April 2019 - 1

Poultry forage on
vegetable crop residue
High-Tech Tools
2019
8
18
Biologicals industry says
it's growing past niche
uses
28
Knouse Fruitlands is
Pennsylvania Grower of
the Year
April 2019 | Volume 53 |
Issue 4
Dustin and Carl Grooms operate Fancy Farms, a strawberry business in Plant City, Florida. Photos: Fancy Farms
By Gary Pullano
Managing Editor
Carl Grooms has seen a lot since he
entered the strawberry growing business
in 1974. He's leaving the Plant City,
Florida, growing operation in the hands
of his son, Dustin, but has plenty of
concerns about the future of the industry
in which he has made his livelihood.
" People wonder why do we grow
strawberries, " Grooms said in February
during a visit to Fancy Farms that capped
the North American Strawberry Growers
Association's (NASGA) annual meeting that
was based in Orlando. " It's because we like
to eat them. We love to walk the fields and
reach down and pick one we know is going
to be better than the last one we tasted.
It's sort of a novelty today to be able to do
that in a business that you do everyday. I
couldn't eat an eggplant, I don't think. "
" I got old and I'm turning it over to my
son, Dustin Grooms, " Carl Grooms said.
" He's the sole manager and proprietor and
he's since started spending all my money.
That's the way it's supposed to be. "
A longtime strawberry grower in central
Florida. Carl Grooms is president and cofounder
of Fancy Farms, co-owned by he
See FANCY, page 5
Prune, support greenhouse tomatoes
By Dean Peterson
VGN Correspondent
Tomatoes grow well in hoophouses,
but they need support and pruning, and
no two farms are the same.
" There're many types of support
systems and lots of different parts
of a tomato plant to prune, " said Liz
Maynard, assistant professor in Purdue
University's Department of Horticulture
and Landscape Architecture. Maynard
was a speaker at the recent Great Lakes
Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO in
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
" Know why you prune, " Maynard
said. " Growers ask, 'what do I prune?'
It depends on your variety and your
production system. "
Purdue researchers recently compared
the yield and quality of hoophouse
tomatoes grown on stake and weave
(horizontal weave) and stake and string
(vertical string) support systems.
Researchers tested the support systems
in two tunnels - one organic and one
conventional, and on two indeterminate
varieties - Big Beef and Cherokee Purple,
and one determinate - Mountain Fresh.
Sucker or branch pruning is essential
for indeterminate varieties in a stake
and string system. " Prune the branches
off and leave only one or two stems, "
Maynard said. " Be sure your structure is
See TOMATOES, page 7
Liz Maynard is an assistant professor at
Purdue University. Photo: Dean Peterson

April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2019

April 2019 - 1
April 2019 - 2
April 2019 - 3
April 2019 - 4
April 2019 - 5
April 2019 - 6
April 2019 - 7
April 2019 - 8
April 2019 - 9
April 2019 - 10
April 2019 - 11
April 2019 - 12
April 2019 - 13
April 2019 - 14
April 2019 - 15
April 2019 - 16
April 2019 - 17
April 2019 - 18
April 2019 - 19
April 2019 - 20
April 2019 - 21
April 2019 - 22
April 2019 - 23
April 2019 - 24
April 2019 - 25
April 2019 - 26
April 2019 - 27
April 2019 - 28
April 2019 - 29
April 2019 - 30
April 2019 - 31
April 2019 - 32
April 2019 - 33
April 2019 - 34
April 2019 - 35
April 2019 - 36
April 2019 - 37
April 2019 - 38
April 2019 - 39
April 2019 - 40
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/vgn-digital-seed-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-august
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/vgn-digital-seed-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2019
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com