Specialty Crops

Transitioning to Organic Production

Type: Bulletin

Transitioning to Organic Production lays out many promising conversion strategies, covering typical organic farming production practices, innovative marketing ideas and federal standards for certified organic crop production.

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Tomato Grafting for Disease Resistance and Increased Productivity

Type: Fact Sheet

Researchers around the world have demonstrated that grafting—the fusing of a scion (young shoot) onto a resistant rootstock—can protect plants against a variety of soil-borne fungal, bacterial, viral and nematode diseases invarious climates and conditions.

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Specialty Crop Production in High Tunnels

Type: Western SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Utah State University fact sheet series includes raspberries, lettuce, summer squash, tomatoes and strawberries.

Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch

Type: Bulletin

As producers throughout the nation grow increasingly concerned about water scarcity, farmers, ranchers and agricultural educators are beginning to explore new, conservation-oriented approaches to water use.

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Season Extension and Crop Multiplication with a Moveable Hoophouse in an Organic System

FW07-319, Ed Page, Colorado

Type: Western SARE Project Summary

By testing a moveable hoop house that slides on rails, this project has the potential to extend the growing season to as many as 250 days, nearly double the current average of 140 days. Markets for the fruit and vegetables at new seasonal points will allow for greater production and profit.

Raising Livestock and Crops Simultaneously in Unheated Greenhouses

FW07-031, John Socolofsky, Colorado

Type: Western SARE Project Summary

This farmer project assessed whether greenhouse crops can be raised in hoop structures heated by livestock's body heat and manure compost.

Production and Marketing of Beach Plum, a Heritage Fruit Crop

Type: Fact Sheet

Beach plum (Prunus maritima Marsh) is one of several shrubby plums native to North America. The jams produced from this fruit command premium prices at farm stands and specialty markets, even in comparison with jam made from other locally grown fruit. However, the wild-collected supply of fruit does not meet this niche market’s demand.

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Late-season Strawberry Production Using Day-neutral Cultivars in High-elevation High Tunnels

Type: Western SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Journal article discussing research trials involving day-neutral cultivars, high tunnels, low tunnels and targeted heating in North Logan, Utah, to extend the availability of local strawberries.

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High Tunnel Specialty Crop Production in Colorado

Type: Western SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Hour-long webinar on design, summer and winter production, economics and needed research related to high tunnels.

Experiential Curricula in Sustainable Agriculture Topics

Resources for Instructors

Type: Online Course/Curriculum

These in-depth training manuals, produced by the University of California Santa Cruz, help instructors conduct hands-on teaching in organic farming and gardening, direct marketing, and small-farm business planning.

Constructing a Low-Cost High Tunnel

Type: Western SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Specs, diagrams and photos of high tunnel construction, by Utah State University Cooperative Extension.

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