Biltmore Farms Job Posting

I know that some of you are only beginning your academic pursuits in the area of horticulture, but I thought I should pass along this job description just to let you know what is out there. The predicted population growth rate in Western North Carolina suggests that there will only be more jobs like this in the future. It is a great time to be pursuing further education in horticulture.

Interesting NPR Story on Avocado

One of the greatest challenge in releasing any new food crop is marketing. NPR had a very interesting story on how farmers met that challenge with the avocado. The avocado fruit has only been commercially available in the U.S. since 1915!

Check out the story details here.

Trivia Contest Winner!

Thanks for everyone who has or who was planning to attempt the Trivia contest posted last Friday, but there has already been a winner. Yesterday Don Smallwood provided a correct response with a submission which included the following:

"...Isolation is most critical with cultivars that contain the sh2 gene. If they are pollinated by other gene types (su, se, field corn or Indian corn), they will revert to field corn with high starch and low sugar. Cultivars containing the se gene that are pollinated by normal su cultivars don’t revert back to field corn, but their sugar levels will decline to normal su type levels."

additional clarification: in the case of outcrossed se vs. sh2 as in the trivia question both varieties will suffer a loss of sweetness.

The key to the question was knowing that there was a reversion to starchy and using the internet to determine the gene type of the two cultivars mentioned in the question.

Bountiful Harvest Begins

The students are beginning to see the vegetables of their labors at the Nix horticultural complex.
Even with record heat and humidity, the garden is thriving through the benefit of student care.

New Horticulture Trivia Contest

Well last week's prize went unclaimed...so this week the prize is two gift certificates to the Coffee Cup Cafe. For the curious, I was looking for the term vivipary last week and the plant was a Red Mangrove.

NEW CONTEST!!!

A local grower plants a 1/2 acre block of 'Pegasus' hybrid sweet corn directly along side a 1/2 acre block of 'Temptation' hybrid sweet corn. She had grown 'Temptation' last year and it was wonderful. People were coming back to the farmstand asking for the corn by name. She had heard from other growers that 'Pegasus' was another winner with consumers, so she planted it this year as well.

(Temptation)

When harvesting the 'Temptation' much of it wasn't sweet and some of it was down right starchy. The plants look great, the grower had no pest problems, the kernels were fully filled and nearly all at the milk stage, but the 'Temptation' ears were not sweet.

E-mail me with a few sentences as to what you think went wrong??? Entries are limited to students in the Horticulture Technology Program at Haywood Community College and must be received by Friday, July 21st at 5 pm.

Veggie and Hort Garden Update for Week 8

There is definitely a growing difference in the two different portions of the student vegetable garden under either the conventional or organic program. Some of this is due to soil type and other factors. I would love to hear some student comments on the blog as to what things they believe are causing the differences.

I saw this interesting visitor in the ornamental gardens. I believe it to be a Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth.
Finally, who can get enough of summer flowers.

Some Highlights from OFA 2006

Plug transplant machine. There were over a 100 machines on display. If you ever get the opportunity this is the show to attend in the United States for the Floriculture Industry. More information is available at http://www.ofanet.org there is a student rate.
Musa cultivar appropriately named "The Little Prince"
Massive tray filling machines. Automation was a big theme in addition to horticulture. Labor has always been a concern...but the concern is definitely growing.
This 'Hot Chocolate' Calla Lily drew a lot of attention.
One of many geranium displays.
Sample from the big flower arranging competition.
Look at that color!
Seed companies from all over the world presented their very best releases. This cyclamen display was gorgeous. The photo doesn't due it justice because of the difficult indoor lighting.
There were dozens of different containers on display.
The OFA Short Course is recognized as the premier educational and trade show event in North America. The 2006 OFA Short Course will be the 76th event – featuring nearly 1,330 trade show booths, approximately 500 exhibiting companies, and more than 130 educational sessions. It will attract an estimated 10,000 floriculture professionals to Columbus, Ohio.

The OFA Short Course is the best place each year to get your own worldwide perspective on floriculture. Attendees come to the OFA Short Course from throughout the United States and more than 20 foreign countries. They come to view the latest products and equipment, find answers to business problems, learn new skills, catch up with old friends, and network with industry leaders. The first Ohio Florist Short Course was held in January 1930.
I presented a talk on an educational resource developed by several particpating colleges including The University of Vermont, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, and The University of Arizona. I will use many of the materials developed by this national team in the on-line offering of the two greenhouse courses in the Haywood Horticulture Technology Program.

Veggie Garden Update for Week 7

So week number seven has come and nearly gone for the Horticulture Students enrolled in AGR 263. It appears as though the Conventional production methods are leading to healthier plants, but the word at the Nix Horticultural complex is that this comparison may not be that fair since the students using Organic methods got stuck with much more clay in their soil.

Biocontrol anyone?

3 sisters approach to sweet corn production; maximizing ecological efficiency.

Orchidaceous has International Visitors

Hi all,

Every couple of weeks I look at the stat logs for who is visiting the website....mostly students and instructors until now.

This past week the blog was viewed by visitors from Korea, the Netherlands, England, China, and Brazil.

Your vegetable garden and other activities have been viewed on several continents!