to Grow More at Any Scale appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

Crop planning is essential for improving yields and making the best use of your space and time. It can also help you prevent and manage weeds, pests, and diseases. Join Farm Manager Nick Lubecki from Grow Pittsburgh’s Braddock Farms to learn how crop planning can help you increase production and efficiency on your operation.

We discuss goal-setting, creating a crop plan that fits your growing system, selecting appropriate varieties, building your first (and second) crop plan, and different approaches to crop placement.

Recorded March 8, 2022

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Hear from farmers and food safety professionals in this virtual discussion on wash-pack design. We use Grow Pittsburgh’s Garden Dreams as a case study for how to build a station that meets food safety requirements without breaking the bank. Farm Manager Hanna Mosca shares how Garden Dreams worked around the unique challenges of their space to retrofit an inexpensive and effective wash-pack system. We also get insights from seasoned food safety professionals who will highlight important considerations and address common concerns.

Additional resources

Click here to download a PDF with additional resources mentioned in the webinar.

Recorded December 1, 2021

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Vegetable farms that sell their produce through farmers markets, CSA programs, on-farm stores, and other direct-market channels are the foundation of local food movements everywhere. Yet there is surprisingly little information available to help answer a basic question: Can farmers make a middle-class income selling vegetables through direct-market outlets? We launched an ongoing study in 2017 to help fill this critical gap in information and offer insights that could help vegetable farmers start and grow their businesses. Our new report, Financial Benchmarks for Direct-Market Vegetable Farms, offers the most comprehensive review of direct-market vegetable farm businesses to date, sharing detailed financial benchmarks from 39 farms collected over three years.

During this webinar, we review our findings and answer your questions. We also share three strategies farms can use to boost financial success and explain how direct-market vegetable farmers can participate in this vital ongoing project.

Recorded October 5, 2021

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Weed pressure is a challenge on any vegetable farm, and it can be especially difficult for organic operations. In this virtual presentation, two farm managers—Dan Kemper of Rodale Institute and Nick Lubecki of Braddock Farms with Grow Pittsburgh—discuss both preventative approaches and intervention strategies for controlling weeds in vegetable production, including: stale seed bedding with tarps and flame weeders; mulching with straw, leaves, and roller-crimped cover crops; hand and tractor cultivation tools; underseeding; incorporating animals; and Integrated Weed Management.

Looking for more about weed management? Check out our webinar about controlling weeds using IPM.

Recorded June 15, 2021

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The post Managing Weeds in Vegetable Crops: Prevention & Intervention appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

The design, construction, and siting of your hoop house can mean the difference between many successful growing seasons or many seasons of ongoing frustration and suboptimal yields.

During this webinar Dan Dalton, Pasa’s Three Rivers Hub Manager, discusses effective hoop house design and assembly and consider how to select the right structure for your farm. He also covers some common construction pitfalls to watch out for, reviews the pros and cons of different features, and discusses how these can impact your crop production.

Recorded August 24, 2021

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“Tarping” or covering the soil with plastic silage tarps is becoming a popular weed management strategy for smaller scale vegetable farms. In this webinar you’ll get an overview of tarping systems at two regional farms. Farmers Nina Berryman of Weavers Way Farms and Liz Krug of Fullers Overlook Farm discuss the pros and cons of this production method, share why they decided to try it, and explain how they make it work for their farm. These farms are also both participants in our Soil Health Benchmark Study, so we also touch on key aspects of their soil health data and discuss how tarping may or may not be contributing to each farm’s soil health journey.

Recorded April 21, 2021

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The post Using Tarps to Control Weeds & Reduce Tillage appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

We studied 39 farms over three years to find out. Our study is the most comprehensive review of direct-market vegetable farm finances to date.

Vegetable farms that sell their produce through farmers markets, CSA programs, on-farm stores, and other direct-market channels are the foundation of local food movements everywhere. Yet there is surprisingly little information available to help answer a basic question: Can farmers make a middle-class income selling vegetables through direct-market outlets?

We launched an ongoing study in 2017 to help fill this critical gap in information and offer insights that could help vegetable farmers start and grow their businesses. Our report offers the most comprehensive review of direct-market vegetable farm businesses to date, sharing detailed financial benchmarks from 39 farms collected over three years.

Complete the form below to download our Financial Benchmarks for Direct-Market Vegetable Farms: 2021 Report. You can also read a summary of our findings here on our blog.

Complete this form to download the report

The post Financial Benchmarks for Direct-Market Vegetable Farms: 2021 Report appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state and local agencies receive thousands of complaints about drifting pesticides each year. We at Pasa also have received several reports from farmers in our community who experienced instances of pesticide drift and even accidental spraying directly on their fields. In addition to health concerns, the consequences for the contaminated farms often involve loss of the crops, loss of certification, and the need for remediation — all of which cost money and time. What can you do if this happens to your farm?

During this listening session, we hear from farmers who have dealt with this issue and we review the current best practices for reporting and seeking compensation for pesticide drift. We also hear from legal and policy advisors and organic certifiers and discuss potential changes for how to address and prevent this issue going forward.

Recorded July 23, 2021.

Additional resources:

Pesticide Action Network • North America
Drift Watch
“Liability coverage for chemical drift,” The Grapevine Magazine
“What to do when pesticide drift happens,” Ohio Farmer

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It seems logical that healthier soil could grow healthier food. But how do we measure this and demonstrate it scientifically? Exploring links between the nutrient density of food and the soil it was grown in remains a young field of study—we often have more questions than answers.

The Bionutrient Institute is a collaborative project that seeks to shed light on this topic. In 2018 they began analyzing crops and soil samples from a wide range of farms across the country to help us understand connections between soil health and food nutrition. Pasa partnered with Bionutrient Institute in 2020 to measure the nutrient content of crops grown by farmers participating in our Soil Health Benchmark Study. These analyses can help us understand whether different approaches to field management can produce healthier food.

Helping farmers explore links between soil health and nutrition could additionally offer a valuable marketing tool and a new opportunity to educate customers about the benefits of sustainable practices. Join us to learn more about this national project and what it’s uncovered so far.

Recorded July 21, 2021.

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Profits depend on picking, packing, and selling the highest quality fruits, for as long as possible.

During this webinar, three experts from the tomato industry — Tom Ford from Penn State Extension, Ken Martin from Furmano Foods, and Steve Bogash from Marrone Bio Innovations— share their insights on how to get the most out of your tomato crop.

We discuss how to grade tomatoes for quality and optimal ripeness, and best practices to extend storage life. We also review late-season nutrition to extend the season—it’s not hard to grow 5-10 pounds of tomatoes on a plant, but to get higher yields of marketable fruit you need to focus on the late-season details!

The post Growing & Selling More Marketable Tomatoes appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

Building and preserving soil health is a fundamental component of a secure food system that effectively protects ecosystems and communities. Our Soil Health Benchmark Study is designed to help farmers monitor and evaluate the nuanced soil health strengths and challenges that can exist simultaneously within their fields.

The study was developed and is administered by Pasa Sustainable Agriculture in collaboration with more than 100 vegetable, pastured livestock, and row crop farmers and partners including the Cornell Soil Health Laboratory, Future Harvest and the Million Acre Challenge, Penn State Extension, Rodale Institute, and Stroud Water Research Center.

The study, which began in 2016, is one of the largest and most diverse community soil health research projects in the nation, amassing data from a wide range of farm scales and management systems, soil types, and farmer experiences.

Download our Soil Health Benchmarks 2021 Report below for a detailed review of our study and findings to date. You can also read a summary of our findings here on our blog.

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By implementing IPM techniques, farmers can prevent problems before they happen and better control those that do.

Take Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles and tools into the field. Join Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable IPM Coordinator Abby Seaman to learn how IPM in the field can prevent headaches and improve your farm’s profitability. Topics discussed include common field pests and how pest cycles interact with crop timing and weeds.

This webinar was offered free of charge thanks to support from a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

More webinars from our Fundamentals of IPM series

Greenhouses & Hoophouses

Recognizing & Managing Disease in Vegetable Crops

Weed Management Panel

Perspectives from the Orchard

Learn more

Check out our list of additional IPM resources!

The post Fundamentals of IPM: In the Field appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

This booklet explores how agriculture has the potential to either degrade and deplete, or protect and enrich, our shared water resources.

By understanding the connections between specific farming practices and water quality and quantity, farmers, communities, and government agencies can more effectively work together to nurture a cleaner, more abundant water supply and a healthier, more secure food system.

While the geographic focus for this booklet is Pennsylvania, the core issues discussed—water, farming, and a sustainable future—are global.

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The post Water Farming: Managing Agricultural Lands for Clean & Safe Water appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

By implementing IPM techniques, farmers can prevent problems before they happen and better control those that do.

During this webinar, organic systems pioneer Eric Nordell from Beech Grove Farm shared his “weed the soil, not the crop” approach to weed control, which has influenced organic farmers around the world for more than 30 years. We also hear from Sam Hitchcock-Tilton from Lakeshore Technical College, who discusses how to prepare your farm for effective weed control and review mechanical tools available for controlling weeds efficiently.

This webinar was offered free of charge through support from a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

More webinars from our Fundamentals of IPM series

Greenhouses & Hoophouses

Recognizing & Managing Disease in Vegetable Crops

Perspectives from the Orchard

In the Field

Learn more

Check out our list of additional IPM resources!

The post Fundamentals of IPM: Weed Management Panel appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

By implementing IPM techniques, farmers can prevent problems before they happen and better control those that do.

During this webinar, we review both common and some not-so-common diseases in the most important vegetable crops in the Northeast and Upper Mid-Atlantic: tomatoes, peppers, vine crops, and leafy greens. We also discuss control strategies for these diseases using an IPM approach, including cultural practices and variety selection. Finally, we explore sustainable fungicide and bactericide programs considering application timing, using adjuvants to improve efficacy, application methods, and selecting materials to meet your market demands.

This webinar was offered free of charge through support from a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Speaker information

Steve Bogash, Marrone Bio Innovations: Steve retired as a Horticulture Educator and Researcher, PSU Cooperative Extension in June 2016. Since retiring, Steve now works with the product development team at Marrone BioInnovations, Inc to create, field test, and market new biological plant pest management products. He has continued to do applied research in field and high tunnels on grapes, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers, seeking to improve yields and quality. Proactive pest management using biological control agents is an important factor in all of these trials.

More webinars from our Fundamentals of IPM series

Greenhouses & Hoophouses

Weed Management Panel

Perspectives from the Orchard

In the Field

Learn more

Check out our list of additional IPM resources!

The post Fundamentals of IPM: Recognizing & Managing Disease in Vegetable Crops appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

By implementing IPM techniques, farmers can prevent problems before they happen and better control those that do.

This webinar addresses the key building blocks of an IPM approach to farm management, focusing on methods farmers can utilize in greenhouses and hoop houses, through the experience of Peace Tree Farm. It consists of portions of two popular sessions Lloyd hosted at recent Pasa Sustainable Agriculture Conferences, where he reviews techniques he feels are key to IPM success.

This webinar was offered free of charge through support from a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Speaker information

Lloyd Traven, Peace Tree Farm: Lloyd is a Pasa board member, organic grower, and the 2005 U.S. National Grower of the Year: Greenhouse Grower. He is known as the “mad scientist” of Peace Tree Farm, and has grown herbs, vegetable transplants, and fine ornamental plants since 1983. As a supplier to botanical gardens, museums, and growers across North America, Peace Tree is known for its passion, innovation, and leadership in sustainable growing techniques and biocontrol systems.

More webinars from our Fundamentals of IPM series

Recognizing & Managing Disease in Vegetable Crops

Weed Management Panel

Perspectives from the Orchard

In the Field

Learn more

Check out our list of additional IPM resources!

The post Fundamentals of IPM: Greenhouses & Hoophouses appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

Through our Soil Health Benchmark Study, we’re discovering common soil health problems farmers are facing. These soil health issues are happening for a variety of reasons that might include effects from severe weather, unintended consequences from production methods, or simply not having a practical way to implement effective soil-building strategies.

During this webinar, we’ll review several common soil health challenges and explore how farmers are working to fix them. We’ll also explain how you can contribute to the Soil Health Benchmark Study as a community scientist and connect with a peer-community of farmers advancing the art and science of sustainable farming.

Our landmark Soil Health Benchmark Study is the most diverse farmer-led soil science project in the nation.

The post Insights on Common Soil Health Challenges appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

The post Wet Fields Obstruct Operations & Soil Health at Chicano Sol Farm appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.