Apple thinning guidelines for Grand Rapids region now available Email
As we approach the critical thinning period for apples, use these 2021 recommendations to guide your thinning decisions.
Growers discuss thinning strategies with Poliana Francescatto, Phil Schwallier and Jim Engelsma. Photo by Amy Irish-Brown, MSU Extension.
Annually, Michigan State University Extension educators in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, region provide guidance on thinning strategies for apples. A summary of recommendations for this season is now available online in the 2021 Apple Thinning Guidelines for the Grand Rapids Region.
This guide has been developed over the course of the past 40 years based on research conducted by scientists at universities across the world. It is updated annually, taking into consideration seasonal conditions, crop trends, recent research, available products and grower concerns.
Gardening can help reduce stress, improve overall health
Editor s note: This is the latest in a series of biweekly columns from the Becker County Master Gardeners, who are part of the University of Minnesota Extension.
Written By:
Catharine Weisenburger, Becker County Master Gardener | 12:00 am, May 9, 2021 ×
Gardening can be a great way to reduce stress, improve overall mental health and get more exercise. (File photo)
According to Anne Harding (Health.com), there are several steps to instant calm.
The sensory experience of gardening “allows people to connect to this primal state, “James Jiler, the founder and executive director of Urban GreenWorks, a Miami-based nonprofit that creates garden and park programs for low-income neighborhoods.
Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
HOUGHTON The City of Houghton is seeking members of the public to take part in a precharrette workshop taking place in June.
The four members of the public will join others from the City Council, Planning Commission and city administration in the two-day event, which will be held June 29-30 at the Dee Stadium ballroom.
The workshop will be facilitated by the National Charrette Institute and Michigan State University Extension. The workshop is intended to determine the goals of a future charrette or other participation process so the city can develop a request for proposals. The city is seeking the best way to involve the public in the revision of the city’s downtown plan.
The steps for good quality corn silage begins now
What are the important questions you need to discuss as the growing season begins?
As fieldwork begins, think about how you are approaching your planning process for your crops this season. Photo by Jon LaPorte
As field work begins in Michigan many dairy farmers in the state shift into feed producing gear. Often, many resources and silage discussions occur in late summer or early fall; however, the path to great quality corn silage should begin long before harvest. It begins in the spring with good planning. What are the important questions you need to discuss with your agronomist and dairy nutritionist? What are the areas that need to take focus at this stage of the season?
Gaskill Family Farm receives the Value-Added Agricultural Producer Award
Rick and Valerie Gaskill
Gaskill Family Farm received the 2021 Value-Added Agricultural Producer Award from the Michigan State University Product Center and Michigan State University Extension on May 6, 2021. The award was presented during the virtual Making It In Michigan Conference.
“Growing and packaging healthy food options not only kept us in business, it grew our business during the pandemic. Using ingenuity and expanding our networks, we found a multitude of different methods to market our value-added products into greater consumer markets. God has been the mainstay throughout our lives and He deserves the most credit for getting us to the right people, places and markets as well as helping our plants survive the late freezes,” Valerie Gaskill said.