Produce Grower magazine

Produce Grower magazine Serving vegetable and fruit greenhouse operations of North America. Subscribe for free at producegrower.com. Published by GIE Media.

Greetings from Columbus, Ohio! We’re so excited to be here at Cultivate’25 and can’t wait to see you in our booth!Come s...
07/13/2025

Greetings from Columbus, Ohio! We’re so excited to be here at Cultivate’25 and can’t wait to see you in our booth!

Come see us at #1637 and get your picture in front of our photo wall and grab some souvenirs! 🧳🧳🧳

And make sure you follow us on Instagram for live updates throughout the show!

If you're going to Cultivate'25, we'd love to see you! Visit booth  #1637 to connect with the Produce Grower magazine st...
07/11/2025

If you're going to Cultivate'25, we'd love to see you! Visit booth #1637 to connect with the Produce Grower magazine staff and find out what's new with the GIE Media Horticulture Group.

And make sure you're ready for Cultivate'25 with our trade show dos and don'ts guide here:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/trade-show-dos-and-donts/

Labor is usually the greatest expense item in the production of greenhouse vegetable crops.There's a ton of equipment th...
07/08/2025

Labor is usually the greatest expense item in the production of greenhouse vegetable crops.

There's a ton of equipment that can help make normal hand tasks less labor intensive: motorized lifts, stringing and hook winding machines, vertical sprayers, deleafers, harvesting trolleys, tomato sorting machines and robot harvesters.

John Bartok Jr., an agricultural engineer and emeritus extension professor at the University of Connecticut, reviews some of these machines here:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/greenhouse-equipment-reduce-labor-vegetable-production/

When third-generation grower Cole Mucci began developing plans for his high-tech lettuce-growing operation two years ago...
07/03/2025

When third-generation grower Cole Mucci began developing plans for his high-tech lettuce-growing operation two years ago, the decision to go with Prospiant for the greenhouse and to help integrate the automated cultivation systems was an easy choice.

In April, Mucci broke ground on the lettuce growing facility, the official start of a company he founded called KingsOne Farms.

He saw the customer service and quality Prospiant delivered for dozens of other CEA operations in his hometown of Kingsville, Ontario, where the Canadian arm of Prospiant is based, a region known for being a hub for growing produce under cover.

Read more about their partnership here:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/prospiant-lettuce-greenhouse-mucci-kingsone-farms-ontario-canada-increasing-profits-sponsored/

The Jiffy Group-7 Pellet compressed substrate discs decrease the effort to grow seeds and plant cuttings in both home ga...
07/01/2025

The Jiffy Group-7 Pellet compressed substrate discs decrease the effort to grow seeds and plant cuttings in both home gardens and high-tech greenhouses. The technology and innovation behind the pellets are perfect for controlled environment agriculture, too, says Jiffy Global Segment Manager for CEA Kyle Freedman.

“It’s very easy for anyone to use, and I think that’s one of their great benefits. It’s simple for a home gardener who doesn’t know a lot about gardening, but it’s just as simple and effective for a CEA grower who has tons of experience,” he says. “It's really good for any kind of grower or any crop that’s being propagated both by seed or by clonal propagation or cutting. It’s really flexible.”

Read more about how the versatile Jiffy-7 Pellet can meet a wide variety of CEA grower needs with or without customization:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/jiffy-7-pellet-growing-media-substrate-controlled-environment-agriculture-increasing-profits-sponsored/

As growers, we often think of pest control as a necessary evil: a continuous threat looming over our heads, interfering ...
06/26/2025

As growers, we often think of pest control as a necessary evil: a continuous threat looming over our heads, interfering with our growing strategies and requiring skilled, expensive labor to execute.

We train our employees to scout for the early signs of infestations we know will eventually take hold and spread. We stock our cabinets with expensive chemistries in hopes they will mitigate these infestations, until resistance develops.

We learn through trial and frustration that pest control only takes away from our bottom line, so we tend to ignore it until it’s too late. This is a squandered opportunity.

Find out why Koppert US says there's nothing more expensive than an unhealthy plant:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/ipm-integrated-pest-management-koppert-cea-problem-solvers-sponsored/

Budget and time constraints as well as health status and ingrained habits can impede healthy eating, according to the In...
06/24/2025

Budget and time constraints as well as health status and ingrained habits can impede healthy eating, according to the International Food Information Council (Food Insight).

The IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans’ Perceptions & Priorities on Healthy Eating dives into how Americans prioritize and perceive healthy eating.

Find out more about this research that found how diet, exercise and emotion shape everyday food and beverage choices:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/international-food-information-council-americans-perceptions-priorities-healthy-eating-survey-research/

AJ Willner Auctions has announced its upcoming liquidation of Bowery Farming’s vertical farming facility in Bethlehem, P...
06/19/2025

AJ Willner Auctions has announced its upcoming liquidation of Bowery Farming’s vertical farming facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Bowery Farming, one of the largest vertical farm companies in the U.S., shuttered the doors of all its facilities in late 2024. The company was once valued at more than $2 billion.

Items to be sold include modular racking and vertical grow towers, Fluence LED lighting systems, water filtration and recirculation systems, HVAC and dehumidification systems, conveyors, packing equipment and food-grade workstations, material handling, warehouse fixtures and office equipment.

The auction will be conducted online-only, with bidding closing June 26. Find out more:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/bowery-farming-auction-vertical-facility-pennsylvania/

Spearmint is a popular perennial herb known for its unique flavor and aroma, making it a staple in many culinary applica...
06/17/2025

Spearmint is a popular perennial herb known for its unique flavor and aroma, making it a staple in many culinary applications as well as a source of mint essential oil.

While often grown as a row crop, growing mint in a controlled environment, such as greenhouses, has many benefits, including improved quality and increased yield year-round. But growing spearmint in a controlled environment also requires careful maintenance of nutrient levels to maintain healthy plants and high yields.

Nutrient deficiencies in mint can be problematic, especially if not corrected early and quickly. Common problems that result from inadequate nutrient supply or uptake include stunted growth, discoloration and even plant death. These symptoms can range in severity, but recognizing the early symptoms is critical for early correction.

In our latest CEA HERB article, Danielle Clade and Brian Whipker from NC State help you understand the symptoms of common deficiencies so you can better monitor and diagnose problems with spearmint crops and prevent yield loss:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/spearmint-nutrient-disorders-nc-state-north-carolina-cea-herb-research/

When new construction isn’t in the cards, retrofits and upgrades can help solve some inefficiencies. But there are some ...
06/12/2025

When new construction isn’t in the cards, retrofits and upgrades can help solve some inefficiencies. But there are some pitfalls to avoid to help the process work best for your situation.

We have some tips from Duane Van Alstine, customer solutions rep at GGS, and A.J. Both, controlled environment extension specialist at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, for retrofitting a greenhouse:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/greenhouse-upgrades-retrofit-new-construction-tips/

A newly released tomato variety, Desert Dew, is optimized for rapid growth, nutrient density and adaptability to extreme...
06/10/2025

A newly released tomato variety, Desert Dew, is optimized for rapid growth, nutrient density and adaptability to extreme environments, according to ASU School of Life Sciences.

Bred by associate professor Changbin Chen, it's the product of a long-term breeding project that began in Minnesota, targeting regions with short, frost-limited growing seasons.

When Chen relocated to Arizona in 2021, the program evolved to address additional challenges specific to desert environments, including extreme heat, drought and high UV radiation.

“We realized this variety is useful not only for short growing seasons in northern regions,” Chen says, “but also for hot climates with two brief growing periods, like Arizona.”

Read more:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/arizona-state-university-new-tomato-variety-desert-dew/

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Produce Grower Magazine

Produce Grower is a business management and production publication for growers that specialize in growing vegetable and fruit crops in a protected environment. Produce Grower provides readers with the most relevant and up-to-date information, including topics such as pests and diseases, food safety, marketing and management, new varieties, production and others, to run their growing operation more efficiently and profitably.