What's Killing My Kale Episode 25: Integrating flowering plants and vegetable production

08/02/19 • -1 min

Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewees: Julie Weisenhorn and Nathan Hecht

In episode 25 of What's Killing My Kale , Natalie talked with Extension Educator Julie Weisenhorn, and recently graduated horticulture master's student Nathan Hecht. Both Julie and Nathan have been studying how flowering plants near fruit and vegetable plots impact pollination and fruit set. While we generally know that adding flowering plants to the landscape is good for pollinators and beneficial insects, we wanted to dig deeper and learn how much of an impact flowering plants can have, how to go about selecting the proper plants, and how the broader landscape impacts results. This is a longer episode, but it's packed with insight and good discussion.
You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on iTunes. If you enjoy listening to our podcast, please leave a review on iTunes. As always, reach out and let us know if there are any topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes!

Previous Episode

What's Killing My Kale Episode 24: Vertebrate Pest Management

Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewee: John Loegering.
In episode 24 of What's Killing My Kale , Natalie talked with wildlife biologist John Loegering about vertebrate pest management. They discussed a four pillar IPM approach to wildlife management both in packshed areas and in fields, and talked about balancing the competing interests of supporting wildlife habitat while keeping animals out of the field.
John made a short list of resources for those interested in learning more, which can be found here.
You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on iTunes.

Next Episode

What's Killing My Kale Episode 26: Swede Midge - a new brassica pest in Minnesota

Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewee: Angie Ambourn

In episode 26 of What's Killing My Kale , Natalie talked with Angie Ambourn, supervisor of the MDA's pest detection unit. Angie's team has been studying emerging insects and diseases in community gardens across Minnesota, and they've recently detected Swede Midge in gardens across the Twin Cities. Swede Midge is an important pest of cole crops on the East Cost, and while has not yet caused economic damage on Minnesota farms, it's important for producers to keep an eye out and anticipate this insect pest in the years to come.
In part 2 of this episode, we interviewed Yolanda Chen from the University of Vermont about management strategies for organic farms.
You can listen to and download the episode here. What's Killing my Kale is also available on iTunes. If you enjoy listening to our podcast, please leave a review on iTunes. As always, reach out and let us know if there are any topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes!