Upcoming Events
Greenhouse and High Tunnel Tomato Conference
University of Massachusetts Extension Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture Program, University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island and Northeast SARE
Held on November 3, 2009 at Sturbridge Host Hotel, Sturbridge, MA
Handouts and Links from the conference! All are pdfs 
High Tunnels for Tomato Production (Judson Reid, Cornell University)
How We Grow Tomatoes in High Tunnels (Steve Groff, Cedar Meadow Farm)
Greenhouse Tomato Diseases (Sharon Douglas, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station))
Greenhouse Tomatiology (Richard Snyder, Mississippie State University)
Greenhouse Tomatoes: Problems and Solutions (Richard Snyder, Mississippi State University)
Greenhouse Tomato Resources (Mississippi State University)
Shelled Corn for Greenhouse Heat
Cost - Share Project (Fall 2009)
Growers of greenhouse crops are invited to participate in year two of the Shelled Corn for Greenhouse Heat project. Funding is available to provide cost-share for purchasing one corn furnace or boiler per farm (up to 50% of the cost, maximum $3,000 per farm) for a limited number of farms. If you are interested, please complete the application form.
Our goal is to foster a regional network of renewable energy producers and users, with a focus on grain corn but also including other types of renewable energy. The emphasis of this project is to make the best possible use of our land for food and fuel production and avoid detracting from our ability to grow food crops. We envision a system where fuel crops become a valuable rotational crop in vegetable farms and an alternative revenue stream for dairy farmers at a time of shrinking demand for silage; not a system in which the production of fuel shifts acreage away from food production. For more information and case studies from this past year see: Corn Heat Project
This project is supported by funding from the Agricultural Innovation Center, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, University of Massachusetts College of Natural Resources and the Environment and University of Massachusetts Extension.
For more information, contact Andy Cavanagh, Vegetable Crops Program or Tina Smith, Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture Program.
"Grower to Grower" on Greenhouse Biological Control
Date: January 6, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Place: Grower Direct Farms, 164 Hampden Rd., Somers, CT 06071
More information and Directions
Join us for a grower to grower program and greenhouse tour on using biological control in greenhouses. More and more growers of greenhouse crops in Massachusetts and Connecticut are trying biological control to manage pests. Experienced growers, along with those just starting out and anyone else interested is invited to attend.Grower to grower meetings are a way for growers to learn from each other about using biological control in greenhouses. We will meet at Grower Direct Farms, a greenhouse currently using biological control to manage spring crops. Our hosts will be Head grower, Mark Kelley and grower, Christine Champagne. They will share details about their biological control program.
Co-sponsored by University of Massachusetts Extension and University of Connecticut Extension
Register by emailing or calling Tina Smith, UMass 413-545-5306, tsmith@umext.umass.edu or Leanne Pundt, UConn 860-626-6240, leanne.pundt.@uconn.edu
Employee Training for Garden Retailers: Green, Organic and Sustainable Solutions
University of Massachusetts Extension Agriculture and Landscape Program
Date: March 23
Time: 9:30 - 3:30
Place: Publick House, Sturbridge, MA
Registration and details
This will be a training for garden center employees, horticulture retailers and others interested in helping their customers with questions about pest control products that provide green, orgainic and sustainable solutions. Learn about products for home gardens, trees, shrubs and lawns and how they work to better assist customers to make proper choices for pest management.
Pesticide Education Program Workshops
For a complete list of Pesticide Education Program Workshops, contact Natalia Clifton, UMass Extension at 413-545-1044 or check the Pesticide Education Website.
Massachusetts Pesticide Exams
Contact the Dept. of Food and Agriculture Pesticide Bureau at (617) 626-1785 or check the Pesticide Bureau's website.
