Costa Farms’ Post

(USA 01.10.24) #growingproduce Getting Fresh Perspectives on the Top Postharvest Issues Today [AG: What are Australia's top postharvest issues?] Bárbara Blanco-Ulate and Irwin Donis-Gonzalez, co-directors of the UC Davis Postharvest Research and Extension Center https://lnkd.in/gJenHmCE, are revitalizing the center amid staff cuts, focusing on assisting small farmers like Paula Bicknell of West Butte Orchards. Bicknell seeks to improve pluot shipping, while the directors highlight the postharvest continuum's importance, challenging the misconception that it only involves packing. Key issues in postharvest management include inadequate temperature monitoring during transport, misinformation about preservation methods and challenges in determining optimal harvest times. The directors also aim to expand their network through social media engagement with growers. ----- [AG: What are Australia's top postharvest issues?] ----- https://lnkd.in/g5buVDHN

The September 2024 Digital Deep Dive downloadable report covers some of the latest news on #Poinsettias. #Floriculture #Horticulture #DiseaseControl #PlantTrials #Poinsettia

Starting a business requires a clear vision, strong persistence and a great deal of hard (team)work to bring it to life. Keeping it going demands just as much, if not more, effort. This is the first vine I planted about four weeks ago. It’s a Touriga Nacional, a Portuguese red variety, and it's now firmly established and looking very healthy. Hopefully, it will yield a nice bottle of red wine in about three years. Getting to this point was hard work. We had to restore many terrace walls, remove unwanted vegetation, and improve the soil by sowing a cover crop, which we then mowed and ploughed. We constructed one of the most complex irrigation systems in the Algarve and meticulously planned the vineyard, determining the exact location for all 7,125 vines. Planting them all took four long days. Now, we are focused on weeding and green pruning, removing all but the two strongest shoots that will bear the grapes. The journey isn’t over. Reaching our first proper harvest in about three years will require even more hard work, dedication, passion, and love. What drives me to do all this? It’s simple: the vision of opening my very first bottle, pouring a glass, and taking my first sip while overlooking my vineyard with the team who made it all possible, celebrating that huge achievement together. What vision drives you? If you’re curious about what we’re doing, don’t hesitate to follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/e8G-UiSm #teamwork #chaseyourdream #itallstartswithavision

Please Take A Look At This Vineyard Management Introductory Video! As a lot of you may be aware that, Severn Gorge Horticulture has now finished and SGH Commercial has taken it's place. This is due to me leaving the general garden maintenance industry and opting for a more specialised Niche in, High End Horticulture, in which, Viticulture (The Study of Vineyard Management/Creation) is a part of. Over the coming months, I will be doing short introductory videos on the changing espects of the business and where i'm taking things into 2024 and beyond. So, to start with, here is the First aspect of these changes.

Native Plant Supplier for government, nonprofit environmental projects, to hold annual public sale Country Road Greenhouses to hold Annual Fall Sale Sept. 28-29 CRESTON< IL -- Country Road Greenhouses, LLC, wholesale growers of native plants and the exclusive producer of the Prairie Plugs™ grow method, will be hosting its 2nd annual Fall Plant Sale on Sept. 28-29 at the farm near Rochelle, IL. A wholesale supplier of native plants to governmental and nonprofit groups for environmental projects, Country Road will host the sale, which is open to the public, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days. CRG continues its quest to help the environment that began on their farm 40 years ago. Bought by the Redington Family from lifelong grower Larry Creekmur, the farm has been providing solutions to landscaping challenges for the past 40 years with solutions that are time-tested. The Redingtons, including son Ryne, have more than 25 years of growing experience. “We sell only native perennial forbs, grasses, sedges and also native trees and shrubs,” co-owner Bryan Redington says. “These plants are friendly to pollinators such butterflies and bees, etc. The native plants to this area include milkweeds, native sunflowers and asters for emergent wetlands and from woodlands to full-sun dry areas. For an entire list of plants to be offered at the sale, see the CRG scrolling list at PrairiePlugs.com. Throughout the year, sales from plants grown on the farm are made wholesale to groups and organizations such as Wild Ones, a native plant not-for-profit. Wild Ones promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy, and collaborative action.   Other CRG clients include the Friends of the Chicago River, The Wetlands Initiative, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Lake County Forest Preserve District, St. Charles Park District and the Rockford Park District. The farm is located 12 miles west of DeKalb, 3 miles east of Rochelle and 1 mile north of Casey’s gas station in Creston. The Fall Sale is the farm’s only yearly sale open to the public. The sale will include individual plants and trees, as well as plants grown with their exclusive, patented “Prairie Plug” method. The Prairie Plug ™ method is a native plant grown in a flat container with a hole on the bottom that can be used to pop the plant out for easy planting.

This is our vision and Manifesto for a Flourishing Food Future. It's very achievable, not just within our lifetimes, but within the next decade. It's not just a pipedream or wishful thinking. It's urgent if we want to meet the great challenges and crises of our times. If we can't visualise the future we want, we'll never bring it into being. But we won't bring it into being if we don't act to make it happen, now. Help us realise this vision by organising an event to support the 2024 Urban Agriculture Month - https://lnkd.in/e28c4fDq Naomi Lacey Community Gardens Australia The Diggers Club Fiona Forbes Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation Morag Gamble When we look past the current crises and envision the food systems we’re helping grow in the present, we see flourishing places. We see places where First Nations communities connect to Country - where First Nations food, culture and belonging give meaning to the cities, towns and rural landscapes that we call home. We see greengrocers, bustling markets and lively community kitchens that celebrate the seasons and are alive with chatter. We see pockets of edible greenery that cool our cityscapes, catch capture precious water and create liveable spaces for plants and animals. We see rooftop gardens, edible median strips, urban farms and schools that nourish our neighbourhoods and cities with fresh, healthy and delicious food. These are the places we learn, laugh and create new stories for future generations. We see food, turned to compost, turned to food again. We see a generation of purpose-driven farmers, fairly rewarded for their work and supported to grow community connection. We see doctors and farmers nurturing human health together. We see policymakers and planners designing communities that are vibrant, convivial and inclusive based on the principle of ‘good food for all.’ We see that food systems are no longer a policy after-thought but integrated into all levels of government policy and action. From where we stand, we can already see a flourishing food future being nurtured in the present. Come and stand with us.

Running Bevo Farms takes more than just sturdy plants. Last week, we had the incredible opportunity to participate in a trust building camp led by the Gasparotto Group that taught us the strengths beneath the soil: planning and execution, communication, teamwork, and most importantly, trust.    Through a series of brain and brawn challenges, our abilities were tested to the point of pushing us past our comfort zones. We sought solutions to the tasks at hand and found that the ultimate efficiency stems from working as a team—that by sharing our goals, perspectives, skills, and laughter, we shared a sense of unity. Trusting each other's strengths in itself brings Bevo success.💚   Cheers to the team at Bevo Farms! 🎉🏆🎉 . . . . #greenhouse #grow #agriculture #farm #plants #flowers #floral #vegetables #gardening #garden  #bevo #corporate #langley #teambuilding #trust #communication #planning #execution #gasparottogroup #outsidethewire #companyappreciation #development #leadership #managementconsulting #management

The next issue of my magazine –  the first under my ownership – hits the shelves on Monday and I couldn't be prouder. It's a satisfying business being the boss. You get to do what you want, dream big, and make changes you've always wanted to make. Yet as I was putting this magazine together with my team, I was unsure about how much I should actually change. The magazine business is a sensitive one, and many in the industry will say that in such uncertain times, it’s better to stick with what is safe, tried and tested, rather than rock the boat. But when the winds die and the boat drifts on a flat sea, sometimes a little rocking is all that’s needed for the sail to catch a breeze. And so rock we did. As a result, the new issue is unrecognisable from the one before. The cover has been modernised, proudly displaying our values and our new contributor – the wonderful Frida Keegan from Permadynamics. Our fonts have been overhauled and improved, and the contents includes brand new dedicated columns on syntropic agroforestry, homesteading and off-grid life. This issue is just the start of the transformation that will see my little magazine send roots deep into the soils of New Zealand's back-to-the-land community, flying the flag for all those inspiring people on journeys to connect to the whenua and their food. More changes are on the way. Stay tuned for a name change in the coming months – something that tells New Zealanders that no matter where they live, if they're interested in forming closer relationships with the land and natural resources this is the magazine to read. For those of you who are keen to support a grassroots, family-owned, consciously-created, earnestly-intentioned, old-fashioned magazine, please pick up a copy at your local supermarket or subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/gd6K84pc Oh! And if you subscribe for two years you'll receive our awesome homesteading prize pack and go in the draw to win a hand-made chicken coop valued at $3,000!

What if growing food was never meant to be about just the end product? What are we missing from conventional agriculture and gardening? Steven Martyn is an Ontario based teacher and practitioner of sacred agriculture and what he terms wildculturing. He focusses on the traditional living skills of growing food, building and healing and has a unique take on how we can live in the with the earth. Steven had me pondering how agriculture has been used to create culture historically, how we incorporate intentionality into horticulture, he even had me rethinking my morning beverage… https://zurl.co/8jiE

What if growing food was never meant to be about just the end product? What are we missing from conventional agriculture and gardening? Steven Martyn is an Ontario based teacher and practitioner of sacred agriculture and what he terms wildculturing. He focusses on the traditional living skills of growing food, building and healing and has a unique take on how we can live in the with the earth. Steven had me pondering how agriculture has been used to create culture historically, how we incorporate intentionality into horticulture, he even had me rethinking my morning beverage… https://zurl.co/8jiE