MetaboliK Seed Boost – Ensuring Early Vigor

Gary Shafer, Research Director MetaboliK SB showed a very strong response in the 2016 outside peppers and tomatoes trials at Howe, Indiana.  (Data published in the Winter issue of this newsletter.)  Seeing this, we decided to do further experimentation this spring, and are performing a couple of research projects with MetaboliK SB, studying emergence and … Read more…

Soil Solarization: Using the Sun as the Ultimate Biofumigant

Steve Bogash, Vegetable Crop Advisor Are you growing more intensively, but soil-borne diseases seem to keep getting ahead of you?  If the answer to this question is “yes”, please read on.  Diseases, insects, nematodes and other pests have many methods of finding their way into your soils.  Sometimes the plants or media on transplants is … Read more…

There is More To Your Potting Media Than Just Peat Moss and Perlite

Steve Bogash, Vegetable Crop Advisor Growing vegetables indoors in high tunnels and greenhouses often provides opportunities to produce longer season, higher quality crops at higher densities and greater yields when compared to ‘outdoor, in-soil’, production.  Many growers successfully use the soil in their greenhouse or tunnel, but there are some major advantages to growing in … Read more…

High Tunnel Bell Pepper Research 2016

Steve Bogash, Vegetable Crop Advisor Producing fully colored bell peppers in the field can be a challenge due to diseases aggravated by weather conditions.  Weather often causes fruit rots just as the peppers begin to reach full color.  The simple practice of growing peppers in a high tunnel is often enough to “flip the script”, … Read more…

Water, Water, Water … Too Much Is Not A Good Thing!

Gary Shafer, Research Director We’ve discussed soil compaction, poor drainage, and the negative effects of excess water for several decades.  Several of the ISP products have very positive effects upon all of these potentially serious situations.  These include MetaboliK HV-1, Phytogro Xtra, Pow’rPak, ReStore 3g, and even to a lesser extent MetaboliK SB.  We used … Read more…

Growing With ISP Spring ’17

There’s a number of greenhouses that have already been planted, with some getting close to picking the first tomatoes of the season.  As Steve Bogash’s wife, Roberta says, there are only two seasons of the year… “tomato season, and waiting for tomato season.”  With that in mind we are getting very close to TOMATO SEASON! … Read more…

2016 Research and Educational Projects … Multiple Learning Opportunities

By Gary Shafer Albert Einstein stated, “Once you stop learning, you start dying”.. That being the case, then we’re pleased to announce that we are still very much alive! This coming season we have a variety of projects that will aid in solidifying our position as a premier source for agricultural and horticultural information.  We’ve … Read more…

Soil Testing for Improved Vegetable & Row Crop Production & Profit

Steve Bogash and Gary Shafer Managing soil nutrient levels is the first step in creating an abundance of high quality produce or crops.  The first step in this process is pre-plant soil testing nutrients followed by the application of nutrients based on the test results. Many fertilizer outlets or consultants offer soil sampling services, and … Read more…

Farming Like You Expect Bacterial Disease

One consistent theme over the past several years has been the specter of dealing with bacterial diseases in our tomato fields and high tunnels.  Bacterial speck, spot, and canker have become regular challenges for tomato growers.  In spite of these challenges, it is possible to grow profitable tomato crops even with these challenges hanging over … Read more…