First, the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association annual meeting will be held online on March 1, 2022 12:00-2:00 PM. Stay tuned for more information.

The Northeast Extension Fruit Consortium is again hosting a series of webinars this winter for fruit producers. Topics may be of interest to apple, stone fruit, grape, and small fruit growers. All webinars are offered free of charge, but attendees must pre-register. Most are approved for pesticide credits in New England and New York.

The present list (more may come) includes:

January 11- Spotted Lanternfly- What you Need to Know

February 1- Fungicide and Streptomycin Resistance in Apple Pathogens- Status and Management

February 8- Spotted Wing Drosophila- Research Updates and Management

February 22- Precision Crop Load Management in Honeycrisp

March 8- Bacterial Spot and Phytotoxicity of Peach

March 15- Herbicides: Materials, Timing and Rates

March 22- Northeast Cider Apple Project

March 29- Plum Curculio Research- Update and Management

More information and registration links may be found at: https://ag.umass.edu/fruit/news-events/northeast-extension-fruit-consortium

As an author of some of the material in this series- last year on the apple industry, this year on the grape industry and how to prune grapevines- I’d like to suggest this locally-produced, locally-relevant book if you’re still thinking about gifts this holiday season.

https://vermontalmanac.org/

Following up on last year’s inaugural edition of Vermont Almanac, Volume II has been published and will be shipping to readers and available in local bookstores the first week of December.

So what’s inside?

All new stories about and by a new cast of Vermont farmers, writers, loggers, artists, scientists, poets, thinkers, and doers. In all, more than 70 Vermonters contributed content to Volume II.

Vermont Almanac, which is produced by For the Land Publishing, a Vermont non-profit organization, tells “stories from and for the land.” It’s an annual look at the people, places, nature, climate, traditions, innovations and resilience of rural Vermont. Past, present, and future. With nearly 300 pages of content, organized into monthly chapters, there’s something (many things, actually) for anyone with an appreciation for this place we call home and our way of life here.

Part of the content is practical (how to set mouse traps for optimal success; how to tell different soil types apart; and tips for telling dangerous cyanobacteria from run-of-the-mill green algae). Part of it is educational (did you know that Vermont-grown grains are being used in Vermont-made breads, beers, and spirits? That grapes and hops are increasingly popular ag products in the state? That mushroom farming is a thing?). There’s a monthly nod to the historical (learn about the Revolutionary-era standoff that set the stage for Vermont to be formed; how the state banned billboards back in the 1960s; the daily life of a farmer in 1915). Some stories are important from a cultural perspective (keeping alive Native American language and charting a future for all races to find a home in rural Vermont). And some content is meant to be just plain enjoyable (read about the joy of pig personalities; the splendor of barn

The list of topics explored in Vermont Almanac, Vol. II, goes on and on: garlic, ginseng, finches, flowers, cow-judging, apple-grafting, syrup-making, chicken-farming…and much, much more. It’s a year’s worth of content that’s perfect for anyone who lives in or just loves rural Vermont.

www.vermontalmanac.org

Vermont Almanac Vol II Press Release (1).pdf